Beginner Seahorse questions

[Cyclura]

Well the inevitable happened, the ich ive been battling with for the past 2 weeks finally killed off my last two fish. So instead of getting more fish, i think im going to go ahead and convert it to a seahorse tank. Now bear with me here because i have LOTS of questions....

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.

Which of those three species would be most compatible with my tank?

Definitly im going with tank-bred horses, 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?

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.

I want a pair of one of the three prior mentioned species. 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 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)

do i need to remove my large emerald crab from the tank?

aside from my galaxea, frogspawn, and candycane coral, what else do i need to remove? i have mushrooms, zoos, xenia, and ricordea.

yes i have listened to the podcasts, and done research but currently im not comfortable with getting then yet, these questions are simply preliminary research questions and are in no way going to be followed by the immediate purchase of seahorses.

Thanks,

-adam

[Cyclura]

anyone at all?

[Seahorsedreams]

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.

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.

Definitly im going with tank-bred horses

I recommend looking for the word "Captive Raised" or "Captive Bred".

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......

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.

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.

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.

do i need to remove my large emerald crab from the tank?

When they get larger they can get mean.... I would remove him.

i have mushrooms, zoos, xenia, and ricordea.

They are all fine.

[keyozoxmfc]

hey since you wanted someone! here i am! lol
yeah i too want a seahorse tank and was looking around and researching a little.
i really think 13 inches is too short. but i am no expert at all. but i was looking into an 20 in high tank. and it goes around that the all in one tanks get hot

[Cyclura]

Yes, i have taken care of the temperature problem as i forgot to mention, but my tank is now at a stable 72 degrees. My house stays fairly cool in the summer and temps shouldnt get too high. I have very high ceilings and it helps keep the heat away from the floor area.

Yes i also forgot to mention the flow in my tank. The pump that came in the BC29 is staying for now, just until i find a source to take the harmful corals. I dont want them to die of "flow deprivation" while im waiting.

So how about replacing the pump with a normal powerhead to run the entire back sump/filter area. Its all flooded so water level shouldnt be a problem. Should i shoot for 7-10 times turnover per hour?

Whats a good place to get seahorse over the net? I have a great lfs "cappaccino bay" but they rarely get seahorses due to their "hard to find in good condition" nature.

And one last thing, yes captive bred was my goal, but isnt tank-bred the same thing? I always thought it was tank-raised was synonymous with pen-raised.

thanks,

-adam

[V]

nice response renee, not that i want to keep sea horses, but at least im learning something new.

[Seahorsedreams]

Yes, i have taken care of the temperature problem

Would love to here how you did that.

So how about replacing the pump with a normal powerhead to run the entire back sump/filter area. Its all flooded so water level shouldnt be a problem. Should i shoot for 7-10 times turnover per hour?

We changed our pump in the 24 gallon JBJ Maxi jet 600 powerhead. But this tank doesn't have any horses and I would lean towards 5 - 7 x turnover for a seahorse tank.

Whats a good place to get seahorse over the net?

I buy mine from Seahorsesource.com

And one last thing, yes captive bred was my goal, but isnt tank-bred the same thing? I always thought it was tank-raised was synonymous with pen-raised.

The labels we use on the horses are waaaay loose. Every one is marching to a different drummer it seems. The ones at the LFS which have been labelled as tank-raised, tank-bred and pen raised all have the same meaning. Doesn't make sense, but it's the way it is. The best way to figure out a captive bred is to see if they have them named correctly, see if they are on the smallish side (larger horses won't usually be CB) and make sure the LFS knows where they got them from.

[Cyclura]

Would love to here how you did that.

easy, i turned down the heater but actually i have noticed that the temps are now stablizing to 75 which im worried about because if its at the warmest acceptable range in the middle of winter, whats it gonna be like this summer? lol. any good chillers or chiller type mechanisms out there that arent 1,500 bucks?

[Cyclura]

Would love to here how you did that.

easy, i turned down the heater but actually i have noticed that the temps are now stablizing to 75 which im worried about because if its at the warmest acceptable range in the middle of winter, whats it gonna be like this summer? lol. any good chillers or chiller type mechanisms out there that arent 1,500 bucks?

and what about H. reidi, i really actually like their smoother, less "rough" appearence better than erectus. How much more difficult are they to keep, breed, and rear the fry than erectus?

[Seahorsedreams]

easy, i turned down the heater but actually i have noticed that the temps are now stablizing to 75 which im worried about because if its at the warmest acceptable range in the middle of winter, whats it gonna be like this summer? lol. any good chillers or chiller type mechanisms out there that arent 1,500 bucks?

It seems yours runs a little cooler than the other nano cubes. Mine has never had a heater and we've changed out the stock pump but still the tank runs hot in the middle of winter. We are trying out a few mods to bring the temps down to acceptable summer temps and will let you know what we figure out.

and what about H. reidi, i really actually like their smoother, less "rough" appearence better than erectus. How much more difficult are they to keep, breed, and rear the fry than erectus?

Reidi are also one of my favorites and I have some right now. The fry are considerably harder to raise than the southern erectus. We've had to recently start calling the erectus Northern and Southern because of the differences found in the fry. The Nothern are more like the Reidi fry.

They are no more difficult to keep than any other adult.

[JustDavidP]

Hey Adam I'm on vacation in Florida, snorkeling in the darned cold, and collecting mangrove propagules (sp?) But it is good to know that I can do this, and have the folks at Talking Reef being taken care of. Renee (SeahorseDreams) is "right on". To be quite honest, I learned most of what I know from her and her fiancee' Greg..and other from Seahorse.org.

Listen and learn. You are more than on the right track. The folks here will not steer you wrong.

Back to pullin spanish moss from the trees in my yard. Darned weeds!

Dave

[saxman]

i see in my sketchy-ness of late, Renee has been carrying the torch so to speak and writing "War and Peace"-style posts.

nice posts BTW, Renee.

[JustDavidP]

I wrote or...er...Etched...the book on Sketchy... I'm Etcher-Sketchy

[Seahorsedreams]

Are you back yet!!!!!!

[JustDavidP]

Back...but digging out from the workload. Sometimes it is NOT worth taking a vacation.



D

[Seahorsedreams]

Ya... whatever!!!

[JustDavidP]

I got a tan and some mangrove pods.

Here's Dave with his old High School Classmate (now Boston Herald Sports Columnist) Tony Massarotti. I even got my kids on TV on Boston's NESN station.