Seahorse Care

[cbayer]

I was wanting to put a seahorse in my 50 gal aquarium and was wandering how hard it was to keep one these guys alive. Also if you have any advice on which seahoreses are hardier then the others, please include that as well. I Know flow is a big factor but what else plays into the equation with these guys, like food and temp. I just dont want to buy one and it have no chance in my aquarium.

[cbayer]

Yea I have heard that your supposed to keep seahorses in a sseahorse only tank but I was just curious if anyone had any luck with them in their reef tank.

[Richard]

You can do a seahorse "reef tank" but you basically have to build the tank around the horses making sure that all tankmates and corals are seahorse compatible. If you get true captive bred horses they are raised on frozen food and are easy to feed. One of the biggest hurdles for most is that you generally want to keep the temp cooler than most reef tanks so you will likely need a chiller. 72-76F is recommended for most tropical species. Even lower for the temperate species.

Here's an older pic of my 92 corner so you can see if it's the type of tank you might like. I've enjoyed it. Things have grown in more but I don't have a current pic.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/166/402539192_dc713f2310_o.jpg

[JimD]

Hey, thats a pretty cool looking tank there Richard! I wouldnt mind seeing a recent shot of it. Are the lights on or off in this pic?

[Richard]

It's in my wife's office at work so I only see it when I go to do maintenance occasionally. I'll try to remember to take the camera next time.



Flow in a reef tank is way too much flow for seahorses.


That's kind of a misconception that seahorses need low flow. What they like is very good flow rate but lower current if that makes sense. The flow rate on this tank is at 12x but you diffuse the returns with spraybars so there is not strong turbulent current. The output on the canister filter that runs the chiller is not spread out with a spraybar. The horses will sometimes swim up to it and then do somersaults as they are blown across the tank. At first I thought it was a problem but then I figured out they were doing it on purpose...just playing. If I put live ghost shrimp in they can swim right past it while chasing the shrimp without a problem.

[Richard]

Are the lights on or off in this pic?


They are on but with the flash it kind of looks like they're not. I just have 2 150w 20k de's on it. And they are only on together for 2 hrs/day.

[cbayer]

Well here is what I have in my tank now. Do you think any of these would cause a problem with a seahorse.

Copperbamd Butterfly
Flame Angel
Small Blue Tang
Pipefish
Dartfish
Green Mandarin
Watchmen Goby

[Jeff]

yes they are. you could keep the pipefish and manderin and maybe the dartfish but that is it.

[leliataylor]

I raise seahorses and currently have 9 seahorse only tanks. They will not survive in a tank with fast moving aggressive fish. They move and feed slowly, so other fish will out compete them for food. Since they are relatively sedentary, using their prehensile tail to attach to anything, they do not mix well with anything that can sting or grab their tails (i.e stinging corals, crabs, aggressive shrimp, anemones, etc.) They are not great swimmers so a strong current will knock them around and cause fatigue. They will play in a strong current, however they need quiet areas with hold fasts. Captive raises seahorses will eat frozen Mysid, Wild caught seahorses require live food and a very difficult to train to eat frozen food. Since they like to hide, blending in with their surroundings, changing color to match their hold fasts, high intensity lighting will induce further stress. I hope this helps.

[loans_n_fishes]

Sounds like you are getting great advice, but check out seahorse.org for even more in depth information.

Types of horses: I recommend H. Erectus. They seem to be rather hardy and I have been told the young are easier to raise. I haven't had much luck yet myself, but perhaps the next batch will work out.

I have not found seahorses difficult to keep, but the difficulty comes when raising the babies and treating diseases. In addition to your tankmates not being compatible, the reef system/fish would likely have pathogens that could hurt them as well.

Getting seahorses is a great excuse for setting up a new tank. ;) A seahorse setup is MUCH cheaper than setting up a reef tank b/c you don't need the expensive lights or a lot of sand or additives, etc. You DO need a good filter b/c they are pretty messy.

I love my seahorse tank! It is 18" long x 18" wide x 32" tall. I think it is a perfect tank for horses. They seem to really like swimming up and down in it. The breeding display is beautiful in this tank. I am actually wanting to make it an algae display tank as well. So, I guess I will need to upgrade the lights a little. There are some beautiful algaes out there that rival corals in my opinion.