Starting a dwarf seahorse tank

[FishWife1]

I've kept full size horses before. I had a 37 gal with a couple of Kudos for several years.

I have decided to set up a small (5 gal. Eclipse hex) for a pair of dwarf horses, not pygmies, that my LFS has. They are currently in a 6 NanoCube and seem to have plenty of room. They will actually have more in this hex since some of the space is used up by filtration in the NC6. If it turns out that this tank is too small I'll get a 15 or 20 tall.

I've got a 1" sandbed, a few pieces of lr and I'm going to add grasses and a gorgonian or 2.

I used to feed my ponies large frozen mysis from a place that specialized in them. I don't like the frozen mysis that is sold in lfs and from on-line lfs. Does anyone know of a better food for the smaller guys? They are about 1 1/2" each.

Thanks - Laurie

 

[Jordan55]

I thought dwarfs shouldn't be housed with live rock.

 

[FishWife1]

Huh... what's the reason? These guys aren't THAT small. I know there are some you can barely see unless you look closely at the tank.

I have a few small pieces in the tank now to help with cycling but they don't have to be in there if they are really a danger.

Laurie

 

[Jordan55]

I am not sure on the exact reason, hopefulyl someone will chime in soon. But I think it is because of the organisms that come in on live rock?

And I am pretty sure dwarfs are suppose to be fed on bbs?

I am not an expert. You may want to go over to seahorse.org and look for some info there, unless someone will chime in soon.

 

[hawkfish21]

Hydroids?

 

[Samala]

It doesnt sound like these are actually dwarf SH. Dwarfs are H. zosterae. These sound like they are simply juveniles of the larger species that you've had before. There are a few smaller species - H. capensis, H. breviceps - but these need cooler temperatures. Neither would fit well in a six gallon. Alternatively the rarely seen H. fuscus stays somewhat smaller. I still wouldnt call any of these last three dwarfs.

Can you get pics of the SH? Or, does the LFS have the scientific name of these guys listed on their setup?

>Sarah

 

[FishWife1]

I asked him to get the name for me. He's a really responsible lfs owner and he will find out for me.

They are eating frozen food which probably does mean they aren't true dwarf horses. If I have to go to a larger tank shortly that's no problem other than I won't be able to keep it where I want to. No big deal.

They've been in his tank for a few weeks now and are so funny. They're much more curious, actually nosey, than my former horses. I dropped a couple of xenia frags in their tank and they rushed over to investigate. The male sticks very close to the female. They are both black and much smaller than my Kudas were even when they were immature. LFS owner said he was told they would get only slightly larger.

What is the best type of grass to get for these guys? I'm going to get a supply of pods for them and some different types of caulerpa. Maybe a couple of feather dusters, too.

The only water movement in the tank is from the small built-in filter. I've order a small minijet in case I need more water movement and a 25W heater. the water is staying at around 76 degrees so that should be OK.

Laurie

 

[Jordan55]

Sounds like they are doing well.

Grass as in sea grass? Not too sure on grasses, but I know they need atleast a 4 inch sandbed.

Some of my favorite macros are halimeda, caulerpa prolifera, caulerpa taxifola, codium, and a few more I cannot think of.

Those are all pretty good macros for sea horses ot hitch to also.

 

[FishWife1]

4" sandbed? Is there a reason for a dsb? I used to have one when I kept a large reef but many people are getting away from them now. Is there a reason other than the sandbed critters and biological filtration?

Laurie

 

[Jordan55]

Well I think sea grasses require the 4 inches for their roots to grow and them to be healthy. But other macros do not need the sandbed as deep.

 

[ewaldm]

Cheato algea also has the benifit of basically being indestructable. Almost impossible to kill in my experience.

 

[FishWife1]

Yeah, I have some in my nano refugium. I could seed it with pods and make the horsies happy little critters. I think I read on here about somebody making a chaeto wall using egg crate. I'll have to think about that.

Laurie

 

[Beckmola24]

I'm sure you don't have dwarves. They are VERY hard to train to eat frozen food (almost impossible, but a few have done it). I have dwarves right now, and the reason that a lot of people (not myself) think they shouldn't be housed with LR is because of the introduction of hydroids to the tank. My LR was hydroid free, so it won't be a problem.

Hydroids are mini Jelly fish (medusas). They can be free floating or in a colonial state. The free floaters are clearish to pinkish in color and pack a powerful sting for the dwarves. They can kill dwarf fry instantly and can really hurt the adults. Hydroids thrive in dwarf conditions because of the low flow and abundance of bbs. They are hard to get rid of once they've infested a tank.

Since you really don't appear to have dwarves then I really can't help you too much more. I have dwarves and 4 Erectus.

Seagrasses need deep sand beds because their roots won't be able to get a good hold w/o it. They also need adequate lighting to thrive. Some seagrasses are harder to keep than others. If you look on the Floridapets website they have several different kinds of seagrasses and they give a little bit of info about each. HTH

 

[FishWife1]

thank you much. It's been several years since I had my SHs and I have forgotten just about everything. This forum wasn't even here when I first started but Seahorse.org was and that's where I went.

Laurie