Thinking about a dwarf setup.....

[Pea-brain]

Hi. Recently I was duking it out with myself as to whether to make my 30 gallon acrylic a seahorse/pipefish tank or ANOTHER mantis shrimp tank for a peacock mantis....then the thought of dwarfs came to my mind. I remember reading about them. I do a quicky search and find out the following info: They only need a 5 gallon for 6 pairs. They only eat BBS/copepods etc....and rest of care is basically seahorses on a smaller scale. So Ihave decided I wanted adwarf tank. But I have a few questions. I am planning to hook my 2 ten gallon mantises into a rubbermaid container sump and was thinking of suspending the hex over the container and putting the hose from the overflow into the hex which would just flow over into the rubbermaid. The biggest concern is the flow too high (<300 GPH) and that the seahorses might flow over the sides (AHHH!). What do you think? I could turn the pump off an hour for feeding. Also has anyone bought any seahorses or pipefish from seahorsefarms.com ? Continued in next post........

 

[Pea-brain]

Thats wierd. The post was bigger than that....Anyways I was afraid the flow would be too high at less than 300 GPH and that the seahorses would flow over the sides. I could turn the pump off a while for feeding. Also has anyone tried seahorsefarms.com ? How are they? are there really pipefish small enough for a5 gallon? Also i would immagine breeding these would be pretty easy because I am already feeding BBS so all I would need to do is enrich with selcon. Or is it more compicated than that? Thanks for the help!

Edit: Almost forgot to ask. I read an article about keeping them and it was talking about decapsulated brine shrimp eggs. Are those really nessecary? Cause I am willing to hatch BBS daily, but to decapsulate them too would be annoying.....

 

[fishymann]

you may want to just stick with a 30 gallon regular seahorse tank. Most of those who keep dwarfs have years of expeirence with seahorses. They're going to need very little flow with in the tank because of their size, they'r going to need a lot of very small hitches and if you use live rock you'll have to get it sold specifically for dwarf seahorses (cant think of the place that has it) because hydrods or any thing else that could come in on other rock could easily easily kill the dwarfs.

newly hatched BBS is all they'll eat which means you need to hatch them daily like you said. Also another thing i dont think many realize is, they're at most i think an inch big. Think of your fingernail. If you do choose to do it go over to seahorse.org and read up and ask 100s of questions about them (really do that even if you choose regular sized seahorses)

Good luck.

 

[Pea-brain]

I've read through seahorse.org article about keeping dwarfs, and just read alot about seahorses in general. I was just wondering if the flow was too high. Apparently it is. I will set it up separately. I think I am prepared to keep dwarfs. I really do have ALOT of time on my hands. And it shouldn't be setup for a while. Thanks for the info though. I think I'll sign up for seahorse.org

 

[burblerboy]

yeah 300 gph is gonna be way to much for a dwarf set up, I have an air driven sponge filter in my tank and if I crank it up all the way thats to much turbulance for them just to give you an idea. no you don't have to use decapsulated brine shrimp but you'll be alot better if you do, hydroids and other nasties can be on the brine cysts waiting to be hatched and released into your tank, also you DON'T have to decap them yourself (major PIA). You may be able to get them from your LFS or can order online at livebrineshimp.com or seahorsesource.com both of which also carry dwarfs. I have done business with them as well as seahorsefarms.com and been very satisfied with the service from all.

 

[Pea-brain]

After reading through the dwarf and pipe forums on seahorse.org I learned that pipes shouldn't be kept with mini seahorses. The pipes can't survive on bbs alone. Also I found that seahorsesource carries some for a good price on decapped bbs eggs. (13$ plus shipping for about 100 feedings, or about 50 days) I've decied that in order to maintain proper stocking density in my price range I would go with a 2 1/2 gallon. thats 2-3 pairs. Also thinking about a 20 long dragon pipefish reef with some softies and and a pair or two of dragon pipes.

 

[seas_inside]

Other than already said....

Also has anyone tried seahorsefarms.com? How are they?

Please don't buy from seahorsefarms, I highly don't recommend it.... http://forum.seahorse.org/index.php?showtopic=31012&hl=seahorsefarms

are there really pipefish small enough for a5 gallon?

No, even the dwarf pipe needs more space.

Also i would immagine breeding these would be pretty easy because I am already feeding BBS so all I would need to do is enrich with selcon. Or is it more compicated than that? Thanks for the help!

It's great that you have so much enthusiasm, and I'm not trying to discourage you, but dwarf fry are hard to raise...not impossible, but they don't even have that many in a single breed.

Also, for enriching, I suggest you get more than one enrichment, to provide variety.

AND.....keep reading and researching, they are a difficult species to get a hold on.

 

[Big Ying]

I've been using the hatching cylinders for BBS for a year. Got them from Brine Shrimp Direct or whatever you call that company out of Salt Lake. It's easier than making a bologna sandwich, but you need atleast 2. No bubbling bottles, no noise, no lights, no electricity, no decapping, no problem.