Starting Dwarf Seahorse tank

[binaryterror]

Ok, so now that I am set on setting up a dwarf seahorse tank, I have a few questions. First off, what size tank! I have can get 1g hex (love), 2g hex (love), and 5g. Which would be best and how many can I keep in each size. Next is live food. Can I just buy brine shrimp egg, hatch them in the 2 liter bottle kit from liveaquaria? Next is feeding. How old should the brine be when I put them in? Also, what are the filtration needs? Can I just buy a HOB filter and put foam over the intake? How much flow should I have? What kind of lighting? I probably sound like a really noob asking all of these questions, but I just want to get this right! Thanks!

 

[caseyjessa]

Check out www.seahorse.org and go to the dwarf seahorse forum, that will give you all the info. you are looking for and more. I was looking into dwarfs too a while back, so from what i picked up anywhere from a 2.5 gallon tank - to a 10 gallon tank can house these guys, but 2.5 to 5.5 gallons is what is reccomended for beginners due to feeding density. The eat live baby brine shrimp, so i believe the two liter hatchery should work. I know some experts will chime in and give you more info. Thats about all i can help you with, being a newbie myself, hth.

 

[caseyjessa]

Check out www.seahorse.org and go to the dwarf seahorse forum, that will give you all the info. you are looking for and more. I was looking into dwarfs too a while back, so from what i picked up anywhere from a 2.5 gallon tank - to a 10 gallon tank can house these guys, but 2.5 to 5.5 gallons is what is reccomended for beginners due to feeding density. They eat live baby brine shrimp (newly hatched), so i believe the two liter hatchery should work. I know some experts will chime in and give you more info. Thats about all i can help you with, being a newbie myself, hth.

*haha, this ensures my newbie status, i went to edit the post and now i have 2, cant figure out how to delete the first one, please excuse my stupidity*

 

[binaryterror]

Thanks alot. I will look into it now

 

[binaryterror]

Would a 2.5g or a 5g be better and how many can I keep in each size?

 

[whatnot45]

well a 2.5 you could keep about 10 - 15 adults and about 20 fry, and a 5 gallon you could keep about 45 -60 adults and about 30 fry

 

[binaryterror]

Ok, then a 2.5g would probably be better. Now, would it be OK to use an Azoo Powerfilter? What would be the best filter?

 

[Big Ying]

If you want to make hatching BBS easy, order the hatching trays from Brine Shrimp Direct. I use two to get the right time staggers for hatchings. I spend 5 minutes a day. There is no aeration, just room lights, and you get a good hatch rate. The BBS swim into the collecting cup in the middle so they decap themselves and you can collect at different times of the day to get the most recently hatched. It's way easier than the bubbling bottle method!

 

[binaryterror]

Do they have a website? That sounds awesome! What do I feed brine shimp after it hatches? Do they sell brine food at Brine Shrimp Direct?

 

[JennyL]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7814149#post7814149 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by whatnot45
well a 2.5 you could keep about 10 - 15 adults and about 20 fry, and a 5 gallon you could keep about 45 -60 adults and about 30 fry

I strongly disagree with this statement. That is major overstocking.

 

[binaryterror]

How many do you think I could keep? Like 7 Dwarfs and their fry? And about the Brine Shrimp Direct... I will definatly order 2 Brine Shrimp Hatching dishes, but I dont understand how they work? How do they hatch without light or air or anything?

 

[ReefNutPA]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7814373#post7814373 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Big Ying
The BBS swim into the collecting cup in the middle so they decap themselves

This is a mis-statment. Decapping means you remove the outer shell before hatching so there is a reduced risk of bacterial contamination, hydroid contamination and the bbs exert less energy while hatching so they are just a bit more nutritious. Hatching eggs in a tray and having the bbs swim away from the casings is not decapping nor is it equal to decapping.

Most hobbyists use either bottles or hatching cones for bbs. It takes only a few minutes to dump a bottle, rinse it out, refill it and add a tablespoon of decapped eggs.

Everyone uses slightly different methods so you'll have to find out what works best for your situation. Personally for me, I'd need 10 trays to try to feed the group of dwarfs in my 10 gal tank and even then it wouldn't be as simple as a single bottle or hatching cone.

Tom

 

[Wink]

I keep up to 30 adults and maybe 20 fry in a 5 gallon. I keep up to 50 adults and 40 fry in a 10 gallon. The few times I've gone over that amount they seemed to be crowded. I wouldn't put more than maybe 6 adults and 10 fry in a 2.5. I'd suggest starting with a 5 gallon but be ready to cycle a 10 up if your population explodes.
I've had excellent results with feeding not only new hatch brine but also older enriched brine every day. I would suggest a variety of good enrichments for proper nutrition. I use spirulina powder, Algamac from seahorsesource.com, Vibrance from Ocean Rider, dead phyto, live phyto, beta glucan, and even flake fish food. I also suggest that you do use decapped eggs regardless of which style of hatcher is used. The new hatch brine is more nutritious with decapped as the shrimp use less of their food sac for energy to break out of the shell. Also decapped are cleaner as the process kills any hydroids, bacteria, etc on the outer shell. I rinse all food in freshwater before feeding out, I wouldn't add culture water to the tanks.
It may sound like alot of work but I only spend a half hour every 2-3 weeks for decapping and maybe 10 mintutes a day on hatching, enriching, and feeding. The little darlings are worth it!

 

[Big Ying]

The hatching tray allows you to feed the most recently hatched all day. When you use the standard method, you basically need to make sure they are all hatched before you siphon them out, therefore, you have a mixed bag of recently hatched and not so recently hatched. That will work, but with the hatchery dish the most recently hatched are in the collecting cup, unless it's been sitting there 12 hours. Yes, they expended energy getting there, but they are the most recently hatched, and have most of their yolk sac. There is really no need to grow any out, unless you want to, in which case I would use a bubbling bottle. Look, I've used the other method, and no it doesn't take a lot more work than the hatchery dish, but there are disadvantages. One, is noise. For some people, they don't have a room out of earshot to grow brine out and they would rather not their house sound like Frankensteins lab. Second, there is always the risk of power outages or electrical problems. You don't need to worry about that with the dish. It is "no tech". Third, the dishes take up less space and require no gadgets/equipment. Simpler, is always better if you get the same results! Try them, you'll love them.

 

[binaryterror]

Thanks for the great advice guys! I have decided to get the dish, and feed newly hatched brine all the time. Now with tank size... this is stumping me. a 2.5g can hold 6 dwarfs, but a 5g can hold 30 dwarfs? I dont really understand that, but maybe I will just start with a 5g. But then again, I would rather have less and be able to see them all of the time then have 30 adults dissappear in a 5g with the fry.

What do you guys reccomend for filtration though!!! On a 2.5g Also, which eggs should i use for the hatching dish from brineshrimpdirect.com?

 

[Wink]

I guess those numbers are a bit confusing. I was picturing the 2.5 gallon tanks I gave my granddaughters (with just a pair of dwarves each). Those tanks use a fairly large sponge filter which takes up alot of the room - once you add a bit of sand, a bit of rock, and a bit of macro there isn't that much space left. My 5 gallon hexes use filters in the cover with only a small intake in the tank (covered with sponge) so there is more usable space. When I use a 10 gallon I use a small HOB filter - again with sponge over the intake. Small paint roller sponges (like for trim) with the centers removed make great covers for tube shaped intakes.

 

[Big Ying]

I superglued the clear tube to the bottom and just run the air pump without the airstone in it. I put a rock on top of the air tube to break up the bubbles. The circulation seems about right. There is a lot of room in a 2 gallon hex without a sponge filter. If you have a lot of plants, which I do, it's hard to even find the horses in there. If you only have a couple, you'll get eyestrain looking for them. 6-8 adults seems like a good number.

 

[binaryterror]

I see, well since I plan on buying the Palm HOB Filter, there will be alot more room. And I do plan on having planty of macroalgae, but not so much that the tank is crowded with it. So I will most likely get 8 Dwarfs and raise the fry in there as well.

 

[binaryterror]

Are Gorgania's OK with Dwarfs? I saw the pics on here and they said that their horses like to cling to the gorgonia. I really like those, so could I get one of those?

 

[Big Ying]

Gorgonias are fine, but if you have to treat the tank with Panacur for hydroids, it will kill the gorgonians. I've heard it could take months or more for it to be safe to reintroduce corals.