wife wants to try

[Bovetek]

I have had a SW tank for about 3 years and have always wanted to include my wife in the hobby but she just wasnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t into it until she saw some seahorses in an LFS we stopped in during the holidays. However, her research has been one conflicting thing after another. So here I am. She has decided on Dwarves for now as room constraints are a problem. So far I have located a 5 gal tank that I will drill and add an over-flow with a Ã"šÃ‚½Ã¢â"šÂ¬Ã‚ bulkhead. From there it will drain into my existing sump/fuge for my 90 gal reef tank. The flow will be approximately 150 gph. Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m hoping the flow wonââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t be to strong if I diffuse it using a reverse flow UG filter. Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ll use CC for substrate.
Now for the questions we a most confused about.
1. Salinity- I keep my tank at 1.025 is this ok?
2. Temperature-my tank is 78*
3. Macro Algae-is this for hitching post, nitrate removal or what. I have cheato in the refugium.
4. clean-up crew. What species will be beneficial without predation on her little ponies.
5. Feeding. Will Dwarves eat anything else other than baby brine shrimp. I also raise FW angelfish and I decap and hatch BBS daily on 12 hour intervals. Weââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ve read where some SH can be trained to a feeding station is this true for Dwarf SH?
I sure hope Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m not confusing you all with these questions. We have not yet gotten any Seahorses. Weââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢re still at the planning stage. Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ve got the tank and plumbing materials but I donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t want to rush into this just to find out it wonââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t be right for the ponies.
Thanks for listening and any advice will be greatly appreciated. Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m also sure these same questions have been asked a billion times.

 

[Fredfish]

Your salinity is fine. The temp may be on the high side. I have no experience with dwarf horses though.

150gph through a 5g seems like a lot of flow, even distributed.

Macro is for both and for cover. Your horses will be very nervous in a bare tank. Keep in mind that they come from a seagrass environment.

nobody has really had any success with anything other than bbs for food. They seem to need live.

Good question on the cleanup crew and one I can't answer since I have not kept dwarves. OTOH with 15o gph flowthrough you won't have much to clean up!

Yup, these questions have been asked a lot of times. We really ought to get a stickey at the top of this forum.

Fred

 

[yahutch]

please know that I am not trying to be discouraging , there is always more than one way of doing things , just suggesting some things to consider . they are deffinately worth keeping and I am sure your wife will more than enjoy them . I think that will be to much flow . they really are not strong swimmers and will get smacked into walls and sucked into overflows. that temp. would be too high as well . the only issues I ever had with any of my seahorses was always high temp. related . they are just soo much healthier/happier in the low to mid 70's . I was also told a lower salinity is better for disease control as well , I keep all my horses at 1.022 ,however others are successful keeping them higher . by having them plumbed with your other tank or having them with anything live , you also run the risk of hydroids ( jellies ) which can sting and kill the dwarfs ( might want to read up on these nasties ).. if you choose to risk the hydroids any smaller snails will do . I have a few dwarfs and only a few ( captive bred and raised by me) that I have been able to train to frozen cyclopeeze and the food must swim right past them for them to eat it , so I would think a feeding dish is out with these little guys and most likely live foods for life . not sure on crushed coral with the dwarfs , but there have been reports with the larger horses of it causing sores on their tail tips as they drag their tails across it . I prefer sand anyway as that is what they have in the wild , but that is only my opinion . I ( along with others ) really like the azoo palm filter with these guys . it has an adjustable flow and is cheap.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=9821&N=2004+22769
there is also a dwarf forum with lots of info. on seahorses.org
happing reading and seahorse keeping . enjoy !

 

[Sk8r]

I hate to say in these days of really neat seahorse tanks and enlightened care, but my first experience with them was two fairly large ones in a 2 gallon with a bubbler and a floating hydrometer. The male had gotten pinned by a falling rock at the lfs and they were a pair: I offered to take them for a song, since the lfs thought he would be dead by sundown and wasn't taking any measures to prevent it. He recovered. They lived quite happily in my minitank for six months, with a gooseneck lamp for heat and light during the winter; in total ignorance of what to do, I fed them quite nicely on live brine shrimp---until some neighbors held a cocktail party in our ancient rowhouse and the incredibly thick cigarette smoke got into our apartment, so badly we were stuffing towels under our doors. Did for them both---I was beyond upset. The point is---a) they're pretty tough and adaptable if the current is gentle enough to let them catch their food b) they're real sensitive to pollutants.

 

[Bovetek]

Thank You all so much. I'm really glad I posted here. After reading some more of the posts, I'm rethinking my thinking on flow. I was hoping that by running the return into the the under-gravel filter it would really spread out the force of the flow. Instead of the return water splashing in from the top, it would come up from the bottom thru the CC. But after reading what you all advised here...I may use virgin sand and no UGF, but I still would like to have a sump/fuge. Mainly for the extra water volume. That way my perameters might be easier to controll if there's a problem. SOoooo back to the drawing board.
thanks again

 

[whatnot45]

If it is indeed hooked up to your 90 gallon tank which I assume has live rock, you will either want to treat your entire systom with panacur, or rethink that aspect of it as well. The main issue with dwarf seahorses is hydroids. Almost all marine tanks that contain live rock have them, and they are deadly to dwarf seahorses. While you may not see them in their adult forms, they exist. They sting the dwarfs, and eat their fry. They normally pose no threat at all to aquariums, because they are (forgot the word lets just say baby free floating state). Any ways, dwarf seahorses eat baby brine shrimp, and so do hydroids. When the baby hydroids are fed, they grow into the adult stinging hydroids that can kill dwarfs. I would suggest having a simple five gallon tank with a small 2 1/2 to 10 gallon refugium treated with panacur, a pet dewormer that kills hydoids. You dont even need a refugium or sump at all. I keep my dwarfs in a five gallon hexaquarium with a sponge filter, and intank brine shrimp hatchery. They are doing great, and starting to reproduce.

 

[panmanmatt]

What ever you do, DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT add panacure to anything that will have contact with your reef tank. Panacure is deadly to most inverts and corals. It also can take years, and may never come out of your system. I personally know of folks that have used Panacure in a tank 2 years ago that to this day still will not support most algae eating snails and some corals.