very general questions

[grendl]

I picked up a 15 gallon tank a few weeks back, with the idea of housing a mantis, & some LR. The tank has a much larger footprint than I thought it would, so I thought I would try something else. I have pretty much zero knowledge of horses, other than they are difficult to keep, because they are difficult to get to eat. Other than that, how tough are they?

If I wanted to make this 15 gallon into a horse tank, will regular lights & some algae suffice? I was thinking that for filtration, I would just use a small Eheim Eco (rated for up to 29 gallons) & maybe some power heads if they needed more water current. This tank will have no skimmer....

If this tank were feasible, what kind of plants or algae should I cultivate? Would it be better to have a substrate, or just to go bare bottom? I understand they hunt copepods??? Will they survive with no SS, & just algae to swim in?

I just wanted a simple tank, thats pretty to look at, & something unique for my kids to watch. I am not sure if horses could meet those reqs, but figured I would come to the mouontain, & ask!

 

[ReefNutPA]

Re: very general questions

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7004248#post7004248 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by grendl
I have pretty much zero knowledge of horses, other than they are difficult to keep, because they are difficult to get to eat. Other than that, how tough are they?

I understand they hunt copepods??? Will they survive with no SS, & just algae to swim in?

I just wanted a simple tank, thats pretty to look at, & something unique for my kids to watch.

Hi Travis,

First of all, overall seahorses are NOT difficult to keep. What you should/would be buying are captive bred seahorses from a reputable seahorse breeder. These are trained to eat frozen mysis shrimp....and they eat with gusto! The latest four I just purchased from seahorsesource.com eat 3 cubes of Hikari mysis a day plus some PE Mysis...and leave no leftovers. They eat very well!

A 15 gal is really on the small size for some of the large SH's available, but some species such as capensis would do well, however they require a tank temp of under 70F. I suppose it's possible to keep a pair of barbouri or small Kuda in a 15 gal but you may find yourself needing to upgrade to a larger tank.

All my tanks are "simple". I use a layer of sand, 1 lb of LR per gallon and a hang on filter. Do water changes once a week and keep the filter clean.

The seahorses can be easily trained to eat out of a feeding dish, which is something I'm sure your kids would enjoy.

You can get lots of information by reading posts on this website along with the two seahorses sites, syngnathid.org and seahorse.org.

If this is really something you want to get involved with so your kids can see these interesting creatures, you would really be better off starting with a larger tank such as a 29 gal tank. That way you wouldn't be limiting yourself to certain species and the seahorses would have much more room to roam around.

Tom

 

[Fredfish]

I would agree with Tom on the tank size. You can get a 29 gallon and keep the 15 for a refugium.

If you want to stick to a 15 gallon tank, you might consider pipefish as an alternative.

Fred

 

[grendl]

What about dwarf seahorses??? I understand a 15 islarge for them, but was thinking that it might be cool to have a 15 gallon with loads of em. Or would that be stupid for some reason that is beyond me?

 

[Fredfish]

Hopefully someone with dwarf experience will chime in, but from what I have read, you will have a hard time feeding them in a 15.

They eat live foods only and you need to get a good concentration of food. I suppose you could start out by dividing the tank and then remove the divider when your population is beyond a certain point.

Fred

 

[grendl]

LOL, I thought I would swing by a site dealing in the sales of these lads. I believe it will be awhile before I can afford a pair of these fellas. In fact, its more likely that I will equip a horse with SCUBA & drop it in a tank, than spend that kinda money on something that would be considered an experiment. hehe

Thanks guys for your help!!! Maybe one of the kids will be an MD to support this desperate addiction, THEN I can get me some ponies!