I've been in the hobby for 9 months now, and have done my research and I have a 24 gallon aquapod that I'm thinking about starting up again as a seahorse tank. I have read more on seahorses and now respect them very much more than when I just "had" to have them just cause I thought they were cool. I'm wondering what parameters my water needs to be for seahorses and for my0 24 gallon aquapod, I'm wanting to do a reef/seahorse tank. What all would yall suggest I keep as far as corals with seahorses? And what food do they like best...I've fed my one seahorse I had a while back live ghost shrimp and he seemed to sorta like it. And seagrass, is it neccessary to have with seahorses? I know they need branchy like things to curl their tail on as well and that they are not good swimmers, so all I'll have in the tank is at the most, 2 seahorses...is that a good amount for a 24 gallon? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Have you listened to the seahorse podcast? Dave, our resident pony expert, did a great show with Rob about them. I expect that he will jump in here soon.
As soon as possible Sorry...been busy with things...
TriggerDiver... great questions! Let me start my traditional ramblings
First of all, what kind of ponies do you want to keep? You really need to know what their specific requirements are before you set up a system. Some are very tall, and therefore need taller tanks. Others require cold water systems. Once you tell us what you plan to keep, we can give more specific details about foods, water conditions etc.
There are some "constants" that you want to keep in mind. For instance, you speak of introduction of corals. That is a "hit or miss" issue that you need to keep in mind. First and foremost, most, if not all, LPS are out. They sting, and sting, and sting, and in the end...could actually ingest a seahorse when presented the opportunity. My open brain coral could eat an entire, large, coctail shrimp if it wanted to! You would also want to keep clear of the more harmful SPS species like acropora. Personally, I'd not keep any corals but some softies, zoanthids, mushrooms, gorgonians etc. There are some who keep montipora digitata in their pony tanks, and swear that the seahorses are not affected when touching them. I'm not sure if I'd want to take that chance.
I'd not put a clam in there either. Clams are very "reactionary" and if a pony tail were to get in between the shells, the clam's adductor muscle would quickly close and trap the pony. ANY cut or injury to a seahorse is a pain in the butt! It would require medical care that is both hard, and expensive.
You do NOT need seagrasses for a seahorse tank. They will hitch to tonga branch live rock, coral skeletons, fake plants and corals etc. As a matter of fact, it takes both a DEEP DEEP sand bed, and a lot of practical experience to keep sea grasses happy.
Again, let me know what species you want to keep...and I'll jump back in.
I want to keep Kelloggi seahorses. And that's basically all I have in my tank as far as rock, coral skeletons, and branch rock. And I might just keep mushrooms and zoos. Thanks alot for ALL that info. That is a big help
Hippocampus kelloggii is also known as the "great seahorse" in the US/English speaking regions. It averages in and around 15 CM (6 inches) but has been known to grow up to 28 CM (11 inches). They are most commonly found in China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Maylasia, Pakistan, The Philippines, Thialand, Tanzania, and Viet Nam. They are suspected to be found in many other areas to include the Gulf Region (Kuwait, Quatar, Saudi Araibia etc.) In Viet Nam, they are called "Offshore Seahorse" which should tell you a little more about the species.
They are common in depths averaging 120M and prefer soft substrates. They associate with gorgonians and sea whips. With that said, you will want at least 18 inches of water column, a soft, sugar sand substrate with hitching posts to include whiplike structure to more adequately replicate gorgonians and fans. As with all seahorses, they need low flow, high skimmed or filtered systems. Plenty of live rock to aid in biological filtration makes sense to me. Standard PH, Temps in the range of 72-76F. SG 1.020-1.025 should be fine.
They are VERY slow eaters and should not be kept with other agressive feeding fish. Wild caught fish are tough to train on frozen foods. Also keep in mind that Kelloggi is one of the most mis-identified fish in the hobby. Most are found to be hybrids.
I know nothing about horses. They never tripped my trigger. I respect your vast knowledge about them and enjoy reading your "rants" on their ID and habits. I have one question about your post above. I need some clarification on this statement, "They are common in depths averaging 120M and prefer soft substrates."
To my thinking, this translates to 130' depth. Is this what you meant???
__________________ Amphibious
Reaching my 70th BD, I realize that I cannot help but grow old. However, I refuse to grow up!!! My wife would tell you, "He may be 70 but, He's going on 17". Life is wonderful with a woman like that.
Wow. I'm impressed. Just wanted to have clarification. I'm going to have to pay a visit to "Seahorse Sourse" an on-line source for seahorses here in Ft. Pierce. I've referred people here to them and never visited them myself. Got to make that a priority. I'll see if they will allow pictures and report back here on TR.
__________________ Amphibious
Reaching my 70th BD, I realize that I cannot help but grow old. However, I refuse to grow up!!! My wife would tell you, "He may be 70 but, He's going on 17". Life is wonderful with a woman like that.
Ooooh... that would be wonderful! Let them know that I'm a (said in his best Boston accent) wicked hippo-head and would love to have an insiders look via your visit. Have fun!
If you have the system set up with Tonga Branch and Macro, you are well on your way. Again, my only concern is the 17.5 inch height of the tank. Granted, I have just a 26 gallon bowfront that is 21" tall, but I have reduced my sand bed to compensate. Also, I'm in the middle of a new tank construction (acrylic DIY) that will give me a 24+ inch water column. At reduced heights, the fish will have a problem breeding and may have some missed egg transfers. You may not be interested in breeding, but if they are (and here is where my fishy psychologist kicks in) and they are not successful, that is just wrong. We really need to create an optimal environment for our charges to thrive in.
There are smallish seahorses that stay in and around 6 inches in height. That kind o' pony would be okay (one or MAYBE two pair..depending on the upkeep of the system) in your tank. Some suggestions...
If you have the 70W lighting system, create many caves and hidey holes so the ponies have a place to find some shade. That lighting is very intense. If you have the 2X PC rig, you should be okay.
Tonga branch and macro are great holdfasts. You may want to add some fake/plastic corals to add color and entice the fish to color up to their environment. As far as corals go, stick with zoanthids, mushrooms, xenia and other softies. I'd not put in stony corals as they would need a heavy flow that is adverse to what the ponies need.
Add the nano skimmer system to the Aquapod package or get another compatible skimmer for your tank. You'll need it. Also, keep the sponge filter system cleaned every three days to one week depending on water quality and feeding regimen etc. Otherwise, you'll have a mess of algae bloom and high (even for a fish only) nitrate counts.
Figure out a way to have an auto top off. That system is going to need to be topped off every day. The ponies, hermit crabs, and macro can take some swings in salinity, but your snails will literally shrivel or explode from the osmotic issues. They are sensitive critters. A good "clean up crew" is vital to a pony tank...seahorses are pigs!
i'd just like to hop in here regarding the "keloggi" that have been around. there are some maricultured SH going around that are being touted as "tank-raised", but are really captively raised in net pens in the ocean in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. while one can argue that these SH are captively bred, they really come with the same potential problems as wildcaughts, and should be treated accordingly (long QT, prophylactic treatments for parasites).
also, these SH don't seem to be true keloggi, but rather a hybrid of some sort. true keloggi would be too large for that tank.
as a first SH, i strongly recommend TRUE CB's from a reputable breeder. one of the best reasons for getting your SH from a good breeder is that they will come to you already trained to eat frozen mysis.
H. erectus are about the best beginner SH there is, and a pair would be quite happy in the aquapod you have.
Aquapods... that's like the JBJ isn't it? Those get HOT in the summer. A seahorses temp needs to be kept in the LOW 70s. We had a heat spike for a couple of days last summer and lost a horse out of it. Seahorses are very susceptiable to vibrio.... you look at them sideways and BOOM you have an outbreak.
We have horses form Seahorse Source. Yes, Dan is a personal friend but I don't think you'll hear anyone saying anything negative about his horses. I'll post some pics
of his "children". They aren't great pics because they were ina cheap 10 gallon tank and I couldn't get a good shot. But you'll see how nice they are.
the Aquapod is the collaberation between All Glass/Oceanic's "improved" version of the JBJ. i dunno if they have the same rep for running warm, but they might...they're awfully similar in design and execution. good point tho...definitely something to be on top of.
I've had the AquaPod now for about 5 months and even being down here in Texas, where the heat is unbelievable, the tank really never got warm. I was able to keep the temp around 74 F almost all of the time. I think I will look into other seahorses though...the ones here at my LFS are already trained to eat frozen, but I think I'll order some from seahorsesource. Thanks for all the input guy and gals...keep em coming
icon under their name to add to their reputation. 
Sorry...been busy with things...
