Seahorses in Reef Tank??

Rupture Reefer · Apr 5, 2020

Hey guys,
I was doing some research on seahorse compatibility in reef tank systems, and I found conflicting views in the subject. However, all of the sites agreed that seahorses need to be housed either alone, or with other fish which are non-aggressive eaters (as seahorses' are not quick to eat). I also found that they need places to grab onto, so I would need more than the given live rock aquascape (adding gorgonians). Also, in my research, I have found that all the parameters are the same as that for coral. I am just wondering if anybody else has had success with them in reef tanks. Also I am curious if it would be possible to keep them in my sump (in the case that they cannot be housed with my other fish).
Thank you!

lapin · Apr 5, 2020

There are two things I can think of.
1. They live in shallow slow moving waters you would find in sea grass beds. Most reef tanks have way too much flow.
2. They are poor swimmers and its hard for them to compete for food with many reef fish.

Most successful horse keepers have a tank set up for the the horses.

As far as keeping them in the sump. Im not sure that is a good place. Most sumps are under the stand and out of sight. It would have to have low flow and be fed often. Proper lighting for its corals and / or plants.
What would be the point if you cant watch them.

AZMSGT · Apr 5, 2020

Seahorse tank temps are typically much lower than reef tank temps. This alone is the biggest issue in trying to keep both in one tank. While they are both from the ocean, they are from very different parts of the ocean.

rayjay · Apr 5, 2020

There are sooo many reasons why a standard reef tank is NOT suitable for seahorses, and the number one thing was mentioned already, temperature and that is because seahorses are so susceptible to nasty bacteria that other marine fish normally have no problems with. Seahorse water needs to be much cleaner than reef tank water with respect to the things that promote nasty bacterial growth and NO test kits we have will tell you when the water is at that point.
Seahorses DO NOT NEED SLOW MOVING WATER as was thought to be a couple of decades ago. In fact the minimum recommendation at this time would be 10X/hr flow with respect to tank volume. Many of use exceed 20X flow. Main thing is to be sure they can't be blasted against something to be damaged.
Successful seahorse reef tanks need to be build around the seahorse needs as in addition to already mentioned problems, corals with stingers are no nos along with clams which can clamp down on tails.
Tank mates need to be selected for compatibility with aggressive fish or food competing fish being problematic. Corals too would have to be acceptable to the cooler temperature recommendation of 68°F-74°F.
There is just too much to handle in one post and that is why we have so many "stickies" at the top of this forum so people can review what has already been posted in previous years.