As I understand, the only hermits that are considered safe for seahorses are the scarlet hermits (not blue or red legs).

Do go to seahorse.org and ask lots of questions. They are extremely helpful.

I too am going to set up a seahorse tank. What kind of seahorses are you getting? Many say erectus are the easiest (fry wise as well). I am actually leaning toward the barbs myself.

Lots of people on seahorse.org recommend seahorsesource.com. The guy that runs it is a member at seahorse.org and many people have bought from him. I have yet to see a bad comment.

Tank temp is what I am struggling with. They recommend keeping it less than 77. As you probably know, that is hard to do around here in the summer. I am hoping that fans will do the trick.

Don't forget to get things they can hitch to and keep flow around 5x your tank volume. (Eg: 10 gal tank flow= 50gph) Some people add more flow, but point it at the rock, the surface, and use diffusers.


Tank mates that can stay:

gobies and scarlet hermits

(peppermint shrimp are a good thing to add...control aptaisia which can sting.)

Tank mates that MIGHT work:

cleaner shrimp (sometimes these annoy/stress out the seahorses)

Percola clown (as long as it is a laid back individual...fast moving/feeding fish make seahorses nervous..be ready to move him if you need to)

flame scallop (I am not very familiar with their compatibility with seahorses...probably fine, but I would ask)

blue leg hermits (I would not, personally, take this risk. I have heard horror stories)

Tank mates that MUST NOT be included:

angel

sally lightfoot

anemones

any corals that can sting (seahorse.org has a list of safe ones...look under "library" then "lists" then "tankmates")

What size is your tank? I'm doing a 30 gallon with 2 or 3 pairs of horses.