Dwarf Seahorses HELP NEEDED!!,

[I luv coralz]

Hello,


I decided to post for my first time on this forum as I am starting a dwarf seahorse tank. I’m hoping that everyone here can answer all my questions and also tell me if I need anything else. I plan to use a fluval two gallon with a kessil a-80 light. I am going to use the stock filtration which is basically a filter sponge and carbon. The tank has a basic return pump that puts out good flow but plan to put it on a lower setting so I don’t blow the dwarfs around or their food.


I plan to buy the seahorses from https://www.mysaltwaterfishstore.com/seahorse/. I am only going to get six as from what I understand they breed rather fast. For the tank layout I want to take it simple. I plan to have a bare bottom tank with 4 patches of GSP at all corners and in the middle a thin gorgonian for the seahorses to latch on too. I also am debating getting a piece of gutter guard and putting it on the back as just a extra thing for them to hang onto, is that a good idea?


At this point feeding is my biggest worry. I will be able to feed them two times a day, three if needed but I am not sure on how to make the food. I plan to make a live brine shrimp hatchery with trio plastic bottles and a lamp. But the things I am debating are:


Can I use saltwater to hatch the brine, I don’t want to put tap water into the tank.


Should I use baking soda, that’s what I see everyone doing but I also don’t want that going into the tank.


How long can the live shrimp live for. Do I have to make two batches everyday.


Can seahorses be out of water for any amount of time just want to know if I have to do a water transfer from acclamation. I’m just not sure if they are like starfish or something.


THANKS SO MUCH!!!!!

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

Hi! Thanks for sharing your seahorse journey with us. We have a few seahorse experts in here that I'll tag for you. @SeahorseKeeper @Seahorsekelly69 @vlangel

Also, @vlangel wrote an absolutely excellent series of articles that you can check out. The first one is here:
Keeping Seahorses in Aquaria #1 - Introduction and Setting Up Your Seahorse Tank

 

[vlangel]

Hello,


I decided to post for my first time on this forum as I am starting a dwarf seahorse tank. I’m hoping that everyone here can answer all my questions and also tell me if I need anything else. I plan to use a fluval two gallon with a kessil a-80 light. I am going to use the stock filtration which is basically a filter sponge and carbon. The tank has a basic return pump that puts out good flow but plan to put it on a lower setting so I don’t blow the dwarfs around or their food.


I plan to buy the seahorses from https://www.mysaltwaterfishstore.com/seahorse/. I am only going to get six as from what I understand they breed rather fast. For the tank layout I want to take it simple. I plan to have a bare bottom tank with 4 patches of GSP at all corners and in the middle a thin gorgonian for the seahorses to latch on too. I also am debating getting a piece of gutter guard and putting it on the back as just a extra thing for them to hang onto, is that a good idea?


At this point feeding is my biggest worry. I will be able to feed them two times a day, three if needed but I am not sure on how to make the food. I plan to make a live brine shrimp hatchery with trio plastic bottles and a lamp. But the things I am debating are:


Can I use saltwater to hatch the brine, I don’t want to put tap water into the tank.


Should I use baking soda, that’s what I see everyone doing but I also don’t want that going into the tank.


How long can the live shrimp live for. Do I have to make two batches everyday.


Can seahorses be out of water for any amount of time just want to know if I have to do a water transfer from acclamation. I’m just not sure if they are like starfish or something.


THANKS SO MUCH!!!!!

Hi I luv coral and welcome to the enchanting world of seahorses. I am not a dsh, (dwarf seahorse) keeper but I read a lot on them.

1. Yes you must use saltwater to hatch bbs, (baby brine shrimp). However you do not want to dump the hatching saltwater into the dsh tank as it may contain empty cyst shells, and pathogenic bacteria. Instead you want to strain them in a fine net and rinse them in ro or even tap water.

2. No, you should not need to adjust the ph. All seahorses need excellant water quality and you will maintain that with good husbandry and frequent large water changes.

3. The best way to feed bbs is by enriching them with Dan's feed. This can not be done until they develop a mouth which is about 12+ hours. Then they should be enriched for 12 hours, moved into clean saltwater and enriched again for 12 hours. I believe they only retain their nutritious value about 24 hours after enrichment. I have heard that you can keep them in the fridge and slow down the loss of enrichment nutrition. If you are in a bind you can feed bbs immediately after they hatch and their egg sac will provide nutrition.

4. You can gently cup them in your clean hands and transfer them from one tank to another.

@Lucie and @jaws789832 both actually have dsh and they can give you better info than myself. I have erectus seahorses so I do not feed bbs.

 

[jaws789832]

First off, I wish you the best with your endeavor. Dwarfs are the cutest little guys and so much fun to watch, but they also require a lot of work. water changes and feeding are two of the biggest challenges that are required. dwarfs and their food are extremely messy so a weekly water change at a minimum will be required. I would think probably more in your setup as the filtration is pretty basic. If you can incorporate a mini protein skimmer somhow it would probably help a lot, with oxygenation and to keep the mess down a bit.

Can I use saltwater to hatch the brine, I don’t want to put tap water into the tank.

As VlAngel stated, you have to use salt water. I keep about 20 gallons mixed up at all times for water changes and for hatching brine shrimp. I keep it a little less salty then my reef, at 1.024 sg. Also the tank has to be cooler than a reef. Mine is at 74 degrees and could be a little lower but in the summer its hard to keep it any lower without a chiller. I use decapped brine shrimp eggs. you can decapp them yourself, which isn't too hard but I now just buy them already decapped. its a lot easier and a lot less messy.

http://www.aquaculturenurseryfarms....eggs/hatching-decapsulated-brine-shrimp-eggs/

I also use a hatchery but these are just nice to have not must haves

http://floridaaquafarms.com/shop/brine-shrimp-hatch-rite-3/

Should I use baking soda, that’s what I see everyone doing but I also don’t want that going into the tank.

I don't use baking soda at all. I catch the baby brine with a brine shrimp net or a 120um sieve, rinse them in RODI water and put them in my feeder. That's after they have been enriched with Dans feed, then I also put a little phytoplankton in the feeder to keep them enriched (the feeder is a different story though for my situation).

How long can the live shrimp live for. Do I have to make two batches everyday.

You will have to experiment with this and see what works for you. I used to make a batch a day, but found this was too much. Now I make 1 batch about every 2-3 days but my system is pretty stable with adults and baby brine all living together. I basically have 3 feeders going at all times. One of them is the enrichment vessel where everything ends up in the end, the other 2 are hatching vessels. The enrichment vessel I change the water and add Dans feed every other day(I go by color. when you add the Dans at first its green and slowly it will change to a brownish orange then its time to refeed), plus this it the one I net the shrimp out of every evening to feed with. Its hard to say how long they live because some will grow into adults but most get fed to the ponies or die in the hatcheries over time.

Can seahorses be out of water for any amount of time just want to know if I have to do a water transfer from acclamation. I’m just not sure if they are like starfish or something.

I don't know if its good for them but Mine accidently get taken out of the water a lot and it doesn't seem to bother them. When they start having babies and you have a plethora of sizes ranging from a pinhead up to an inch and a half, it gets a little harder to account for them all. When I do a big clean on the tank and take all the plants out to rise off any algae that has accumulated sometimes a stray doesn't release and gets pulled out along with the plant. I put the plant in some water change water then inspect it thoroughly looking for the strays, once found I put them back in the tank.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ughhhh-i-have-some-work-to-do.306431/page-5#post-4501833

that's my thread if you want to read it a see how my tank is set up. Its a little different than most but its still going strong. I am pretty close to moving them over to their new tank, its cycling right now so hopefully they will have more space in a little bit.