dwarf seahorses and regular seahorses?

ok guys whats the difference between dwarf seahorses and regular seahorses? are there different care requirements?

thanks in advance!!

 

anyone??

 

Dwarf seahorses, H. Zosterae, are very small, need small tank and have to be fed BBS daily. They will get up to about 3/4" with 1" being exceptional if it gets that size.
Seahorses normally in the trade, like Reidi, Kuda, Erectus, can eat frozen mysis (if not wild caught) and require a minimum tank of 29 tall for a pair.
Adult sizes will get to be from about 4"to 5" and up depending on the type of seahorse.

 

I was considering getting seahorses recently and in my research I learned that dwarfs (and most seahorses) really need their own tank with no other tank mates other than very small hermits or snails. No live rock was also recommended as the dwarfs are very sensitive and if there are any stinging polyps, etc. that might be in the rock it would be very detrimental to the horses. Plus they require daily LIVE food feedings - such as newly hatched baby brine shrimp. So you must understand how to take care of their food source as well.

Normal sized horses from a reliable source will eat frozen foods. But again, from what I've read, most seahorses are best off in their own tank with very low water circulation, and mild filteration that won't suck up their food before they can eat it.

There appears to be a lot of info on the web regarding seahorses but maybe someone here who has them can point you to the best articles.

 

would a pair (not dwarf) be able to fit in my 10 gal? they dont sound like they need room to swim. i have a lot of mysis and could seed the tank with pods a while before i get the sehorses (that what i planned on anyway).

 

From what I've read their mouths are so small that baby brine shrimp are about the right size to feed them. Here is a link to a website with a discussion forum that you might find helpful.

www.seahorse.org

 

yea id rather have the larger species if possible but idk if i have the right size tank. they will be in a refugium type set up so their messy eating habits are fine. does anyone know if i can put regular seahorses in this size tank. what is the smallest breed of seahorse besides dwarfs.

 

10g is not sufficient for anything but dwarf seahorses.
H. Fuscus is the next smallest but they grow to 4 or 4 1/2".
I know of one hobbyist keeping a pair of H. Fuscus in a 20g hex but he keeps a bare bottom and siphons out all previous food from the bottom BEFORE he feeds again which is 3 times a day.
The size aquarium is needed to help maintain water quality as that is a big problem in seahorse keeping. Seahorses don't eat all the food that's put in their tanks and it degrades water quality even when you siphon out what you can each day.
A tall tank is best as the pairs need height for doing the mating dance and transfer of eggs.
As for any pod life, my 40g tank was fully loaded with
pods including mysid shrimp, and it was decimated with a pair of H. Reidi's within two days, even though I was feeding frozen mysis and live brine shrimp adults.

 

oh dang well i guess this just sucks then. hmmm i dont know what to do now then. really wanted to do the seahorses but not dwarfs. man this sucks.

 

you said it was the size for uneaten food. what if i had my snail cleanup crew? i want them in a tank with macro algae because i like how it looks and it helps clean from their eating habits. thanks guys. and hopefully im not screwed to the dwarfs only