Are Seahorses right for me?

[_cpate3_]

OP, my biggest concern from all your posts will be the feeding 2-3 times a day. I know at your age, I didn't have a ton of reliability in my schedule and I definitely didn't want to feel tied down by my tanks. Seahorses are one of the rare animals that we keep that cant just go on an automatic feeder, and it's a lot of ask of parents/roomies to feed them properly 3 times a day in my opinion.

My classes are scheduled out to where I can feed in the morning at 9am before classes, at around 2 which is close to the 6 hours between feedings, and then again around 7pm which is again close to the 6 hour mark and not too late to where they can sleep. Worst case I can feed twice a day which is what most people say is alright

 

[_cpate3_]

Keep the flow wide & moderate No direct stream.
Purchase tank raised seahorses as they will already be trained to eat frozen foods.
Make sure there are no micro bubbles being produced in the tank.
Buy plastic chains from your local hardware store and mount them in rocks pvc…. For the sea horses to grab on to unless you go with artificial decor.

Definitely planning to go captive bred no questions asked.
For Aquascape I want to do a branching seeded life rock with macros and a plastic chain, eventually replacing with gorgonians

 

[SaltBabies]

I feel like they’d take up different spots of the tank though, the seahorses in the water column and the goby in the sand! But again with a 30 gallon bioload is an issue and a conch/Nassarius snails would be better for the sand than another fish

Yeah I'm more worried about bioload. The bioload increases vibrio which increases your chance of killing your seahorses. They will get along fine.

 

[SaltBabies]

I have a single pair in a 20g cube with quite a few learnings (plus some pipe fish). I absolutely love them. I would highly recommend setting up something for auto feeding. I have a weeks worth of frozen mysis loaded in a fridge with a doser on a timer.

Feeding frequency is the hardest thing. Automate that and you’re golden.

I’ve changed this a bit since for improvements:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/is-a-frozen-food-auto-feeder-a-thing.1003878/post-12276120

Make sure you have good bioload filtration. A nano roller + skimmer is a must (look at reef n roll).

And this set up has went 2 years and no dead seahorses?

 

[_cpate3_]

Yeah I'm more worried about bioload. The bioload increases vibrio which increases your chance of killing your seahorses. They will get along fine.

Speaking of bioload, I’ve heard not to use live rock because of worms or other stinging hitchhikers. Should I set up the tank dry or use live rock from one of my tanks or buy new live rock?

 

[thecodingart]

And this set up has went 2 years and no dead seahorses?

I’ve had 1 single issue unfortunately with an unknown cause (we reached out to a few specialists trying to dig into the root with the general consensus being that this thing sometimes just happens). Since, we’ve replaced with a new Seahorse and have been fine. It hasn’t been 2 years yet, the tank was spun up at the very start of this year.

 

[_cpate3_]

I’ve had 1 single issue unfortunately with an unknown cause (we reached out to a few specialists trying to dig into the root with the general consensus being that this thing sometimes just happens). Since, we’ve replaced with a new Seahorse and have been fine. It hasn’t been 2 years yet, the tank was spun up at the very start of this year.

How does the auto feeder work? I’m an engineering student so I’d love to hook up a contraption! Do they know feed directly from it and how long did it take for them to realize it? How do you control excess food if you’re not hand feeding especially in a 20 gallon?

 

[Northern Flicker]

My classes are scheduled out to where I can feed in the morning at 9am before classes, at around 2 which is close to the 6 hours between feedings, and then again around 7pm which is again close to the 6 hour mark and not too late to where they can sleep. Worst case I can feed twice a day which is what most people say is alright

I imagine it feels mostly controllable, but is this really a great plan in the long term? What if you want to stay away from your room for a while? What if you leave for a week?

Not trying to discourage you. My personal opinion is that seahorses and student life do not mix well. It ties you to the tank more than I think is healthy at that stage in life.

Remember they don’t really have stomach the way we do so unlike a fish, they don’t have a little nutrients sac to rely on if you are out and about.

Best of luck either way

 

[Doctorgori]

Speaking of bioload, I’ve heard not to use live rock because of worms or other stinging hitchhikers. Should I set up the tank dry or use live rock from one of my tanks or buy new live rock?

what! that’s plain wrong….
I’d get some gulf rock or a mix of dry and live …
…personally I’d get about 40lbs gulf rock for at least a 30g
emphasis on at least 30g
2nd the conch, narcissus cuc

 

[_cpate3_]

what! that’s plain wrong….
I’d get some gulf rock or a mix of dry and live …
…personally I’d get about 40lbs gulf rock for at least a 30g
emphasis on at least 30g
2nd the conch, narcissus cuc

Yeah I heard from multiple sources that the bristle worms and aptasia on live rock can harm the ponies. I was planning on just starting with live sand and caribsea liferock branches, and cycling for 2 weeks (or whatever it takes). With that the bacteria would not be well established and I’d have bioload issues for a while until it does establish which is why I wanted to use live rock from an LFS

 

[SaltBabies]

I’ve had 1 single issue unfortunately with an unknown cause (we reached out to a few specialists trying to dig into the root with the general consensus being that this thing sometimes just happens). Since, we’ve replaced with a new Seahorse and have been fine. It hasn’t been 2 years yet, the tank was spun up at the very start of this year.

That tail rot is usually caused by vibrio. Poor nutrient control will usually be problematic within 2 years. It’s partly why there are rumors that seahorse life span is about 2 years.

I have also had these issues especially when new to keeping them. But now I keep nutrients as low as possible and have a chiller. I’ve had them live 7 years but that death was vibrio not old age.

 

[_cpate3_]

That tail rot is usually caused by vibrio. Poor nutrient control will usually be problematic within 2 years. It’s partly why there are rumors that seahorse life span is about 2 years.

I have also had these issues especially when new to keeping them. But now I keep nutrients as low as possible and have a chiller. I’ve had them live 7 years but that death was vibrio not old age.

Another question, how would you go about moving seahorses? Since they are so delicate I don’t want to do my usual bucket route with them. I’ve moved my reef tank 4 times now using 6, 5 gallon buckets and some hopes and prayers. But with seahorses it seems different and I’d need a plan for the fact they would be moved only 1 time after the summer

 

[SaltBabies]

Yeah I heard from multiple sources that the bristle worms and aptasia on live rock can harm the ponies. I was planning on just starting with live sand and caribsea liferock branches, and cycling for 2 weeks (or whatever it takes). With that the bacteria would not be well established and I’d have bioload issues for a while until it does establish which is why I wanted to use live rock from an LFS

Bristleworms aren’t too bad if you have the smaller varieties and they aren’t fireworms. You can tell by touching them. I prefer spaghetti worms to bristle but they do help clean up. That being said irritation points from bristles can be points of infection.

Aptasia is not ideal and will thrive and spread with excess food.

I have a mix of dead rock and live rock

 

[SaltBabies]

Another question, how would you go about moving seahorses? Since they are so delicate I don’t want to do my usual bucket route with them. I’ve moved my reef tank 4 times now using 6, 5 gallon buckets and some hopes and prayers. But with seahorses it seems different and I’d need a plan for the fact they would be moved only 1 time after the summer

Seahorses are not fragile if kept correctly.

 

[thecodingart]

That tail rot is usually caused by vibrio. Poor nutrient control will usually be problematic within 2 years. It’s partly why there are rumors that seahorse life span is about 2 years.

I have also had these issues especially when new to keeping them. But now I keep nutrients as low as possible and have a chiller. I’ve had them live 7 years but that death was vibrio not old age.

Yeah, it definitely wasn’t old age (never said it was) and we treated for bacterial infections thinking something like this could be the cause. Although, nutrition and whatnot was well in the low range of measurements. Really had no idea what the starter was minus a mistake in temperature fluctuation as noted in the thread.

 

[thecodingart]

Seahorses are not fragile if kept correctly.

People really over exaggerate their fragility and over exaggerate the “low flow” need. They are low flow but not no flow. I have an MP10 in the tank on 20-30% ranges without causing them to struggle swimming or causing much sway.

 

[_cpate3_]

People really over exaggerate their fragility and over exaggerate the “low flow” need. They are low flow but not no flow. I have an MP10 in the tank on 20-30% ranges without causing them to struggle swimming or causing much sway.

Yeah I get that, kinda like an LPS coral where you want them waving but not blasted with flow. I plan to use a small powerhead running perpendicular to the outflow. My fragile question was for moving the tank. Would they be better in bags in a cooler, or would they be fine with a 5G bucket in a car. The move is 1 hour away

 

[DED65]

Another question, how would you go about moving seahorses? Since they are so delicate I don’t want to do my usual bucket route with them. I’ve moved my reef tank 4 times now using 6, 5 gallon buckets and some hopes and prayers. But with seahorses it seems different and I’d need a plan for the fact they would be moved only 1 time after the summer

If you need to move them, pick them up with your hands not a net. Put something in the bucket that they can hitch to. You need some biodiversity in the tank to help clean. Live rock is a good thing to have, hitch hikers can be dealt with. Aiptasia, though a nuisance, aren’t going to hurt the adults, babies yes.

 

[_cpate3_]

Seahorse breeder/long time keeper.

I think 30 is ok but maybe on the small side. Temperatures are one of the important aspects. If you keep the temps below 75 as referenced above that is going to help a lot with vibrio. The second thing is not allow lots of extra food laying about. Either a good clean up crew or you clean up after each feeding. I feed mysis but also live amphipods and shore shrimp as 'entertainment' and natural food.

They are compatible with lots of things but be careful with hard corals and some soft as the stinging can be a problem.

I don't generally have any trouble having someone else feed my seahorses. 'Training' yourself is easy. Keep the tank clean, the skimmer is good but cleaning the food out before it dissolves is better, and cool. Don't overstock. While you are talking 2 seahorse keep in mind that is 16 fish inches. They are heavy feeders. They are not aggressive (except to shrimp) but you can't stick a bunch more bio load in a 30 gallon tank.

How does pairing work? Do you have to get an established pair or can you buy 2. I know there’s specific rules for clowns size wise wondering if there’s any pairing rules for seahorses

 

[DED65]

How does pairing work? Do you have to get an established pair or can you buy 2. I know there’s specific rules for clowns size wise wondering if there’s any pairing rules for seahorses

They are very social and get along very well. Clowns are nuts!