Hello everyone, I am not new to aquatics but am new to salt. I have kept fish almost 30 years and I have 15 aquariums , a koi pond and also a goldfish pond. I have two younger children ages 5 and 7 who are wanting seahorses and starfish. I have a 14 gallon that I thought about changing over to a dwarf seahorse tank.Any help you can offer I am all ears.
Newbie wanting seahorses
- Thread starter mrsmoose
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From what I have read (never kept dwarfs), they are much more forgiving than their big brothers. The biggest issue with them is feeding. They need a constantly supply of food, and their diet is pretty specific. That coupled with the small water volume equals a tank that needs a good bit of maintenance to keep it clean.
Seahorses can be very tough. expecially dwarf. Most seahorses will only except liive foods so assuring you are able to provide that is a very importatnt thing to look at. Second most need to be fed 3-4 times per day. dwarf seahorses are very had to enjoy or even see. I have a hard time seeing them in a 5 gallon tank I could never amaging a 14. I would look into a 30 gallon tall tank for a pair of erectus seahorses. Those are becoming more common to find as captive bread(avoid wild caught at all costs) as well as eaier to get to accept fozen foods. I have mine trained on frozen mysis and will feed right off my toadstool. If you have more questions I would be happy to help with any questions.
With my location, I usually try to buy fish while in Ga on weekends visiting my mother and grandmother. I have been looking online trying to find a dont break the bank pair , My local petco gets them but to be honest I have no desire to buy from petco for almost 100 each knowing their fish track record lol ,and having them shipped is wow.I do have a 5 gallon cycled to use as a qt so not sure which way to go with it now lol as I do want something that the kids can see well.As far as cleaning, I have a discus tank that gets daily water changes so not an issue
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We've been keeping seahorses a long time and it's not near as difficult as some will lead you. We feed twice a day when our schedule permits. All of my seahorses eat frozen mysis, but my captive bred ones will eat anything I throw in the tank. We started with a 15 gallon column tank and now have a 60 cube, we currently have 4 seahorses 3 captive and 1 wild.
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They are doing great.
BrandonMason;1024471 wrote:alt="" />
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We've been keeping seahorses a long time and it's not near as difficult as some will lead you. We feed twice a day when our schedule permits. All of my seahorses eat frozen mysis, but my captive bred ones will eat anything I throw in the tank. We started with a 15 gallon column tank and now have a 60 cube, we currently have 4 seahorses 3 captive and 1 wild.
Is there certain corals I need to go with ? I have been a little worried but your post has eased my mind, I have loved seahorses as long as I can remember and I am really excited to be finally brave enouggh to try them.
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Well the sps is not a good choice, a softie tank is fine, I've kept acans and some lps with them but stay away from lobo, brains, and larger mouthed corals as they can eat seahorses. We have leathers, shrooms, and gorgonian in our tank
Brandon and his wife Connie have certainly earned their stripes as seahorse wranglers.
A 14G is too big for dwarfs, not to mention the issue of keeping live brine or copepods for them - it's fun but it can get spendy.
Nowadays almost all of the larger species that are sold in stores are captive bred - so they are already conditioned to eat prepared foods, Mysis shrimp in particular. 15 years ago the majority were wild caught and training them to eat frozen foods was half the battle, not to mention various ailments that they are prone to.
These days they are a lot easier to keep than they used to be, but they do have specialized needs. In the wild they would live in seagrass beds, not on a coral reef, for the most part, so choosing aquascaping that is more to their natural habits is preferable.
Jenn
A 14G is too big for dwarfs, not to mention the issue of keeping live brine or copepods for them - it's fun but it can get spendy.
Nowadays almost all of the larger species that are sold in stores are captive bred - so they are already conditioned to eat prepared foods, Mysis shrimp in particular. 15 years ago the majority were wild caught and training them to eat frozen foods was half the battle, not to mention various ailments that they are prone to.
These days they are a lot easier to keep than they used to be, but they do have specialized needs. In the wild they would live in seagrass beds, not on a coral reef, for the most part, so choosing aquascaping that is more to their natural habits is preferable.
Jenn
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Thanks Brandon, but I can't take credit for that tank. Connie put it together and Jenn walked us down this path.
The Fish Store in Chamblee has a nano set up by the register with dwarfs. I talked with the woman who set it up. She says she has gotten them trained on frozen. It's a pretty little tank. Definitely worth a trip over to see it if you are considering them.
I'm in the process of setting up a 20 gallon (tied into the main system) and my 11 year old son wants dwarfs. I thought he should go with a larger species, but we are giving them a try. We have an in-tank brine hatcher so that they will get a continuous supply of baby brine.
I'm in the process of setting up a 20 gallon (tied into the main system) and my 11 year old son wants dwarfs. I thought he should go with a larger species, but we are giving them a try. We have an in-tank brine hatcher so that they will get a continuous supply of baby brine.
Yes, isn't that cute little tank at the Fish Store! I stare at it for like 10 mins everytime I go in there. That's what started the spark for me to want to do a horse tank. She said it's not heard with that auto brine feeder. She just cleans it out everyday and puts a new little scoop of brine in and that's it. I want to do something small like that. 5gal I'm thinking. Keep us posted on how you progress with yours. Where are you thinking of actually getting the horses once you're ready?
