VERY disappointed...

[Gluestick]

I really want to keep seahorses in the future... I'm a beginner, and I'm not planning on seahorses right away, I want some experience under my belt first with my 90 gal, but I eventually would love to have seahorses in a smaller aquarium. I was talking to the guy at my LFS this weekend and he was telling me that I should never keep horses. "The are REALLY hard!" he said, " It's impossible to get them to eat, and they are very expensive!" I am totally discouraged! I've been reading the threads here, learning and whatnot... I've got it planned in my head, but now I feel like I will never be able to keep seahorses!

 

[equinecpa]

Don't let some guy at a LFS who's probably never kept seahorses in a proper setup dissuade you. Think about it. His experience is probably limited to WC seahorses who only eat live food. They probably fed them brine shrimp at best or frozen which they probably didn't eat. They probably had them in with totally incompatible tankmates. Yeah, they'd be hard to keep under those conditions.

However, if you are willing to research their care and buy from reputable sources I think you'll find you're pleasantly surprised. Seahorses were my first saltwater fish. I don't find them particularily hard to care for but I do abide by what the experts say.
My setup is fairly simple and the horses thrive and breed. I have raised fry to maturity, and now have "grand-horses".

Good luck

Carolyn

 

[hawkfish21]

I will agree with the expensive part, but they are not hard to keep, providing you buy Captive Bred. If it was impossible to keep seahorses, then why do so many people do it? I would find a new LFS my friend. Always feel free to ask questions here as well. We are all learning together.

 

[Wink]

They are really only hard if you get WC or if you don't do your homework first. They do have rather specific needs and you need to do a lot of research first. When you give them a proper environment and are prepared for forseeable problems they aren't all that hard - and they are worth it!

 

[seamonkey2]

Gluestick, I totally agree with Carolyn, I was told the same thing by others before I got my set up, if possible try other LFS or here, we will help you, most of us have experience and willingness to help others, horses are less hard to keep with the correct help

and yes, they are more expensive than regular fish...but then again they are not regular fish eh?

I would advise you to get your horses from breeders here..like DanU, you'll get healthier, BIGGER and imo better horses all around, but as always is your call

good luck

Jose

 

[Swanwillow]

I fourth or fifth what everyone else has said!!!

compared to my dwarf fuzzy lion, they are almost easier: they came eating frozen, they are gluttons, and if they get sick its easy to tell right away.

the only HARD part about them is feeding them 2x a day:I sometimes forget one feeding or another cause I'm sitting here on RC or other, similar sites. but otherwise, they are JUST like puppies

 

[Gluestick]

Thanks so much for the encouragement! I bought a 90 gal, which I haven't set up yet. Do you think that buying a smaller tank and starting with seahorses first would be a bad idea?

 

[hawkfish21]

I don't think so. Just know the requirements.

 

[Unlikely_Hero]

Yeah, as long as you're well read up and can provide a proper tank, time, and care, you should be fine. Of course, having experience with regulating water parameters and things of that sort with the 90 gallon would definitely make things run smoother.

 

[cosmopolitician]

Gluestick- I TOTALLY know what you're going through. I got that same reaction at the LFS stores I first went to when I said I wanted to have seahorses! It was very discouraging. I did some research online & I found this site called www.seahorse.com, they sell captive bred seahorses. And, they also have a discussion forum there. Anyways, I heard the same thing that people here are telling you, I learned the differences between WC & CB seahorses. Anyways, they have some nice package deals that include the tank, filter & seahorses. I got a 50 gallon SeaClear System II. I live very close to the manufacturer, Casco, so I just picked it up instead of waiting for it to be shipped. Anyways, since a million things (not just the yellow fiji) complicated the cyclcing & adding corals, getting the seahorses took longer than I wanted it to take. I'm hoping to be ready in like 2 weeks & the package includes 4 seahorses.

-ttyl, Anita

 

[Gluestick]

Thanks, guys!

 

[sarahbab]

My first fish in my first saltwater aquarium were seahorses. It seems like you are doing your research, so don't be afraid to get seahorses. Just take this as a lesson learned, you have to be careful about taking people's word for things, especially people from your lfs. Lfs in general are clueless about how to care for seahorses. So keep coming to this site and reading the threads.
Good Luck!!!!

 

[cosmopolitician]

sarah-

Oh boy do I know that! My lfs suggested that I get a diamond goby to clean the top layer of sand because it was turning brown. When I tried to run it by my friend Pete, he was like no way because it's not captive bred & could easily bring parasites into my tank. And, then later I did some reading & I found that gobies tend to pick on seahorses & can outcompete them for food.


-anita

 

[Swanwillow]

ACTUALLY: most gobies are fine in seahorse tanks: its other wild caught syngnathids that we try not to mix: seahorses, pipefish, moth
(fish? or is it fishmoths? or something like that?)

I have a wc blenny and HAD a wc jawfish, they were just fine...

you just have to pick tankmates carefully, and WATCH WATCH WATCH for aggression!!!

 

[Swanwillow]

fwiw, doing a search on seahorse.org, they are considered generally peacefull, make sure you feed it first it sounds like...

which is kinda cool, cause my LFS has a mated PAIR in at the moment...