what is the easiest type of pipefish/seahorse

[Anthony.Luciano]

ok so i am restarting my 125 gallon reef, its going to be mixed but the only lps i want is really a hammer coral, frogspawn, and acans. i just want to keep 1 or 2 pipefish in there. i was leaning towards the dragonface because ive heard they are easier to care for and they are cheap, also ive seen one in someone else's amazing mixed reef tank. it was actually mostly lps with some sps and he had it there ever since he set up the tank until he tore it down. i fell in love with it. so im thinking this is a good choice. but then what are other ones that can live in a reef. also later on maybe over the summer or fall i am going to be setting up a 20 gallon seahorse tank because im 15 and i remember when i was a little kid my mom would always tell me she wanted seahorses for pets and ironically this year i became obsessed with saltwater tanks so now this dream of hers can become true. ive already plumbed an additional pipe for the separate tank in the future its connected to my return with a ball valve so all i need to do is set up the tank and overflow pipe and then connect it to the pump im already running. so i know 20 gallons isnt that big but can those really bright ones i believe its called the h. reidi. those very bright yellow ones because she wants a bright yellow one and a black one. can they be in the same 78 degree temperature that the reef has to be set at.

 

[MarySantos]

You are correct about the reidi, though you can find erectus in yellow. But they are more common in black. Very pretty and easy beginners. The problem with keeping the tank at 78 is that seahorses are prone to infection, caused by bacteria in the tank. Higher temps mean more bacteria, which means they will more than likely have issues. They can only be kept with very few fish also. I stress getting captive bred, and seahorse source is probably the highest recommended place to get them. I'm not familiar with corals, but if you can keep them at lower temps, that would be best. Good luck!!!

 

[Anthony.Luciano]

ok thanks for all the info. and since i rather keep the temp high for my corals, maybe i can go down a little to 77 but i dont think it will make much of a difference. how can i keep this bacteria out. can it be prevented from ever going into the tank like quarantining for ich. or is there something else i need to do to keep the bacteria from hurting them

You are correct about the reidi, though you can find erectus in yellow. But they are more common in black. Very pretty and easy beginners. The problem with keeping the tank at 78 is that seahorses are prone to infection, caused by bacteria in the tank. Higher temps mean more bacteria, which means they will more than likely have issues. They can only be kept with very few fish also. I stress getting captive bred, and seahorse source is probably the highest recommended place to get them. I'm not familiar with corals, but if you can keep them at lower temps, that would be best. Good luck!!!

 

[MarySantos]

"Water Temperature: 72 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit" via SeahorseSource.com. They are very reputable. So 77 will work, but it's the max, so watch very closely.

 

[con999]

i will never let my tank get above 74 and that seems to be max for most ppl

 

[Anthony.Luciano]

they would've loved the tank over the winter lol i could barley pull the temp above 70. but now i just got more heaters for a total of 1,000 watts so it goes up to my desired temp in just a couple of hours. if i lower it even to 76 will my reef still thrive with that temp. or what do you recommend the in between temperature? Thanks

 

[mikencarol]

My seahorse tanks stay 71-73 degrees...........

 

[rayjay]

Seahorses have been kept under many conditions and in temperatures even well above 80°F. The odds of succeeding long term under many conditions and higher temperatures, are very low but not impossible if you don't mind risking the lives of the seahorses to find out.
Connecting to a reef system, again can be done and has been done, but remember that temperature is not the only thing that can cause grief for the seahorses. Pathogens carried by other livestock in the reef system can be problematic for seahorses sometimes.
In fact, it is recommended to only keep seahorses bred in the same facility in one system. It doesn't mean it can't be done, only that the risks are great.
Seahorses are considered "dirty" feeders, because they often only consume a small portion of food fed to them that are "perfect" (in their mind at least) leaving the rest to either be eaten by micro life or clean up crew.
Now this extra nutrient is still in the tank even when consumed by the micro life and cleanup crew and sooner or later ends up feeding bacteria which is the number one seahorse problem IMO.
You can mitigate this scenario by doing diligent housekeeping and removing uneaten food soon after feeding time, or at least once a day.
Some hobbyists have found the extra nutrient in the water from seahorse feeding to be detrimental to some corals.

 

[darrien]

i leave my reef tanks between 70 and 73, all of my lps, sps, and zoas are doing woderful, you will be safe to drop the temp. if you already have coral in your tank, do the drop gradualy over the span of about a week

 

[isawill]

Would it be beneficial to have the seahorse tank connected to the reef but with a strong UV filtering the water going into it to help control potential pathogens?

 

[con999]

a uv isent going to stop them i think but i would what for rayjay to confirm

 

[NyReefNoob]

and you wouldnt want torch, frogspawn ect with tenicles with seahorse's ive had great success with my bluesided pipefish easily switched to eating mysis but they are little 2.5" and i keep my sh tank between 71-73