my 75 gallon reef is doing very well these days and i am looking for a new chalange. i love the process of seting up new tanks. i was thinking about a seven gallon nano, but the got talking with somone about seahorses. i checked out a seahorse spacific websight but was unimpressed by the layout and info. anyone here ever kept them who could point me towards some good info or literature? want a smaller tank if possible can i do it in a 20?
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new tank idea what about seahorses
- Thread starter reefsRcool
- Start date
To easily maintain SH, the tank should not be large. Smaller the display tank, the easier to concentrate food and feed them. SH are not strong swimmer, nor do they exhibit "cruising" behavior. Large tank is not an requirement. Their tank should be relatively calm and lighting is not important.
However, If I have the chance to start over again, I would setup a smaller display tank 20Gal or less connected to a larger Refugium (37Gal +). Large water volume is critical to provide pristine water quality, and lush rate of reproduction of pods and zooplankton are essential for SH's survival. The display tank should have brightly colored "hitching posts" for them to grab on. I would recommend brighly colored gorgs or sponges (heh, keeping them is another challenge too.....). SH has ability to change their skin color to somewhat match the environment. So, if they are provided with brightly colored environment, their color will brighten up accordingly.
SH has short digestive tract, thus some food may not get thoroughly digested. It is imperative that you make sure your SH gets fed often. It is also very important that you train yours to feed on enriched frozen mysis to ensure their long term survival.
If you keep female and male together, you should also prepare a third tank ready to go as nursery tank for the baby SH. SH may eat their new born if they are really hungry. Baby SH should be fed newly hatched BS or rotifer, enriched.
However, If I have the chance to start over again, I would setup a smaller display tank 20Gal or less connected to a larger Refugium (37Gal +). Large water volume is critical to provide pristine water quality, and lush rate of reproduction of pods and zooplankton are essential for SH's survival. The display tank should have brightly colored "hitching posts" for them to grab on. I would recommend brighly colored gorgs or sponges (heh, keeping them is another challenge too.....). SH has ability to change their skin color to somewhat match the environment. So, if they are provided with brightly colored environment, their color will brighten up accordingly.
SH has short digestive tract, thus some food may not get thoroughly digested. It is imperative that you make sure your SH gets fed often. It is also very important that you train yours to feed on enriched frozen mysis to ensure their long term survival.
If you keep female and male together, you should also prepare a third tank ready to go as nursery tank for the baby SH. SH may eat their new born if they are really hungry. Baby SH should be fed newly hatched BS or rotifer, enriched.
i dident feel like spending close to a G on horses so now it's an angel sanctuary.
And damsel sanctuary eh Will :wink: ?
Seriously though, good point about Ocean Rider. All their seahorses are farm raised.
http://www.oceanrider.com/
if i remember oyur post i would just pull out that chunk or rock and set it on the floor till the little SOB dies then put it back in the tank, maybee stabbing at him with a screwdriver will quicken the proceess.
anyway back to the horses. what is the deal with their eating habits? if i am patient and get a nice pod population before introducing will i still need to start faming brine shrimp and skip work to come back and feed? are they truely that lousy at catching food? i am up for a chalange but there are reasonable limits. if i do this what is required of me to do it right.
anyway back to the horses. what is the deal with their eating habits? if i am patient and get a nice pod population before introducing will i still need to start faming brine shrimp and skip work to come back and feed? are they truely that lousy at catching food? i am up for a chalange but there are reasonable limits. if i do this what is required of me to do it right.
reefsRcool said:maybee stabbing at him with a screwdriver will quicken the proceess.:lol: :lol: now that sounds like a plan :lol: :lol:
They do not have good eyesights and do not move fast enough to chase after their food.........well, unless they are really hungry and maybe malnutritioned. Have you ever keep pipefish and seen them feed? Well, SH has eye sights like pipefish but lacks the speed and agility to move around like them. Also, if you intent to drop food around the SH, once food float past SH and SH totally missed it and the food hit the floor, they usually do not pick them back up. Another word, don't expect them to feed like "normal" fish.
BS is not a good food for them. Too much useless body shell and low in nutrition and fat content. You need to train your SH to take food (frozen mysis) from your hand otherwise they are not going to last long. If you expect them to rely solely on pods to sustain their life, you will either find them to starve in short period or quickly eat up all available pods in the tank and then starve to death.
You can try a pair of SH in a 7Gal nano first. After you have confidence, then move on to a bigger project. OR's farm raised SH is VERY expensive, but are much more disease resistent. SH in most LFS are almost all wild caught and are difficult to wean over to frozen feeds.
BS is not a good food for them. Too much useless body shell and low in nutrition and fat content. You need to train your SH to take food (frozen mysis) from your hand otherwise they are not going to last long. If you expect them to rely solely on pods to sustain their life, you will either find them to starve in short period or quickly eat up all available pods in the tank and then starve to death.
You can try a pair of SH in a 7Gal nano first. After you have confidence, then move on to a bigger project. OR's farm raised SH is VERY expensive, but are much more disease resistent. SH in most LFS are almost all wild caught and are difficult to wean over to frozen feeds.
Also, one more thing. Most SH are not tropical. Tank temp varies from specie to specie. Some prefer cold water, and most do not do well over 75F. OR's ponies can adapt up to 80 for short periods but it's much healthier for them to keep temp below 75F.
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