I am interested in adding a leafy sea dragon to my reef tank.
I cannot find any information on this fish other than they are related to pipe fish and sea horses. I need to know the requirements of this fish, I know they are very difficult to keep so I need to know alot to be successful at keeping it. If you know anything about them or even a good site pls do tell.
thank you
They are not available to the hobbyist. I know of someone who acquired some in the UK. They are several thousand a piece. They do not belong in a reef. Not even one that would meet it's tank requirements... which is 100s and 100s ..... and 100s of gallons.
lol.. simple put if you "could" find one, and you "could" afford the many Thousands of dollars it would cost, and you "could"get an insanely large tank to put it in, many hundreds of gallons... you still shouldn't...lol
well, unless you were a syngnathidsexpert
for that matter, SH don't belong in a reef tank. the flow and temps are too high, not to mention the chances of undesireable tankmates is high.
if you're new to SH, i heartily recommend that you set up a species tank designed around SH, and do tons of research. SH aren't like "normal" fish, and have a very special set of needs, which if met, can be kept for years.
BTW, 100's of gallons = about 1500 gals for leafies and weedies, and the tank must be about 6 ft tall.
Saw these at The Shed Aquarium in downtown Chicago, they were displayed in a 3-500 gallon tank and were extraordinary creatures!
you'd be suprised at the public aquariums that keep syngnathids improperly. the Long Beach Aquarium has proper setups for both the leafies and the weedies, which is why the weedies have bred for them.
Greg, The Shed Aquarium is huge and has tons of professionals there. The sea dragons have been there for years. I was guestimating when I said 3-500 gallons it could be more. The issue at hand is that it is possible but very risky, and the tank was not reef. Shedd Aquarium - 30 Sep 2006
Here is a link for those who don't know what we are talking about.
Were all the weedies that size? Because that pic is a young juvenile. They actually can be kept in smaller tanks at that size.
There is no comparison between an aquarium and home tank. And even if the dragons were in a 500 gallon tank they are connected to a kazillion gallon system.
No, their were about 10+ in the tank and this is just a pic of one, they are really hard to take pictures of because the tank is almost black inside and dark, barely lit.
yeah, I saw them there two years ago. If I remember correctly, there were probably 6-8 or so in the tank.
wakbrdfr - are you referring to the circular tank kind of at the beginning of the aquarium? Judging from the size of my tank (425), I would guestimate that theirs was twice as round as mind and at least 6 feet tall. And Renee's right - it's hooked up to a gazillion gallons of aquarium water.
I love that aquarium. The Beluga Whales are so fascinating. They've done a great job with that aquarium....
no offense. i heard thoes are meant to keep in nature or a very huge public aquarium. not suitable for home aquarium. and isnt it illegal to own one? iono but if i know the species wont have a good chance to survive, i wouldnt get it. sry if it sounds harsh but i was told these guys require special attention
icon under there name and give them Reputation points
ryan 
