new year, new seahorse build!!!!!!(many pictuers)

Seahorse.org? Oh, you mean the forum I've been a moderator on since 2002?

Seahorses labelled as tank raised are often those that are also called net raised or pen raised. Those are exposed to regular ole ocean cooties that make them no "cleaner" than a wild caught. It's captive bred that you want to look for. Check on Seahorse.org for an explanation of each term as it pertains to seahorses.

Again, a novice should not try a smaller tank. They need to learn the cues that a seahorse is stressed. I believe after 15 years of keeping them, I have that part down. My seahorses are not the least bit stressed in their current tank. Now a wild caught large Reidi would not fit in one, I will indeed say that much.

Of all the things we've disproven about them, I'm still very conscious of temp as I have found spiking temps still brings illness. I use a chiller on my tank set at 73.

 

im only buying tank rasied. im just no going to take the risk, theirs a few bredder sites im looking at right now. if i have to ill just costom build a tank. i have a 24 inch 25 light, so im thinking about maby 20 inches long and 14 inches high. i dont know though. my bastment were im putting the tank, is great the temp never went above 70 in my 20 freshwater system

 

I think you misunderstood what I said. The ones breeders are selling, those ARE captive bred... not tank raised. This isn't a hobby definition of terms, but more of a seahorse specific accepted labelling. Captive bred seahorses that are sold are often F2 brood stock if they are from "bigger" breeders. That means the offspring come from captive bred parents as well.

Tank raised (pen raised/net raised) are ones that are reared in ocean water and are totally exposed to everything a wild caught would be. Their parents are wild caught and they are just trained to frozen before they reach us.

This post by Ann explains it very well. How To Choose The Right Seahorse - Seahorse.org

So, as you can see.... you do not want a seahorse labelled as tank bred, but one that is listed as captive bred.

 

o fail i put tank raised, nut i am looking for Captive bred ones. well most of the sites im on now are local. so i might just take a little trip out their and see.

 

Your first link to Seahorse Corral.... hers are captive bred. I also dearly love and buy my horses from Seahorsesource.com.


I want to emphsize again, that when I make a tank recommendation, I don't suggest a 20g. Smaller tanks are harder and these guys create a lot of mess. I was just addressing the blanket and caps emphasized statement that they CANNOT be kept in a smaller tank. A tang in a 40g is not a comparison. They look stressed in that size tank and pace and generally don't look "comfortable". A seahorse will not be stressed if all it's needs are met and it just happens to be in a smaller tank. It's simply untrue.

Rayjay pops in here every now and then. He has lots of informative links.

Not every mod from that forum has the same opinion either. Just like the rest of the issues in this hobby, we can very much disagree on some things.

 

ok im a little confused about this. are you saying they should be keeped in tanks smaller then 20 gallons.
or they will not stressed in a smaller tank if all its needs are meet????

sorry just a little confused

 

The beginner seahorse keeper should go with a tank larger than 20g. You should learn all the ins and outs first before taking on the burdon of the problems that can occur with smaller tanks. You'll also want to become better familiar with seahorse behaviour and learn when a seahorse appears stressed.

Can they be kept in a 20g? Yes.
Should a first time keeper keep them in a 20g? No.
Are my seahorses "happy" in their 20g? Most definitely.

I think I have enough experience to know if my horses were stressed. They are not. Hence, a 20g is a suitable environment for them to be in.

I just got finished with four 12 hour night shifts..... I may not be choosing the best words to explain myself.

 

wow 12 hour nighs, that sucks.
well i dont know if i can take on another tank bigger then 20 gallons. if my perents will let me even get one that big.

are their any dwarf ones that i dont have to feed live foods to because i no that H.zosterae (Dwarf seahorse) will have to eat lives. they will not take frozens

 

Would they go for buying a chiller?

 

At 5 clock this morning I was a bit confused about the tank\pen raised versus captive bred, and yes I meant captive bred. Several generations away from their wild caught great great grand parents. Wild caught or tank/pen raised your just looking for trouble between the health problems and the fact that they sometimes just stop eating frozen foods.

And As you said we can all agree to disagree. I started my seahorses out in a 15 High, while waiting for my 29 to cycle, which has the same foot print as a 10 gallon just like yours. I had two of them in there and all they did all day long was go up, then go down rather rapidly. And here is where the tang reference come in, they acted uncomfortable like a tang does in a small tank. Rarely did they stop and hitch or swim across the tank or even end to end. When I moved them to the 29, which is allot more real estate that behavior disappeared completely.

And seeing how we are talking with a rookie, that was already talking about putting them into a small tank I gave him my opinion and as you well know the opinion of may others. Which is keeping seahorses in anything less than a 29 cannot or should not be done by a rookie and even by some old Salts as we both know. And keeping Seahorses in a 12 gallon Bio Cube, unless thinking has changed about them (and I really don't think it has) is also a really bad Idea.

I really did not mean be nasty, although looking at my post now I do come off that way so for that I apologize. But as you said we all have our own opinions right and IMO a 20 gallon tank is to small.