Seahorses

[leliataylor]

I have 2 CB pairs of H. comes (tiger tails) and one non-CB pair. They are starting to produce fry on a regular basis and am wondering if anybody in S. Texas is keeping seahorses? Moving forward, I can only raise so many fry and was wondering if there a people on MAAST that are interested in working with seahorses?

[Southern Flame]

I would like to just don't have a tank setup yet my boys want sea horses.

[leliataylor]

Let me know if you decide to set up a seahorse tank. I will gladly answer any questions you might have. Although not as stunning as a beautiful reef tank with coral and fast moving fish, they do have their own merit as they dance and change color. They can be housed in as little as a 5 gallon tank for dwarf seahorses, just have to watch your tank parameters like a hawk.

[JerryD120]

My wife is interested in setting up a seahorse tank. Sending you a PM.

[ducati996]

I was intrested in raising them as well but worried about how hard it is to raise the fry compared to clownfish?

[leliataylor]

The level of difficulty in raising seahorses varies greatly depending on the species you choose. Species that produce larger bethnic fry, such as erectus, are much easier to raise. The fry can be housed in a 20-29 gallon cycled tank and are able to consume NHBBS at birth. The species that produce tiny pelagic fry are significantly more difficult to raise and do best on copepods for the first few weeks of life. Raising enough pods even for a single brood can be a daunting task. Another factor to consider is the fry true CB seahorses typically produce are much larger and easier to raise than those from WC pairs. Unlike clownfish which will accept dead prey very early on, seahorse fry take a much longer time to convert to frozen food. You have to maintain a continuous supply of live food over several months and grade it by size as the fry grow. Their rudimentary gill structure and trigger mechanism, for ingesting food, are also very sensitive to ciliate infestations. If all that isn't enough, you have to find a way to keep the fry out of the filtration as they are being born.

Are they easy? NO. Is it worth it? YES.

P.S. I currently have about 30 beautiful bouncing baby comes ranging in age 1-3 months. I have to keep my numbers small to be able to provide enough live food for all of them.

[Flyride95]

I'm actually setting up a seahorse tank right now. I will be contacting you soon :)

[leliataylor]

What size tank are you cycling, are you using a sump or canister filter and what species are you thinking of keeping?

I would highly recommend buying only true CB seahorses. They will already be trained to eat frozen and will generally begin feeding within a hour after arrival. Do keep in mind they are a predatory fish and as such will produce a large amount of waste. Also, buy same sex individuals if you don't want fry.

[Europhyllia]

Your life look like this: clean, feed, clean some more, clean again, feed some more, clean some more lol. Activities will have to be timed so you can be home to clean and feed some more. Looking through my old thread with the fry pics and videos really does make me remember how awesome it was though. Thanks for all the help you have given me in this adventure Cheryl.

[leliataylor]

You are welcome Karin. Someday, when you have more time, I predict you try raising seahorses again. They are just so darn adorable.

I was observing some of my newborn fry I had placed in a glass of water with pods and saw something I have never seen before. The fry approached a nice large pod carrying eggs. At first the pod tried to swim away, then fry then began to target the pod and the pod hopped straight down. By the time the fry got its head down, the pod had already hopped straight up. This up down sequence repeated itself at least 15 times in a matter of seconds and reminded me of a cross eyed cat trying to catch a mouse. The fry was moving his head so fast up and down trying to catch the pod and the pod was always one jump ahead of him. He finally gave up and swam off and I heard mutter "Psychopod" under his breath as he moved on. Pods 1, seahorses 0.

Here is a photo of one of the newborn fry the same pair produced in December 2012. The age and condition of the parents makes a huge difference.

Finally, my new 60 gallon seahorse grow out tank that I am cycling with pure ammonia and Fritz Turbo Start 900. I have been getting a lot of kidding that now all I need are young seahorse to add to it. The part that scares me is I already have youngsters that are ready to move in.

[leliataylor]

I almost forgot, one of the same fry at 3 days old, taken this morning.

[vordonez]

Hi Lilia,
I am thinking about raising some sea horses.I currently run a reef tank a 29 gal which consist of clams sps,lps,softies.I am a fan of deep sand beds and refuguiums to export nutrients. I currently set up a 17 gal nano tank that just finish cycling , using a 4" deep sand bed live rock and growing culerpra on the sand bed with a hob skimmer and a small Koraila power head for circulation.My only concern for keeping sea horses is maintaining ideal water temp. On my 29 gal reef I have the temp at 78 F which is fine , but i read online that a seahorse tanks needs to be cooler between 70-74 F.Is this true? At what temp do you keep you seahorses, does it depend on the species?

[leliataylor]

Yes, seahorses require different temperatures based on the species. I keep my tanks between 70-72' during the summer and 68' during the winter. Vibrio can be a major problem with seahorses kept a higher temperatures, above 74'. A 17 gallon tank will be too small for any of the larger seahorses, such as, comes, reidi, erectus, ingens, abdominalis, etc. A 17 gallon tank would be best suited for some of the smaller species, such as, fuscus or breviceps, if you can find them. Abdominalis and ingens are best kept below 68' and require a chiller. They also get very large and will dwarf a 65 gallon tank. The other species I have mentioned should be housed in at least a 29 gallon tank for a single pair. Another factor to consider is seahorses will hitch to anything so any powerheads need to be carefully covered so their tails can not come in contact with the impeller. I hope this information helps.

[Richardstockett]

I am interested in getting a pair of seahorses. Please contact me 210-262-9321 or Stockett.richard@yahoo.com
i have 4 tanks that have been up for about a year. Some longer than others.

[leliataylor]

Richard, I do not have any seahorses for sale. I am currently working on raising my second generation of CB comes, not a great species for a new seahorse keeper. A single pair should be housed in a minimum of a 29 gallon tank when they are young. As they mature erectus can grow to 8+ inches and will dwarf a 59-65 gallon tank. They can live 8+ years and continue to grow throughout their life. I will try to contact you asap, however I have a human grandson due tomorrow which may place everything on hold.