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Originally Posted by Cyclura  First off, my BC29 oceanic all in one tank is only about 13" tall, my research tells me that the height needs to be at least 2x the length of the stretched out seahorse, would this be tall enough for one of the following species: H. kuda, H. reidi, or H. erectus. |
Actually we recommend more towards the 3x horses's length and is an important part of their courtship. Can they live in shorter tanks? Yes. Can they breed in shorter tanks? Yes. Are they as happy in shorter tanks? I have to say no. I've kept them in all and I definately saw an improvement in their "mood" in the taller tanks.... more interactive and swim around more. But it won't kill them to be in a shorter tank.
I always recommend the erectus for a beginner seahorse, but they are all great. Make sure you buy from a reputable dealer. Personally, I would say avoid those at the
LFS that say tank raised... means they are usually ocean raised in open pens and have the same disease risks as wild caught horse with the only advantage being they eat frozen.... usually.
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Originally Posted by Cyclura First off, my BC29 |
How
hot does that tank run? I know the other "all-in'ones" run warm but I'm not sure about what peeps have been saying about the 29. We are trying out a few mods to deal with this issue. Includes changing stock pumps, installing "chillers", heat guards... so on and so forth. Ideal temps for horses is between 73 - 75 because of the prelevance of vibrio infections at higher temps. Do you have AC for the summer months?
Pull out the stock pump and see what the
gph are on it. Chances are you'll need to reduce the flow by getting a smaller pump and split the return. Also check the wattage of the pump. We removed one from our JBJ 24 gallon and it was a 16 watt pump!! There's no need of that. That will definately warm up the water. We changed it out for a 7 watt pump and already the tank dropped a couple of degrees.
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Originally Posted by Cyclura Definitly im going with tank-bred horses |
I recommend looking for the word "Captive Raised" or "Captive Bred".
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Originally Posted by Cyclura so are frozen mysid a good staple food? Ive heard mixed reviews on enriching, so do i need to enrich and if so whats the best stuff to get? |
Most horses that eat frozen eat mysis. I feed hikari, which is already enriched with vitamins etc, so I don't add anything. Fatty liver is a common problem found in horses. Too much of a good thing......
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Originally Posted by Cyclura How long do i need to wait before i get my horse since i had the ich outbreak? will the parasites still linger in the tank for much longer? im still treating with kick-ich just to be safe. |
No fish in the system for at least 6 weeks and the parasite will die off. Just keep the tank fallow for 6 weeks and that should take care of business. I don't believe medicating my display tank with anything, which included kick ich. That stuff is not proven to do anything, is a waste of money and just doesn't belong in there. Remember to feed the tank sources of
ammonia during the 6 week fallow period or you will lose your biofilter.
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Originally Posted by Cyclura My plan is to get experienced for a month or so with just the horses, and then add a yellow clown goby and a banded pipefish. Would this be overload in my tank? |
I wouldn't add any wild caught fish to my captive bred seahorse tank. Defeats the purpose of buying CB. I had a friend who introduced a clown goby after a great
QT and he introduced aeromonas to the tank. Dead seahorses followed. The pipe is a definate No-No,
IMO. Seahorses often get sick after introducing a WC pipefish. If you need to add something go with the clown over the pipe and ALWAYS remember to
QT.
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Originally Posted by Cyclura I have about 42lbs of LR in my tank and its very crowded looking. I have seen pictures of other setups with very minimal LR in the aquascape, can i take some out and if so, how much can be safely removed (in terms of weight in pounds) |
Difficult question to answer. All rocks are not created equal. Some are more dense than thers thereby leading to a different level of biofiltration. I prefer to use tonga branch because the horses really love to hitch to it.
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Originally Posted by Cyclura do i need to remove my large emerald crab from the tank? |
When they get larger they can get mean.... I would remove him.
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Originally Posted by Cyclura i have mushrooms, zoos, xenia, and ricordea. |
They are all fine.
