Thinking of converting to Seahorses

[vsnsofadrgn]

hi there! i have a saltwater tank that has been up for 4-5 years now and am seriously thinking of converting it to a seahorse tank. i have a clown in there now, which i can take to the lfs. i have a 30 gal tank, with about 75 # of LR, protein skimmer, 20 gal refugium, and a denitrator. im interested in 1 pair and from my research, it looks like i have a choice of reidi, barboui, eretcus. My flow isnt terribly high in the first place, so all i think i would need to do is get some plants (thinking of plastic) for hitching. I do have some soft coral i was concerned about: mushroom, yumas, zoas, leather, and i also have a hammer coral but am willing to part with it for a pony if necessary. what do you think?????

 

[Lightsluvr]

Converting...

Converting...

If you have a Percula clown, I would agree to take it to the LFS. I have no experience with H. Barbouri, but can recommend the Reidi or Erectus. I use plastic plants, but eventually you might want to try some macro-alage for hitching. You'll want non-turbulent flow over that much LR, but you might aquascape a protected area for the SH hitch and feeding station. Mushrooms, zoas, yumas and leathers all work well with SH, but you'll want to remove the hammer, as it can sting the horses. Remember, the horses will hang on everything in the tank at one time or another, so you'll want to minimize stress or injury. Don't overlook the temperature issue. SH need temps between 72 and 75 degrees, wnich usually means some type of chiller.

There are many good threads on this forum...study them and you'll learn a lot before you decide whether or not to "jump in"...

Good luck.

LL

 

[vsnsofadrgn]

thanks for the reply. im leaning more towards the erectus. ive heard that some macro goes sexual reeking havoc on the system, besides chateo, are there any that dont? i dont have to worry about the temp, even with a heater, the tank stays below 75.

 

[CCall]

Look into getting captive bred seahorses. They already eat frozen mysis and you don't have to deworm them. seahorsesource.com have great looking erectus's. There are also others here and at seahorse.org that have erectus's for sale.
You will want to set up a 10 gallon tank as a quarantine tank for about 6 weeks. This is just to make sure they are eating well before going into the big tank.