I have been collecting information on seahorses for about 10 months in preparation for a specialty tank. I set up the aquarium sometime in May with live rock/live sand/ and power compact lighting. Partly due to the information from last meeting about replacing sand every four years and partly to increase sand bed, I am going to add about an inch of sand. My question is whether to use a fine sand granule or coarse like my current sand for the seahorses? I also plan to add dead sand and wonder if it will cycle the tank? I will probably use this forum for several other details about seahorse care as I am fast approaching the arrival of the horses. Thanks, John.
Seahorse Care
- Thread starter jballa15
- Start date
I am nowhere near expert on Seahorses but when I had my tank up it did very well....I used LS (aragalive sand) and only about a 1.5 inch sandbed....I am not sure if the size of the grain would make a big difference as far as the seahorses go. I think that is more of an aesthetic issue.
However, I think if ever do another seahorse tank I may go BB. That is something Porter reccomended I do and I didnt but I kind of wish I had. The seahorses eat much, much, much better when the frozen mysis are gently cycling around the tank/feeding station. With a BB tank you can get a small powerhead and shift the flow so it goes out of the bottom of the PH and hits the bottom of the tank. That way any food that falls to the bottom stays moving around and the seahorses will snag the food off the bottom of the tank as it cycles around. Moreover, it becomes much easier to siphon out any uneaten food. I am not a big fan of the BB look but I think for seahorses its the way to go.....
Man i miss my ponies...
However, I think if ever do another seahorse tank I may go BB. That is something Porter reccomended I do and I didnt but I kind of wish I had. The seahorses eat much, much, much better when the frozen mysis are gently cycling around the tank/feeding station. With a BB tank you can get a small powerhead and shift the flow so it goes out of the bottom of the PH and hits the bottom of the tank. That way any food that falls to the bottom stays moving around and the seahorses will snag the food off the bottom of the tank as it cycles around. Moreover, it becomes much easier to siphon out any uneaten food. I am not a big fan of the BB look but I think for seahorses its the way to go.....
Man i miss my ponies...
My seahorses have no problem finding any food that spills over onto the sand. Once they have been trained to use the feeding station, they will come and gobble it up more often than not, but a simple bulb siphon is enough to stir the food around a little bit while they are eating. I also occasionally keep the powerheads on during feeding so that the mysis blow around the tank a bit and they get to work on their natural predatory skills.
My goal is to provide as realistic an environment as possible for them, so bare bottom would not be an option for me. I would only use bare bottom for seahorses in a very young fry rearing tank.
There are many sites out there besides seahorse.org, though they do have some good information, it should by no means be your only stop on the research train. I've posted quite a few other sources of information on threads here before, but if you are looking for more information I can lead you to a few sites where you can get into direct communication with some of the leaders in the field, rather than having to sort through just the opinions of the more casual hobbyists. I think both camps have valid information, but in my opinion some of these folks who've spent years earning the respect of the community have a bit more weight to their thoughts and ideas over someone who's never set up a seahorse tank. (Please, to anyone who's reading this, take no offense, because I have listend and will continue to listen to you guys too! Many different people at all levels of the hobby can and do have valuable information and experience! I just have the experience of almost two years with my own tank, and have done extensive research and communication with many people on the subject, from amateur to professional, from "wing-it" to scientist, and have found a few sources that I really respect and trust that have tons of experience and seem to have pointed me in the right direction! That's all im saying, so please dont read anything else into this, lol)
My goal is to provide as realistic an environment as possible for them, so bare bottom would not be an option for me. I would only use bare bottom for seahorses in a very young fry rearing tank.
There are many sites out there besides seahorse.org, though they do have some good information, it should by no means be your only stop on the research train. I've posted quite a few other sources of information on threads here before, but if you are looking for more information I can lead you to a few sites where you can get into direct communication with some of the leaders in the field, rather than having to sort through just the opinions of the more casual hobbyists. I think both camps have valid information, but in my opinion some of these folks who've spent years earning the respect of the community have a bit more weight to their thoughts and ideas over someone who's never set up a seahorse tank. (Please, to anyone who's reading this, take no offense, because I have listend and will continue to listen to you guys too! Many different people at all levels of the hobby can and do have valuable information and experience! I just have the experience of almost two years with my own tank, and have done extensive research and communication with many people on the subject, from amateur to professional, from "wing-it" to scientist, and have found a few sources that I really respect and trust that have tons of experience and seem to have pointed me in the right direction! That's all im saying, so please dont read anything else into this, lol)
Basically, I would do whatever Lenny says and reccomends because thats what I did and it worked out great....as for the sand, its true that creating a natural habitat is important so that is a great point....I dont know that I am completely decided on BB if I get into seahorses again but I do like the idea of not needing a feeding station (at least thats what I understand of it but I may be wrong) with BB since its easier to siphon up what falls....
the links that lenny has baove are geat...the link blow is a link off of seahorse.org that is great if you wanna put something other than ponies in the tank....good compatability tool
the links that lenny has baove are geat...the link blow is a link off of seahorse.org that is great if you wanna put something other than ponies in the tank....good compatability tool
thanks for the info. I will read as much as possible and get back to the forum. I agree I have spent a lot of time getting questionable information, but have found some very reliable sources, one being seahorse.org. I am getting really excited and close to shopping for a couple after I get this fuge up n runnin. Thanks John.
