Seahorses or Fish

Breed · 02-01-2007, 04:53 PM

Hey reefers,

I was recently thinking about starting a relatively small marine fish tank in my room. I was looking to get an Aquaone 620T which has the built-in filter and light, and is 130L or around 35 gallons. Im going to put it in my room, and this is the biggest tank that can fit in the space, but it cant hold the fish that i really want (Angels, Tangs etc) and i would only be looking at a few smaller fish. I saw some seahorses at the LFS the other day, and it made me think about trying seahorses out. What do you gusy think? It would look preety good with 4 or 5 seahorses in a tank with LR and branching Gorgonians and Sponges, or should i try a small tank with fish and corals?

Cheers,

Breed

milesm4 · 02-01-2007, 05:43 PM

Seahorses are cool but they don't like very much of a current and can be hard to feed. I'd go with the fish and corals.

mattgeezer · 02-01-2007, 06:06 PM

seahorse too delicate go corals and fish more fun

Breed · 02-02-2007, 12:07 AM

I would still have sponges, gorgonians and acropora corals with the seahorses. I just though it would be different and fun. I have to have a think about it!! More opinions please!!!!

Matt Rogers · 02-02-2007, 12:33 AM

If you go the sea-horse route go with captive-bred. My understanding is that they don't require live food and are easier to feed. The wild-caught sea-horses are illegal out this way due to a law by CITES I believe. They may be illegal everywhere now, not sure.

There was pressure to do so because so many (millions a year as I recall) are ground up for Asian medicines.

amcarrig · 02-02-2007, 06:22 AM

+1 with Matt's advice. Be prepared to compensate for the water quality issues you're bound to have due to the feeding and low flow tank requirements that these animals require. And if you get a mated pair, be prepared for lots and lots of babies

Breed · 02-02-2007, 09:53 PM

I was thinking about a group of 3-4 horses. Is it true that they cannot be housed with fish at all? cause i was reading that they can possibly be placed with clownfish and other docile fish. Any thoughts?

amcarrig · 02-03-2007, 07:49 AM

They can be housed with docile fish but you might have to take extra measures to make sure that the fish don't gobble up all of the food before the seahorses have a chance to get their fill.

Pisces23 · 02-03-2007, 07:54 AM

The Talking Reef podcast just started a series on seahorses, if you're interested....