Pico seahorse tank??

[ihaveadane]

I am considering setting up a 5 gallon pico tank for Seahorses. Has anyone tried this? How much maintaince are seahorses? Can they eat fronze food? Do they really need to be fed everyday? Are there any LFS that sell dwarves or other types of horses that are appoprite for a 5 gallon?

I am looking for opinions - this will help me decide if it is worth it and I think I can keep happy, healthy seahorses.

 

[megadeth]

try here

http://forum.seahorse.org/">http://forum.seahorse.org/</a>

they require a lot of food, in small tanks that can be hard to manage

 

[platyplakia]

Gotta run to work, but I've had Dwarf seahorses for about 6 months now. Just moved them from a 12 gallon down to a 6. I think 6 is a better option. They are A LOT of work. Hatch brine shrimp EVERY day. In my opinion it's worth it, but that's up to you. I'll write more when if you have any more questions. Just let me know. Best of luck to ya.

 

[lenny]

In my opinion, the 5 gallon tank would be too small for anything other than dwarf (H. Zosterae) seahorses.

If you are interested in getting into larger tanks, with larger seahorses, I have posted threads about that on here already, or feel free to PM me.

I would suggest doing all the research that you can on the different sizes, breeds, etc... My favorite seahorse forum is the one at Ocean Rider

 

[ihaveadane]

Thanks for the link. Guess I need to do a lot a reading first.

What type of hatchery do you have? I have seen the Hatch n Feeder that looks like it supplies a constant flow of shrimp as long as you add eggs every couple of days. Have you seen or heard of this?

What do you reccommend as a filter system? Lighting? Will simple compact aqaurium florecents be OK?

 

[caldwellm]

I have been keeping H. Erectus seahorses in a 20 gallon for about 6 months now and they are perfectly happy. With a 6 gallon tank i would nto recommend anything larger than dwarves, and dwarves are terribly difficult to keep. The H. Erectus horses are known to be some of the easiest to keep, and even they need to be fed ATLEAST once (twice recommended) a day!
Having said all that, I love seahorses with everything in me I have spent far more money on my reef tank than my seahorse tank, and they are both just as fun to watch in my opinion
Just take your time, research before buying! If you dont, you'll almost surely have a tank full of dead ponies!

Good luck!!!!!!

 

[platyplakia]

I started using an eclipse 12 gal. I just moved down to an eclipse 6. The only mod i did was to put a foam cover over the pump intake. Never had a problem. One thing I would recomend with the dwarfs is that you use base rock only. There are so many creepy crawlies on live rock that you don't want in the tank. And treat any macro algea you put in there. I've had the misfortune of bringing in some flatworms on some cheato and I can't get rid of them for the life of me. Definately check out seahorse.org. great info and it's free to join. best of luck to ya.

 

[nano_reefer92]

http://ccritters.com/catalog/i41.html">http://ccritters.com/catalog/i41.html</a>

here is five pairs for $45 and look at the left side and click on dwarf seahorse and see there are 1 pair 3 pair...

 

[ihaveadane]

I want to dumb proof a seahorse tank as much as possible. I see where silk plants are suggested but for the sake of having something that also helps "purify" the water- is there a live plant that can be recommended? I have read cheato but that seems to me to just clump. Not sure how to make that look good and not just float.

Also I found a brine hatchery that seems to be semi self-sufficiant. Anyone used this device before?

 

[caldwellm]

I have a tank with fake plants and Live Rock, which provides a water purification and plants that are perfect for the seahorses!

 

[platyplakia]

IMHO cheato is the best. I know it doesn't look the best, but it does provide refuge for copepods (amphipods are too big for them) witch are the dwarfs natural prey. Most people seem to like the prolifera(sp?). It grows quickly and they really like it. Like I said, just treat anything you put in. They are very fond of fake plants as well and some people actually prefer that, so it's really up to you.

 

[nano_reefer92]

IHAVEADANE;70863 wrote: I want to dumb proof a seahorse tank as much as possible. I see where silk plants are suggested but for the sake of having something that also helps "purify" the water- is there a live plant that can be recommended? I have read cheato but that seems to me to just clump. Not sure how to make that look good and not just float.

Also I found a brine hatchery that seems to be semi self-sufficiant. Anyone used this device before?


http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod/215683/product.web">http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod/215683/product.web</a>[/QUOTE]

it worked prety well when i had it just clean it each time you add shrimp eggs to it. The reason being it will get dirty