Well, not quite that long... just a little over a year. But it was keeping two seahorses that I caught that got me totally and incurably hooked on saltwater aquaria, to the extent that I have been getting rid of all my freshwater tanks, fish and plants (almost done now!).
My two original local caught H. erectus lasted a year. Then I bought (mail order from Live Aquaria) four H. kelloggi -- they were tiny, but did eat well... they lasted a few months and then all succumbed to a skin disease. My collecting trips this Fall yielded no Seahorses (but plenty of Pipefish, four of who are still doing great). So, next, I bought four H. kuda (or so I was told) from a MR vendor -- these supposed "tank raised" ponies wouldn't touch frozen Mysis -- the only thing they would eat was live adult brine shrimp, but despite my supplying them with plenty, all four of them died within two weeks!
Next I got a pair of ORA bred horses -- LFS said they were H. erectus, but they are definitely not -- Todd Gardner of Atlantis Marine World told me they were either H.reidi, or H. kuda. At any rate they are GREAT! I've had them about two months now and seen them do their mating dance twice. Unfortunately, I have neither the time nor equipment to even attempt to save and raise the young, but it's definitely a future project.
As Anthony mentioned, I have a live cam on my tank 24/7. My problem is that these posts here on MR are "Googlable" -- which means once I post the password for my web cam, it won't be long before the whole world has it and can look into my living room!!! So here's the deal... I will allow you guys to look in on my tank for one week, then, sorry, but I'll have to change the password.
http://grippocam.viewnetcam.com:5000/
User name: seahorse
Password: jaasthread
click on "Single" -- Enjoy!
Sorry this was so long! I get carried away when talking ponies! They are magical creatures.
George
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