Sea Horse Tank

hey guys... when i set up my HT tank for my clowns.. i got the exitment of "building a new tank"...

and it crossed my mind.. what if i return this clowns and set my self up a sea horse tank? but then again.. im not sure of their requirements..

On that tank, i only have the mechanical filter and some LR and some sand i took from my tank. ( pretty much another FOWLR tank but used as HT).

I know most of the things ( water quality wise) that a sea horse needs, based on previous readings.
like the temp at 75, live foods, low flow, etc..
so i was just wandering what other equipment i would need to do that? if possible..
this tank is a 25G.
add some other basic info on sea horses if you want.

 

Make sure whatever seahorse you get if you choose one, you choose the correct height for the tank, its not so much width thats the matter as the height most need 18"+ bare minimum.

 

i think this is a 24" x 12" x 20"

 

yeah, are you going to do anything else in the tank?

 

Your tank is right at the limits of what is OK to house seahorses, a 29 gallon is recommended as the minimum for keeping seahorses so a 25 thats 20 tall is close, it would be OK to house a pair but no more. As far as what seahorses to get, I would recommend Hipcampus Erectus, or Mustangs. Mostly for ease of care, the Stangs tend to be much easier to care for than other's. Hipocampus Redis and Hipocampus Kelloggi can be very finicky especially with eating, they are easily put off by the strangest thing and getting them back to eating can be extremely hard.

And if a seahorse stops eating its a race against the clock becasue they can starve to death in a matter of a couple of days. And stay away from Seahorse that require live foods, make sure that they are tankbreed and accustomed to eating frozen foods like Mysis. And buy them from reliable sources NOT FROM pet stores. There are members on Seahorse.org that sell them and online seahorsesource.com is one of the best places to get them. I also know a very reputable breeder that will ship them for you, if you would like her info I can give it to you if you pm me.

But there are many other things to consider. Most important it temperature, Seahorses need to be kept in a cooler environment than what most are able to give them with out using coolers or other means of cooling the tank. 68 for a low to 74 maximum and some say 74 degrees is pushing it. This is not becasue they need cooler temp but most parasites and Bacteria and other thing that seahorses are susceptible to cannot live at these temps. My tanks are in my basement and I don't rum heaters in any of them. This keeps all including my Display Reef between 72 and 76 degrees.

Along with temps, lighting has to be considered. Most lighting today makes it really hard to keep the temps low. Led lighting will be great for seahorse keepers, especially when the price comes down. I use T5's on my tank but even then I have to use several fans to keep my temps low. MH and Compact Fluorescents are out of the question becasue they both run so hot. If you not planning on keeping any corals in the tank along with the seahorses you can use store bought screw in Compact fluorescent bulbs to light the tank as seahorses don't care.

Also to be considered are the tank mates. As far as coral goes all SPS and most LPS with tentacles like Duncan's, Open Brains are out of the question. Most Zoa's, smaller mushrooms (no giant fish eating Mushrooms), Leathers and other softies are fine. As far as fish go you have to stay away from fish like Clowns, Wrasses and others that are very active in the water column especially when feeding, becasue if they are actively hunting foods they will possibly scare seahorses away from the foods you are feeding them.

One of the best sources for Seahorse information out there is Seahorse.org There is a wealth of information in the Forums and in the library which can be accessed by anyone but to read the forums you have to be a member.

 

WOW thanks for all the info;D
K+

 

no. pretty much just sea horses;D
maybe some Zoas.

 

Here is my page on my experiences with links at the bottom to articles written by Dan Underwood of seahorsesource.com and other knowledgeable people on the seahorse.org site.
MY THOUGHTS ON SEAHORSE KEEPING

 

thanks. this is all very useful info;D