Seahorses

[BecciMac1987]

Seahorses dont have stomachs so they need feeding well, and often starve due to a lack of food. Just a heads up!

 

[stang1]

Thanks Becci!
Any tips on creating enough food for them in the tank?

 

[BecciMac1987]

Lol no I never got round to getting them for my nano tank, didnt have time for the maintenence, but I do remember the feeding being my main worry. Im sure someone else will answer tho...

 

[Colin_T]

It doesn't really matter when you add the corals, juts make sure the tank is cycled before they go in.

You can grow caulerpa (macro algae) in the tank and that will encourage amphipods and mysis shrimp to grow in there. But you will have to feed the seahorses several times a day with frozen or live food. Virtually all seahorses should be captive bred these days because it is illegal to collect them from the oceans. Therefore they should all take frozen food without any problems. Feed them on mysis shrimp, brineshrimp and anything else you can get them to eat. the more variety the better.

 

[stang1]

Thanks anyway.
I've plenty of time to do more research and like to get the experiences of other members before rushing in.

 

[andywg]

Dwarf seahorses (H. zebra) would be perfect for a tank that size. I recall anywhere up to 15-20 can live in one.

On the "they don't have stomachs so need loads of food" point, the entirety of the Cyprinid family (including carp and goldfish) do not have stomachs either yet do fine with periods without food (the goldfish takes up to 72 hours to clear its intestines once food is withheld).

 

[stang1]

Thanks Andy, I was hoping for your input along the way.
Are they difficult to get hold of?

 

[andywg]

Thanks Andy, I was hoping for your input along the way.
Are they difficult to get hold of?

No worries.

They aren't the easiest to get hold of. It's probably worth heading over to Seahorses.org or some other forum that may be more local to you (at a pinch consider Reefcentral) to see if there is a breeder within easy reach/posting of you.

 

[stang1]

Thanks again.
I shall have a look on there over the next few weeks.

 

[andywg]

One of the advantages of dwarf seahorses is they are somewhat frisky, earning them the nickname of SW guppies in some circles. If there is someone breeding nearby then there is a fair chance of there being some available.

 

[stang1]

That's what I'm hoping for.
I've wanted a seahorse tank for a long time and now feel a bit more confident about starting one. I would have loved your Frogfish, if I had a bigger tank, but the better half is having none of it!