The family syngnathidae consist of seahorses, pipefish and sea dragons. Sea dragons are indigenous to Australia and are not readily available to the hobbyist. Several species of pipefish are readily available in the aquarium trade, however they are normally wild caught individuals. Pipes have been raised in captivity with limited success and CB individuals are not readily available. The genus hippocampus, aka seahorses, are the only group that are readily available to the hobbyists as captive bred individuals. Due to the difficulty in keeping non captive bred syngnathids alive long term their care is best left to experts. That being said, many species of seahorses have either never been raised in captivity or have been raised with limited success. The most commonly available species are those that have been bred in captivity for multiple generations and have proven to be the easiest to keep. At the top of the list would be H. erectus (lined seahorse). They can reach 8+ inches, have been know to live 10 years or more and are one of the easiest species to raise. This is why they are considered the best choice for a new seahorse keeper.
In this article I will discuss different requirements of some of the more common species of seahorses that have been breed in the US, selection and acclimation of your new seahorses, tank selection and set up, feeding your new seahorses and potential problems that may arise. Many people that venture into the world of seahorses have reported them to be delicate and hard to keep. They are actually very hardy and understanding their unique requirements will go a long way in ensuring your success with them . Starting off right, from the beginning, will enable you to successfully keep these lovely fish..
Know Your Seahorses
Before deciding to set up a tank for seahorses you need to decide which species you plan on keeping. Commonly available captive bred seahorses can grow from 1” to over 12” as adults. Your tank size will dictate what species you can potentially keep. Another factor to consider is the temperature requirements of different species. Some seahorses are tropical and prefer temperatures between 70-74’, others are subtropical and best kept at 67-70’, and a few are temperate/cold water species which need to kept below about 66’.
Requirements of some captive breed seahorse species:
Tropical Species 70-74’
H. comes - Tigertail
(reef dwellers as adults)
H. erectus –Lined
(easiest to keep)
H. kuda – Smooth
(May actually be multiple species)
H. reidi – Brazilian
(very difficult to raise)
H. zosterae – Dwarf
(Require live food)
Subtropical Species 67-70’
H. ingens – Pacific
(huge seahorse)
Temperate Species <66’
H. abdominalis – Pots
(very social and outgoing)
Minimum tank volume for most of these species is 29 gallons for a single pair and coincides with their adult length which is 8-9". There are three exceptions. Dwarf seahorses only grow to 1-1.5" and can be housed in a tank as small as 5 gallons. H. ingens and H. abdominalis can grow to 12+' and a single pair is cramped in a 65 gallon tank.
Photos of a male H. comes, H. erectus and H. ingens
Last edited by leliataylor; Tue, 21st Apr 2015 at 10:30 AM.
Avoid impulse purchases of seahorses or buying them because they look ill and you want to help them. Many seahorses that are available locally have been raised in nets or pens established in the ocean in Southeast Asia. They typically are quite small about 2” in length and in poor condition. These seahorses need to be treated for internal and external parasite and trained to eat frozen food, as do any wild caught individuals. They are best left to expert keepers who normally will only purchase them if it is a species they want to work with that is not available as captive bred.
True captive bred seahorses are available from a few commercial and hobbyists breeders, as well as, some retailers. They are already trained to eat frozen food, should not require treatment for parasites and are larger in size, normally in the 3 ½” + range. Do keep in mind most CB seahorses are housed in barebottom tanks with artificial hitches, as such, suddenly adding them to a strange tank in a environment they have never seen before can cause additional stress. It is best to quarantine them in a barebottom tank for at least 3-4 weeks to ensure they are eating and to observe them for any signs off disease. Increased respiration, attempting to ingest food without success, lumps, patchy discoloration on the body or tail, emaciation and scratching are just a few things to look out for and if possible avoid.
Buying seahorses based on color alone is not a good selection technique. There are people that sell them based on color and often times ask a much higher price. The pinto strain of erectus is one example. As juveniles they have large areas of white giving them a very striking appearance. Once they mature they will loose their pinto markings and look like any other erectus. Seahorses do readily change color and will rarely look the same for long. Normally their most striking coloration occurs during courtship.
A word of caution, if you don’t want fry do not purchase a pair of seahorses. Seahorses do well in same sex tanks and many people find trying to keep up with fry rearing to be a daunting task. Males have a brood pouch which is used to incubate the eggs and they deliver live fry. The number of fry they will deliver varies from a few to a thousand + depending on the species.
A pair of comes after completing a egg transfer. The female is hitched to the male. Note the difference in body shape between them.
The tank sizes listed above are the minimum size recommended for a single pair and is not a optimal habitat for any of these species. Seahorses will use as much tank space as you can give them, they just do it more slowly than many other genera of fish. It is also much easier to maintain stable water parameters in larger tanks. Seahorses are predatory fish with no stomach. Because of this it has been estimated that about 30% of what they ingest is released back into the tank as waste. A 58 gallon tank, with a 29 gallon sump makes a wonderful seahorse tank for some of the larger species.
Water parameters should be carefully monitored especially when first adding fish to a tank. Your specific gravity can range from 1.020-1.023, pH should be 8.2, ammonia 0, nitrites ideally should be 0, nitrates are generally not a problem for seahorses.
Good flow is essential in a seahorse tank to aid in flushing detritus into the filter. A turnover rate of 10-20 times the tank volume per hour is recommended. Circulation pumps can also be added, along with open ended airlines. Yes seahorses actually seek out areas of higher flow, hitch in them and swim into a strong current. This does require that intakes on pumps be covered with a fine enough mesh so that they can not get their tails caught by a impeller. Flare nozzles can be used on the returns to help diffuse some of the flow. The key is higher flow that is diffused throughout the tank.
A CB female dancing with her own reflection in front of a return pushing about 350 GPH.
Filtration can be done with sumps, canister filters or HOB filters, in addition to a protein skimmer. Keep in mind your filtration will need to be capable of handling the large bioload seahorses will place on your tank. A sump that is at least 30% the size of your tank works well. A good protein skimmer, rated for 2-3 times your tank volume is recommended. They are designed to remove dissolved organics compounds, which seahorses produce in large quantities. It is beyond the scope of this discussion to go into detail on the efficacy of different filtration systems. Filtration is a emerging topic that seems to change constantly. Bottom line is your filtration system will be dependent on the amount of water changes you are willing to do.
Tanks can be set up with either a sand bed or barebottom. There are pros and cons to either system. The advantage to a barebottom tank is it is much easier to see and remove any excess waste. Tanks with sand beds are aesthetically more appealing, however they are harder to clean. If you decide to go with a sand bed use a fine grain sand to help reduce the amount of waste that gets trapped in the substrate.
Lighting comes down to a matter or personal preference. Two things to keep in mind are the amount of heat lights generate and seahorses will require shaded areas they can hide in. LED’s seem to work the best since they run coolest.
Aquascaping should provide a number of areas for hitching and hiding. When planning your tank décor remember that seahorses will readily move between and through objects placed in their tank. Decorations like roman columns or plastic chains are just large enough for some seahorses to get their head in, however their bodies will not fit. Sadly, this has precipitated the death of more than one individual. It is best to set up a tank with areas for free swimming and other areas where they can hitch or hide. This can be achieved by placing any rockwork more toward the center of the tank and leaving open areas on the sides and front. Avoid setting up a tank with live rock that may contain aiptasia, bristle worms, hydroids, crabs, etc. Starting with dry rock is the safest way to go.
A well aerated tank is also essential due to their rudimentary gill structure. A opened ended airline works well for increasing oxygenation in the tank and provides another hitch for them. You will also find they seem to enjoy a good bubble massage. Many people also use strategically placed airlines to prevent the build up of detritus around rock work.
Heaters are not required in a seahorse tank as they do better cooler water. In reality keeping your temperature down can become a challenge in S. Texas. A chiller is not essential for tropical species as long as you have other means of cooling your tank. Fans will typically reduce your tank temperature by 2-3’. Keep in mind, erectus have been found as far north as Nova Scotia in some very cool waters.
Feeding
Captive bred seahorses are already trained to eat frozen mysis shrimp, with the exception of dwarf seahorses which will require a continuous supply of live food. Hikari, PE and SFB are three brands that are readily available. Live foods can help supplement their diet as long as they are disease free. Common live snacks for larger seahorses include mysis shrimp, ghost shrimp, peppermint shrimp and amphipods. Copepods and baby brine shrimp are exclusively for fry or dwarfs. Brine shrimp have very little nutritional value and do need to be enriched if they are going to be fed to seahorses. When feeding adult seahorses, give them just enough that they will consume all the food in 30-45 minutes. It is easier to add more food to a tank than it is to remove uneaten food. Adults should be fed twice a day and younger seahorses at least 3-4 times a day.
Potential Problems
Common signs of disease include rapid respiration, lack of eye movement, attempting to ingest food without success aka. “weak snick”, loss of appetite, lethargy, positive buoyancy, discoloration or lumps on the body or tail and abnormal behavior, such as hanging upside down or laying on the substrate. Many of these problems can be resolved without antibiotic therapy simply by improving your water quality and reducing your tank temperature.
Mixing different genera of syngnathids can prove fatal to all tank occupants. Captive bred pipefish are not readily available in the US and normally require a source of live food, as well as deworming. They can also harbor pathogens your CB seahorses have never seen.
Mixing different species of seahorses is also not recommended. They can carry different pathogens that they are resistant to, but can prove fatal to a non resistant individual.
Avoid aggressive/fast swimming fish, things with stinging tentacles, organisms that snap shut like clams or have large pincers like crabs and some shrimp.
Temperature spikes can prove fatal to seahorses. Living in S. Texas you may want to consider adding a chiller to your tank. Seahorses handle cooler temperatures much better than heat.
You purchased a pair of female seahorses and one of them develops a pouch. Fry are now inevitable. Below is a photo of a few newborn ingens delivered by a single mail.
If you encounter any problems with your seahorses please contact me ASAP. I would much rather respond early and find nothing wrong, than see someone waiting to long and I can no longer help them.
Summary
Syngnathids are a hardy family of fish and when kept under optimal conditions can live for years. There is a great deal of misinformation in regards to their husbandry which can shorten their lives. It is best to start with healthy individuals from a known source. Tank requirements vary from one species to another and need to be designed to accommodate their specific needs.
Beginners Guide to Seahorse Keeping
Reply With Quote
