thinking about getting a seahorse or 2 need input

[twizzlerman77]

i am pondering the thought of getting a seahorse or 2 i dont know much about them though any and all info would be a great help thanks. i was thinking maye a kellogii seahorse... but idk thanks

 

[Reeferhead]

The best advice I could give you would be to live on the following two boards for a least a month and learn as much as you can.

http://www.seahorse.org/


http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=35

A few years back I kept, bred, and reared, H. Kuda, H. Erectus and H. Barbouri. I was successful however it required endless dedication. Most seahorses require 2-3 feeding daily and don't due so well when they miss a couple meals in a row. Eventually, I decided, I enjoyed going on weekend trips so I gave seahorse keeping up.

Also, keep in mind that seahorses do best in a system designed specifically for them. You can keep them with some other fishes but there not suitable in most of our typical reef systems.

I don't want to dissuade you by any means. Seahorse keeping, when done properly, can be very rewarding. Seahorses and other syngnathids are uniquely cool . However, as always, do your research first and make sure your properly prepared to care for these animals.

Finally, what ever you do, only buy captive bred! Buying wild almost guarantees death.

Hope that helps,

 

[StupidsReef]

I recomend you do major RESEACH before attempting such. I mean a lot of RESEACH, did I mention that you need to do a LOT of RESEACH?? You are a newbi to this hobby, no offens, I'd take my time and understand this part of the hobby before diving into something your not ready to tackle. Put it this away, I've been into this hobby since 2004 and my wife has been killing me for a seahorse tank......I'm still RESEACHING everything about it. There care as stated by Reeferhead is not one that can be forgotten for one moment. JMHO.

 

[Reeferhead]

I agree with Stu,

If your new to reef keeping than just stay away from them entirely. Seahorse are very particular when it comes to water quality and can pickup some diseases that no other fish can when things aren't perfect. Also, by "living on the boards", I mean 4+ hours a day.

 

[scbadiver]

These guys are telling you straight. They are a LOT of work and require a seperate tank due to temperature and predidation and feeding habits. They are awesome though, back in the 80's I kept six of the big Pacific Hippo's in a 42 hex tank. They were a whole bunch of work which is why I no longer have them. Do your homework and if you want to try it go ahead but please be prepared for the time and effort involved to keep them Happy and healthy.

 

[DrBDC]

I did the dwarf seahorses. Talk about needing reading glasses to see! :lol:

The big problem on the dwarfs is that they need brine shrimp fresh hatched daily. Since they hatch in about 2 days, you have to start a new one every day. You can never miss or be gone from home 1 single day. Forget going anywhere for a weekend. Then the water quality stinks from such heavy feeding. I worked around this by daily 50% water changes on a 3 gallon tank but a larger tank would be harder since I just went and pulled a couple gallons from the display. Larger type seahorses are slightly different but I still think some of the same issues apply.

 

[Reeferhead]

I actually plan on keeping seahorses again. When we build our next house in a couple years I'm going to tie a ~50 gallon tank with 8-10 seahorses and pipes to my main system which will be about 700 gallons in total system volume in including a 100+ gallon fuge. I want to in-wall the tank in the master bath . We'll see how the Mrs. buys off on that one.

However, my main concern is automating the feeding some how. The large fuge will help but won't nearly be enough on its own. I have a few ideas I bouncing around. I want to enjoy the horses and at the same time not have them become a chore or tie me to the house. I still have quite a few kinks in my plan to work out.

 

[breutus]

reeferhead, how are you going to keep the temp lower on the sump than in the main? assuming the main would be a normal reef tank.

Just asking because I had the same thought but could effenciently figure that one out!

theres some simple ideas I have had on automating feeding.

 

[Reeferhead]

reeferhead, how are you going to keep the temp lower on the sump than in the main? assuming the main would be a normal reef tank.

I'm not,

Its all a matter of choosing the right (tropical) species and buying captive bred seahorse that are accustomed to a little higher temps. I kept my previous seahorse tank between 78-80 degrees without any major issues.

 

[DrBDC]

You could probably come up with some kind of "auto-hatcher" that allowed the brine to swim out as they hatched. The larger ones can eat mysis though can't they?

Temp is a big issue though even if you can get around the extremely high nitrates. It's really hard to get it to the system.

Maybe a seperate system with auto hatching and a constant water change going like Randy Holmes Farley has that changes X% daily with a dual peristaltic pump.

 

[Reeferhead]

Unless, they're enriched with something like Selcon, live brine is actually pretty poor food for seahorses. I will only buy captive bred seahorses that are large enough and vigorously eating frozen mysis.

When ever you work with live foods you have to deal with the hassles of culturing and the chance that your culture might crash leaving you without food for a few days, not an option with seahorses. Also, when you feed seahorses live food for more than a few days it hard to get them to go back to frozen, IME

Enriched Frozen mysis will be the 2x daily staple. I would only use live food as a short term "out of town" option. Regardless, I have trouble feeding my main tank more than 3x a week so I really don't want the hassle of multiple daily feedings. Thus, automation has to consist of some sort of frozen food feeder.

 

[DrBDC]

If the big ones eat mysis thats cool. It's too big for the dwarfs so it was a major pain hatching and gut loading. Maybe all that turned me sour on having any.

Any of the bigger ones do well in warmer tanks? I don't get real hot but it goes to 82 in the summer and probably averages 80 most the time.

 

[mpcart]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12136289#post12136289 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Reeferhead
When we build our next house in a couple years I'm going to tie a ~50 gallon tank with 8-10 seahorses and pipes to my main system which will be about 700 gallons in total system volume in including a 100+ gallon fuge. I want to in-wall the tank in the master bath . We'll see how the Mrs. buys off on that one.

A man with a vision . . . I like it.

-Mike

 

[Reeferhead]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12136784#post12136784 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mpcart
A man with a vision . . . I like it.

-Mike

Fortunately, I have a hobby supportive wife who's not trained in the deadly art of frying pan fighting and no plans of kids for the future. The world is my reefkeeping oyster

 

[Reeferhead]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12136762#post12136762 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DrBDC
If the big ones eat mysis thats cool. It's too big for the dwarfs so it was a major pain hatching and gut loading. Maybe all that turned me sour on having any.

Any of the bigger ones do well in warmer tanks? I don't get real hot but it goes to 82 in the summer and probably averages 80 most the time.

Selcon enriched mysis is the general standard for feeding captive bred seahorses. Good breeders won't sell babies until they are actively eating frozen mysis.

Dwarves in general are a cooler water animal. 82 is starting to push it for any seahorse, even the most tropical ones, but I've seen it done. Disease issues increase with temperature in most cases. I would try and find one from a breeder who rears at similar temps. Seahorse.org is your best bet. Kuda, Erectus, Barbouri are all fairly warm water species and the only ones I have first hand experience with. I would give a slight edge on ease of care to H. erectus.

 

[StupidsReef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12136845#post12136845 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Reeferhead
Fortunately, I have a hobby supportive wife who's not trained in the deadly art of frying pan fighting and no plans of kids for the future. The world is my reefkeeping oyster

Talk about tootin' your on horn here :eek1: !!

Hobby supportive wife

she'snot trained in the deadly art of frying pan fighting we can fix that for ya

no plans of kids for the future Ah "plans"

Nick we are all NOT as LUCKY as you bro, your killing me over here

 

[Reeferhead]

I'm not that lucky...

I failed to mention how I plan to pay for all of this -----> Tax breaks, hazardous duty, and family separation pay from one year time served in Afganistan

As for the kid issue... I won't even let her get a cat while I'm gone, she can pet the fish J/K

 

[kpc01]

I kept a pair for a little over a year, and while they were really neat and enjoyable, they were just too much work as everyone has already said. My wife wanted them so I made her share 50% of the work, and we still got burnt out on never going anywhere and always actively feeding. I would say the dedication to them is the hardest part IMO. I loved having them but in my case the rewards did not outweigh the work...maybe another day they will

 

[twizzlerman77]

well, its sad to say but you all just completely steered me away from even thinking about looking into getting one ay further.... i have a seperate tank i could take a few things out of for them but as much work as you guys say it is i just simply wouldnt have the time to properly care for them, and that being said thanks for all the input but i dont see myself getting one anytime soon cause i am still somewhat of a newbie to this hobby only having about 3 years experience ill leave the care that they require to someone who is dedicated to providing it properly and has the time too. once again thanks for all the info guys.