I had to make that choice several months ago (I was always on seahorse.org), and decided that seahorses were my choice. I got them from seahorsesource.org (great seahorses!!!) I got the H. Kuda (one male and two females). They are not hard at all to take care of. No different than taking care of a clownfish. Just feed twice a day frozen Hikari mysis. Mine have been havng fry lately and I usually sell them to person who is up to the challenge of raising fry. So you also have option of making money to cover your expense. They are not that expensive. ($35ish).