Want to set up a 5 gallon Seahorse tank.

[kvn1691]

I have a 5 gallon tank with a 36w compact fluorescent ballast. It has 4lbs of live rock and live sand in it, with 2 Red sea xenia frags. I want to get a pair of seahorses but I dunno what i need for the tank. Please Help!!!

 

[fox2589]

seahorses do best in taller tanks..i would say a 5 gallon is no where near big enough IMO..-drew

 

[ReefNutPA]

Unfortunately, what you'll need for a pair of seahorses is a much larger tank. None of the medium/larger species of seahorses would survive in a 5 gal tank. Sorry.

Tom

 

[kvn1691]

Not even dwarf seahorses?

 

[Elysia]

Dwarfs (dwarves?) would be okay in a 5 gallon tank, although you would probably want more than two as they are extremely small fish. Also, you would have to decide if the tank was appropriate for the dwarfs (filtration and such) and whether you would want to keep the live rock in the tank (the dwarfs require live brine shrimp, which often stimulates the growth of hydroids from live rock, which can in turn sting and kill the fragile dwarf seahorses.)

 

[kvn1691]

They only eat brine shrimp?

 

[rayjay]

They will also eat young mysids, copepods and other such small live foods, but live brine shrimp (BBS) are the fastest to raise in quantities that work for dwarf seahorses. H. Zosterae
Recommended minimum tank size for a pair of other seahorses would be 29 tall.

 

[ReefNutPA]

Most dwarf keepers feed solely a diet of newly hatched brine shrimp. It's better to vary the diet and feed newly hatched brine, enriched 24 hour old brine, enriched copepods. But yes, dwarfs only eat live food and yes you will have to hatch & feed live brine 2 to 3 times per day.

The tank you mention, however, is at risk for hydroids. Most dwarf keepers start with sterile rock and/or treat their tank with panacur before adding dwarfs. However, not sure the Xenia would survive that.

Dwarfs are rather time consuming...and require setups for hatching brine, enriching brine, keeping copepods, etc. If you have the time/space/money they are fun to watch. IMO, the larger seahorses are less work - but you would need at least a 20 gal tank for a pair.

Tom