Wanting to start Seahorse tank

[fd678]

My wife is wanting to start a seahorse tank and I am more than willing to provide if it gets her interested in the hobby, but I have been looking all over the web for info on seahorse care and I see lots of contradicting views. I thought maybe someone on here who actually has them could give me some good information on tank size, filtration, etc..

Thanks

 

[bevoboy]

Depends on the species and how many you want. If you just want a pair, around 30G nano all-in-one will work. They require tank temps quite a bit cooler than a reef tank so T5/PC/LED is best. Seahorses are messy so you will need good filtration and some type of macro. They do well in moderate flow but there need to be some low flow spots for them to take refuge. No stinging corals so you're pretty much limited to softies and zoas. They need something upright to clutch with their tail. You can buy dried sea fans, these work great and look pretty cool.

You will want captive bred SHs since they are less likely to carry parasites or disease. Also likely to be eating frozen foods already, which is a big benefit. Buy direct from a breeder if you can.

 

[Octoshark]

They don't have true stomachs and therefore must make up for it by eating more frequently. So you will need to make sure you stay on top of your feeding schedule, and as stated above, this extra feeding leads to water quality issues that you will also need to stay on top of.

 

[Octoshark]

P.S - Check out www.SeahorseSource.com

 

[timinnl]

My wife is wanting to start a seahorse tank and I am more than willing to provide if it gets her interested in the hobby, but I have been looking all over the web for info on seahorse care and I see lots of contradicting views. I thought maybe someone on here who actually has them could give me some good information on tank size, filtration, etc..

Thanks

Greetings from Amsterdam,

One thing is true about seahorses, they are HIGHLY ADDICTIVE!:inlove::inlove::inlove:

H. reidi & H. erectus are great seahorses. They are truely captive bred. Avoid the H. kuda if you can. They are Tank Raise & come with a whole host of problems.

The all-in-one are iffy when it comes to temp control. Others will tell you the pro & cons of this system.

A lot of people like to keep their seahorses in a tank with overflow, skimmer & sump. This set up does a great job handling the bio-load of the seahorses.

Tim

 

[whipit]

+1 on the above info here is a good site that I am using
http://www.seahorse.org/
I am turning one of my 55 gallon tanks into a pony tank this tank is not reef ready and seahorses are messy so I plan on using 2 remora pro hob skimmers and my fuge on this tank has been running for 2 years and full of pods. if you look around on the ubove site it will also help you to decide good tank mates for your captive bred seahorses and also corals that are compatible..
I am planning 2 pair of mated reidi's and 1 pair of erectus.
I also plan to purchase mine from seahorse source

 

[fd678]

Thank you guys so much, I am looking at a custom glass tank that is24" tall, 24" wide and 10 or 12" deep. I would most likely have one pair (not sure which breed yet).
Do you guys have clean up crews in your seahorse tanks?
Would HOB filters and skimmers provide they required flow?
Could I grow Chaeto in the tank with them to help water quality, give them something to grab and for raising pods?

Sorry for all the questions!

 

[timinnl]

Thank you guys so much, I am looking at a custom glass tank that is24" tall, 24" wide and 10 or 12" deep. I would most likely have one pair (not sure which breed yet).
Do you guys have clean up crews in your seahorse tanks?
Would HOB filters and skimmers provide they required flow?
Could I grow Chaeto in the tank with them to help water quality, give them something to grab and for raising pods?

Sorry for all the questions!

Can you do it 24 all the way around?

Any & all marcoalgae is very good for the tank. I run a tunze skimmer on H. reidi tank. On my H. reidi & H. comes tanks, I started with 90% dry base rock cycled using the ammonia method. The 10% live rock was QT for a month. During that time in QT, I removed some small mantis shrimp, some crabs & killed off some glass nems.

 

[fd678]

I could probably do 24 all the way. I was also planning on starting with dry base rock and cycling it for quite a while with my macro in the tank giving the pods a chance to populate.

Do you have sand substrate, or bare bottom?

 

[timinnl]

I could probably do 24 all the way. I was also planning on starting with dry base rock and cycling it for quite a while with my macro in the tank giving the pods a chance to populate.

Do you have sand substrate, or bare bottom?

I use 75% carbrib indoblack & 25% white sand in all my tanks. I like the look of it. I find that I need to trim the macroalgae every three to four weeks.

 

[heranatomy]

Here are one of the best articles I've seen that help any new person start out a seahorse tank: http://www.seahorse.org/library/articles/SeahorseFactsAndInfo.shtml

Good luck!