Cope/Amphipod Enough Supplemental Food?

[Averhoeven]

I have a nearly 2 year old 180g SPS tank with a 40g sump and refugium as my main display tank. I also have a 28g lagoon style tank plumbed into that system. The lagoon has mangroves and relatively slow flow into it. I originally built this for my mini angler, but it seems relatively empty with just him. I thought it would be cool to have a pair of horses in there with him.

However, I'm gone the whole day and there's little chance my wife will want to feed horses multiple times per day. So my question is: in a tank that size that has had ample time for microfauna growth and has numerous protected areas for them to grow, would they be enough to supplement a once per day feeding for a pair of horses or dragon fish? I would ensure I get ones who eat frozen which the rest of the system gets every day. My guess is no, but I thought I'd ask.

 

[Spare time]

Don't put seahorses in with an angler.

 

[Averhoeven]

Don't put seahorses in with an angler.

Really? I figured he would be a great tank mate. He's small and will never out size a grown horse in a way that he'd even try to eat them, he's very slow moving, eats totally different foods and is very non aggressive.

 

[rayjay]

A lot of seahorses die all the time because people just figured it would be OK to do something they want with them.
While it may be small, it's mouth will open sufficient to suck up the seahorse if not directly sideways, tail or head ways.

 

[Averhoeven]

That's why I look into things before purchasing.
Same question, but if the Angler has been relocated to a different tank?

 

[rayjay]

Sorry but it's not something that is in the best interest of the seahorses. The work you have to do to maintain water quality would be VERY extreme and even if it was a 30g recommended tank it would be an extreme task compared to keeping a reef tank.
To succeed, you would have to be doing everything right (a lot of work) AND be fortunate to have all the seahorses, say two of them, with far better than average immune systems, and able to maintain that immune level long term.
It would be hard to put an actual percentage on it, but there are an AWFUL lot of failures even with recommended tank size.

 

[Averhoeven]

I think you misunderstood. The tank itself is that size, but it is fully plumbed into the main display system. The whole thing is approaching 250g.

 

[rayjay]

No I didn't misunderstand. I saw your remark on that.
However, the water in reef tanks is NOT clean enough to prevent bacterial infections, and is usually warmer than what a seahorse tank needs BECAUSE of their susceptibility to bacterial infections. The temperature range should be 68° to 74°F as the bacteria multiply EXPONENTIALLY with each rising degree, but especially as you get above that 74° point.
Also, there a NO TEST KITS AVAILABLE to the hobbyist to be able to determine WHEN conditions are about to let nasty bacteria get out of control, it takes a lot of preventative maintenance in the form of tank cleaning, frequent cleaning of mechanical filtration (at LEAST once a week but more often is better) and larger more frequent water changes.