pair or single?

[iglowce]

i have been in love wt seahorses. i always wanted a mandarin and seahorse for my reef tank. my mandarin is fine and now im moving to my next dream. its the seahorse. i just want one but i heard its better to have 2. any take on it.. btw whats the best choice for warm-water seahorses thats hardy. thanx!

[Rob]

there are many reasons why a seahorse should not go in a typical reef tank. reasons beyond the temp. such as too much current and things like stings from incompatible coral. also that new MH light you got, IIRC, is notgood for them either. not to mention potential problems with clams if you have them. (i think you said you had or wanted one in another post)

i am far from the seahorse expert, so i will wait for them to say more. i just want to kind get it out there that this might not work out as planned..

and to the pony experts here, if im wrong, please put me in my place...lol

[saxman]

Rob's correct. temperature, current, and tankmates are the biggest reasons SH won't do well in a reef. lighting isn't as much of an issue as long as there are dimmer places for the SH to get out of the "sun". SH really do best in a system designed with them in mind.

i'm guessing the tank in your siggy is the reef in question, and altho the pic is small, i can see a nice big Plerogyra in the center. bubble corals (and most other LPS) are definitely NOT SH-friendly. SH have been known to die from even an appie sting if it's severe enuff. clams are off the list as they've been known to snap shut on SH tails as they try to hitch or simply drag them across the clam's mantle.

on to the single/pair question...there's no doubt that SH are social critters and tend to do better with "company". that being said, if conditions are right, a male-female pair can breed as often as every two weeks or so, so you'll either be raising a lot of fry (or attempting to, cuz it's tuff), or you can look into a same sex tank, which also sometimes have their own sets of problems:

males can develop pouch emphysema, which requires you to perform a pouch evacuation to remove the trapped air from the pouch. that being said, males get along fine, and will even court each other.

females can develop problems related to non-transferred eggs not being properly reabsorbed, causing them to literally decay inside the SH, resulting in a severe internal infection. females will also court each other, altho not to the same degree as males.

pouch emphysema is more common than non-absorbed eggs, but is more easily treated.

hmmm...so much for my "quick reply"...*blush*

[JustDavidP]

No worries Greg... I'm the biggest offender of the "quick reply".

Good info guys...

Rob...you are quickly becoming a seahorse pro yerself ;)

D

[Rob]

i agree, great info greg, its great to have such experience here, thanks. :)

and dave.. uhh.. yeah, not quite... im just leaning this stuff from your guys..

[Seahorsedreams]

I swear Greg even talks in his sleep!

[Rob]

I swear Greg even talks in his sleep!
record it, and we can podcast it...lmao.. :D

[iglowce]

yea rob, greg and dave thanks. i was at the gym earlier today and re-listening to ur SH podcast. i have all the eps since #1 to the macro algae. and tell me if this happens to u. sometimes listen to old eps bring u ideas. things that you might miss when listen to it the first time.

for example i was listening to the goniopora eps on monday (@ the gym again) because i wanna get their neighbor - the branching alveopora and the eps u did rob, it was more meaningful than ever hehe so yeah!!! good job everyone, esp u Rob