Seahorse tankmates?

[Fishfreak2009]

So for all y'all with seahorses, what are you keeping with them, if anything?

I have a male/female pair in a 30 gallon cube currently, tank has live macroalgae, live gorgonians, GSP and live sponges (and I'll be adding more of those as well), and will probably add a kenya tree and some xenia.

I'm considering a helfrichi firefish and a bali tiger jawfish. I'll probably add a pair of balloon mollies so the seahorses can eat their babies.

Pics of the pair for attention.

 

[shakacuz]

following along..i’ve always wanted a sea horse tank!

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Any slower eating fish like dragonets, shrimp gobies, etc will work well.

 

[i cant think]

Helfrichi fire fish, Jawfish and Mollies are a bad idea as seahorses will be outcompeted by these. Some gobies eat slower than others (Discordipinna griessingeri is one that eats slower IME) and as said above, dragonets will also work well.

Ideally when it comes to tankmates you want something that won’t be fast to get to food but also something that isn’t too aggressive. Relatives of Seahorses are what we will usually keep with them, also you can keep some more delicate species with them. The most obvious ones that are kept with seahorses are Pipefish. I personally prefer the Dragons and Janss’ over the others that are commonly kept.

 

[RJT]

They look really good. Some shrimp would be a good addition, they move a lot and help keep the tank clean. How long have you had the seahorses?

 

[Dave1993]

Pipefish if you can upkeep them

 

[Fishfreak2009]

I've actually kept a variety of pipefish in the past, and am considering a pair of bluestripes for this system. We just picked this pair up, so giving them some time to settle in. Not too worried about competition for now, as currently they are just eating live ghost shrimp (don't see a jawfish or a firefish eating those), and as we train them onto mysis, we will be using a seahorse feeding station.

I'm avoiding larger ornamental shrimp like cleaners and bloods, as in a previous seahorse setup I've had them harass the ponies. Smaller shrimp like sexy shrimp or anemone shrimp will absolutely get eaten. These guys smash ghost shrimp way bigger than you'd think possible.

My old seahorse setup actually had a pair of erectus, a pair of bluestripe pipefish, a Lubbock's fairy, a staghorn damsel, a royal gramma, a red firefish, and a yellow watchman goby with his tiger pistol shrimp. Those ponies were smaller than these and did just fine, as we trained them to eat at a feeding station, but they would also swim right out into the water to compete with the rest of the fish.

Another consideration is a pair of garden eels, as the substrate is almost 8" deep in the back half of this tank.

The jawfish idea is one I got from visiting the Virgina Bay Aquarium, as they have one in their pipefish setup. I've also kept a bali tiger jaw in the past and they don't stray too far from their burrows.

We will be training this pair to a feeding station as well, but I will be building it at home from shells and clear pipe, so it looks more natural than the bright 3D printed stuff online.

 

[Rmckoy]

I have seen very nice seahorses tanks with different types of pipefish

 

[Big Smelly fish]

Nice seahorses. I’ve seen people keep some of the more common clownfish and other fish in seahorse tanks. I personally don’t keep anything but snails with my seahorses.

 

[Devaji]

I have been tring to set up a SH tank for over 6 years life keeps getting in the way. grrr
finally it was time decided on the RS reefer 300 XL got in in the house plumbed and gear ordered.
then the missis says she wants to travel abroad for 14 months come april. so now I have a new empty tank just setting there...

anyway here some SH safe fish from Alyssa's seahorse savvy a Sh breeder. I think some are more on the aggressive side but she seems to know here stuff.

Fish

We are very excited to now offer a variety of captive bred and aquarium conditioned saltwater fish. All of our fish we offer come from suppliers we are working closely with. They have been quarantined, cared for and monitored at our farm by our staff to ensure high health and quality. Please...

seahorsesavvy.com

also there are a few Seahorse FB groups that are pretty active. loads of healpfull info there I would suggest joining if you use FB.

some will say best to not have fish as they can out compete the SH for good and bring in bad bac. that can kill the sh. that said there are alot of people out there that do keep fish in with there SH.

lastly you WILL want to cover the heater sh love to hitch on everything and heaters will burn there tails leaning to a bacterial infection.
would hate to see those beautiful SH get hurt.

keep us posted would love to fallow along!

 

[design.maddie]

I was also going to suggest looking through the catalog at Alyssa's. I got there to daydream.

 

[vetteguy53081]

So for all y'all with seahorses, what are you keeping with them, if anything?

I have a male/female pair in a 30 gallon cube currently, tank has live macroalgae, live gorgonians, GSP and live sponges (and I'll be adding more of those as well), and will probably add a kenya tree and some xenia.

I'm considering a helfrichi firefish and a bali tiger jawfish. I'll probably add a pair of balloon mollies so the seahorses can eat their babies.

Pics of the pair for attention.

Seahorse are very slow swimmers and cannot compete for food as they often wait for food to come to them and with tankmates will soon starve.
ALERT: Not sure if youre aware but if you look at your seahorses' head and back, it has a bacterial disease/infection likely from vibrio and is causing the flesh to waste away (erosion ) and often caused by poor water quailty and diet especially if starving.
It is essential to use a GOOD quality test kit with these guys and to monitor water regularly.

 

[Fishfreak2009]

Seahorse are very slow swimmers and cannot compete for food as they often wait for food to come to them and with tankmates will soon starve.
ALERT: Not sure if youre aware but if you look at your seahorses' head and back, it has a bacterial disease/infection likely from vibrio and is causing the flesh to waste away (erosion ) and often caused by poor water quailty and diet especially if starving.
It is essential to use a GOOD quality test kit with these guys and to monitor water regularly.

Yes I am aware. I picked these 2 up just 2 days ago. They are by themselves in their 30 gallon tank. The tank is at 72-73F, and I am treating with cipro. They are active and are eating, and have been in captivity for less than 1 week. They were hand collected by a friend in Florida only 5 days ago.

This is not my first rodeo by any means. I've quite successfully kept wild-caught H. erectus in the past, even with a variety of tankmates, as stated earlier in the thread. I sold them with their setup when we moved a few years back. I know they can be successfully kept with other fish, just depends on how much work one is willing to put into making sure all the seahorses needs are met first and foremost.

 

[Big Smelly fish]

Seahorse are very slow swimmers and cannot compete for food as they often wait for food to come to them and with tankmates will soon starve.
ALERT: Not sure if youre aware but if you look at your seahorses' head and back, it has a bacterial disease/infection likely from vibrio and is causing the flesh to waste away (erosion ) and often caused by poor water quailty and diet especially if starving.
It is essential to use a GOOD quality test kit with these guys and to monitor water regularly.

Good catch, I had to go back and look. I saw and was thinking some sort of wired piebald. But on a larger screen it does look like bacterial thing going on.

 

[Brit’s Fish]

I have a pair of Ruby Red Dragonettes, a pair of Helfrichi Firefish and a Red Banded High Fin Goby & pistol shrimp pair with mine. They get along great and they’re all pretty slow eaters who don’t steal from each other.