Starting a seahorse tank...

[Reef_Life_Gal]

I want to start a sea horse tank, but am unsure what they all need for a setup. Is it the same concept of a reef?

 

[Tegridy Reef]

Nope I have one for about two years now lot of fun with my experience it's about consistent temp I try keep my pretty low thou because I heard I belove above 75 can't rember more bacteria can form to hurt sea horses so that being said I have a chiller but the contrary on that is what seahorses u get cause if they are use to hotter water then need to probably boost that up good luck

 

[redfishbluefish]

I'm sure @SeahorseKeeper can help. It's my understanding that you want cooler water, little flow, and no other fast swimming fish that will steal their food.

 

[Tegridy Reef]

Very true low flow

 

[vlangel]

Actually seahorses can thrive and do best in a tank with slow, moderate and areas of fast flow. I often see my female hitched right in front of a powerhead where she has to hold on for all she's worth but she seems to like that some times. Then at other times they like to hitch in a slower area of the tank. Ideally the turnover in a seahorse tank should be at least 10Xs.
Also seahorses do much better long term if they are in temperatures under 74 degrees, even those species that are accustomed to tropical waters. The reason is that all seahorses have poor immune function and are extremely susceptible to bacterial infections. To make matters worse they give off a large amount of wastes that degrades the water quality in their tanks which promotes the growth of dangerous bacteria. To combat that, keeping the water temp below 74 helps inhibit the growth of dangerous bacterias. Also extra vigilant maintenance of water changes, sand syphoning, cleaning filter pads and such is a must. An oversized skimmer is also very helpful.
Seahorses are wonderful charming pets but they are high maintenance and the best thing you can do is thoroughly research their needs before acquiring any. It's heartbreaking to put them in conditions that don't suit them and I learned that lesson the hard way. I did not attempt seahorses again for 10 years.

 

[SeahorseKeeper]

Very true low flow

This is actually not the case. Seahorses like some flow. I often see my seahorses enjoying the flow of their open ended airline tubing and the return from my filters.

Actually seahorses can thrive and do best in a tank with slow, moderate and areas of fast flow. I often see my female hitched right in front of a powerhead where she has to hold on for all she's worth but she seems to like that some times. Then at other times they like to hitch in a slower area of the tank. Ideally the turnover in a seahorse tank should be at least 10Xs.
Also seahorses do much better long term if they are in temperatures under 74 degrees, even those species that are accustomed to tropical waters. The reason is that all seahorses have poor immune function and are extremely susceptible to bacterial infections. To make matters worse they give off a large amount of wastes that degrades the water quality in their tanks which promotes the growth of dangerous bacteria. To combat that, keeping the water temp below 74 helps inhibit the growth of dangerous bacterias. Also extra vigilant maintenance of water changes, sand syphoning, cleaning filter pads and such is a must. An oversized skimmer is also very helpful.
Seahorses are wonderful charming pets but they are high maintenance and the best thing you can do is thoroughly research their needs before acquiring any. It's heartbreaking to put them in conditions that don't suit them and I learned that lesson the hard way. I did not attempt seahorses again for 10 years.

This info is very accurate.

Please feel free to ask any questions about seahorses. I will try to answer the best I can.