Any other seahorse keepers out there?

[lenny]

Hi y'all,
I'm brand new to the ARC and it's forums, so forgive me if I wasnt able to find a thread that already answers this, but:

Are there any other Seahorse Keepers out there? I have recently gotten into the hobby, and become quite addicted. I'm upgrading from my 29gal setup to a 90gal setup this weekend, and I'm looking for both tips and advice on this transfer, as well as any information on keeping seahorses. My two pair of horses are doing great (had em about a month now), and the info I've gotten online has been great, but I'd really love to talk to some local folks who know their stuff. I'm very open to suggestions on how to better my skills and make a better home for my little buddies.

If anyone has any tips or advice, or just wants to talk about their tanks, please get a hold me here, or send an email to mailto:radiotheory@gmail.com">radiotheory@gmail.com</a>

Thanks y'all. I look forward to becoming an active member of the club and getting to know some of y'all!

 

[lifestudent]

Hi Lenny!

Please click on this post for members who are knowledgable about seahorses: http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/showthread.php?t=1110">http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/showthread.php?t=1110</a>

Cheers!

Bob

 

[lenny]

I have two pairs, one pair of "mustangs" and one pair of "sunbursts", all from Ocean Rider in Hawaii. The mustangs tend towards browns with white saddles and stripes, though change to a whiter appearance at times, and I'm pretty sure one was kind of purple one day, lol. The subursts tend more towards a yellow/brown, though more towards the brown... not the superbright yellow i've seen in some pictures. Sometimes when they're all hanging out together they match up their coloring, and when they're all brown, it's hard to tell them apart sometimes.

so in general, the mustangs are usually a deep brown, the subursts a yellowy-brown.

I'm so hooked on these guys though, that this weekend I'm setting up a 90 gallon tank, and have some very bright artificial coral hitching posts coming in, so maybe that will help.

I'm pretty sure that the extremely bright colored ones are the varieties that are MUCH more expenses then the mustangs/sunbursts I have, and I'm considering getting a few of those varieties once the new tank is cycled.

I just got a great schematic for a fry-rearing tank that involves a small tank and a plastic fishbowl inside it that is supposed to be the ideal setup for raising fry. I havent had a birth in the tank yet, though one of the pairs mates regularly... They're only about 6 months old, so i think they're still figuring out the birds and the bees, and my 29gal tank may not be big enough for breeding, so we'll see what happens in the 90 gal. I really hope that I'm able to experience a brood at some point.

Anyways, Im rambling on. I think we should find a few more of us that are into the seahorses, and get a little circle of seahorse keepers going! It would be nice to talk with other people who are into it and compare notes, lol. If we can successfully raise some fry into little ponies, it would be great to do some trading and expand our gene pools. (Though from what i understand, very few people can actually successfully raise fry at home, and I've been told by very experienced keepers that it might take a WHOLE lot of attempts before raising any to maturity... but I'm game to try!)

Nice to meet y'all, and hope to do a lot more talking with ya!

 

[lenny]

well, when my ponies figure out how to properly "get the job done", I'd be happy to work something out with you. I'm a complete novice to this, and have taken the time to get the proper sort of environment that breeding will be a good possibility. I've seen one of my pairs courting, and the other seems to be getting more fond of each other. I have 2 more pair coming next week, and I plan to leave it that for a while. I get my seahorses from Ocean Rider, so they are fairly hardy, tank raised breeds (Mustangs and Sunbursts) .If they start producing fry, I'd love to have someone who knows what they are doing raise them, so... let's talk

You can pm me here, or reach me at

 

[lenny]

Or... I can give you all the fry I can gather and you can raise them, lol

At this point in time, my focus is on learning how to be a good tank-keeper, and I'll be honest and say that although I have the time and schedule to maintain my tank... Right now I certainly don't have the time and schedule to raise the fry. I understand that it takes a LOT of work, and honestly, I'm neither prepared, nor ready to do it yet. I say yet, because down the line, I would certainly love to try my hand at the rearing of the fry, but realistically, I cannot guarantee that I would be home enough to even attempt a successful run.

Being a working musician, my job takes me away for a few days at a time quite often, (sometimes weeks) and though I can have a good friend come maintain the tank and feed it's inhabitants once a day, I can't really ask them to start coming over a few times a day to do what the fry require, with the multiple feedings, cleanings, etc....

So the moral is, basically I want to focus on getting the tank stable, and make sure that the livestock I have is doing well, and then down the line, If I know there's a period where I won't really be doing any touring (usually once or twice a year I take a month or two off from the gigs to clear my head), If it were to work out with the reproductive cycle of my ponies, I'd try my hand at it. Until then, I'd be happy to provide you with any fry I can collect, once they start producing them. I would love to come see your setup for rearing them, and hopefully learn as much as I can from you along the way, so that when I'm really ready, I really know what I'm doing.

I actually have an ongoing dialogue with Pete G., and he has sent me some great schematics for setting up a nursery when I'm ready. He's the most knowledgable cat I've been speaking with, and his help has been invaluabe in my beginning pursuit of this hobby. I think it's great that someone considered so prestegious in their field takes the time to really work with the noobs! I'm still looking for all the connections i can make with anyone who has experience with maintaining and raising seahorses, so that I can expand my own knowledge base, and have other people to chat with that share the same addiction, cuz my friends are starting to think i'm a nutter!

Please don't think i don't WANT to try my hand at raising fry, but I would rather approach it rationally and do the right thing by my little buddies. When I can devote the time and attention, then I will make the attempt. Til then... I will make friends who can help with that!

 

[lenny]

I would very much like to see the design of your feeding station. I currently use a simple mounted clamshell that contains the mysis for me, and though three of them come a-runnin' as soon as I put the transfer tube in the water, one of them has to be enticed with a personal invitation every time. I would love to see your design for a feeding station that encorporates the swirling motion fooling them into thinking they're alive. I currently let them eat what they will, then after a few minutes hit the mysis with a jet from my siphon which stirs them up above the shell, and while they are settling, the ponies snap them up. I'm sure your design would be terrific, and the horses would love the agitation of the food.