Species Reccomendation

[frank551]

I came into a cube, 24x24x16h.

My intention was making it a false back wall (where the equipment will go, say 6-8"), 2" sandbed, some LR stacked against the back wall, possibly zip tied to eggcrate.

Only inhabitants would be many macro species, maybe some simple polyps, one pair of sea horse, and possibly a pair of pipefish down the road.

My question is, what would be a good tropical species of horse that would work well with the 14" water depth?

Thanks!

 

[Tang~Cop]

Well most small seahorses would do great in that tank, general rule (if breeding) in 3x the height of the seahorse. These are the seahorses that I recommend...

Mustangs
Erectus
Redi
zosterae
whitei
barbouri

Their are many other SH that you can keep but this is a rough guide-line.

PLEASE PLEASE only purchase CB, this is because that WC SH WILL die with out 24-7 care! Check to see they are CB by getting the LFS to feed them in front of you. Don’t feel pressured, don’t risk it!

 

[ann83]

Most people don't recommend mixing seahorses and pipefish. Pipefish can carry diseases that the SH are sensitive to, and vice versa, since they are so closely related. Same thing with mixing different species of SH. 14" is fine height for smaller seahorses, as long as you aren't trying to breed them. Mustangs are the same as erectus (mustang is what OR calls them). Zosterae are too small for an aquarium of that size. The stocking density you would need to feed appropriately would be ridiculous (they are only the size of your thumbnail). Whitei need a chiller ($$), because as I recall they are temperate. I'd go with a slightly smaller horse like Kuda or Barbouri, although my Reidi are more of a bottom dwelling horse so without breeding they might be okay in a shallower aquarium as well.

 

[frank551]

So the shallow depth will inhibit breeding?

 

[ann83]

It can. You have a better chance of them breeding if the water depth is at least 3x their height. But, when there's a will there's a way, and seahorses do really have a will to breed, so they might breed anyway. In breeding they swim to the top of the water column and then float down while they perform the egg exchange. The deeper the water, the better chance they have of completing the exchange before they hit the sand.

 

[pledosophy]

If you could swing a chiller I'd go with capensis, breviceps, or whitei.

 

[frank551]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9077265#post9077265 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by pledosophy
If you could swing a chiller I'd go with capensis, breviceps, or whitei.

It's not that I couldn't afford one, I'm just going to do a low impact style setup with this tank. All cabtive bred, low wattage, etc.

What good is a beautiful reef, if it takes a small powerplant to sustain it? I'm not trying to change the world or anything, just being a bit conservation minded.

There's nothing wrong with running a chiller, or whatever..it's just my approach at the whole thing.

 

[Samala]

Tang~Cop: mustangs and H. erectus are generally agreed to be the same thing. The term 'mustang' is just a marketing label for the species erectus.

I'll applaud your low-impact approach Frank. You may do best with H. barbouri, which are somewhat smaller.

>Sarah