Starting a seahorse tank

[amazo]

I just got my 37gal.tall tank and am wondering how I should set up.I plan on going kinda slow with this one.I'm not sure if I can drill it(the bottom said tempered but i think I've read sometimes it's only the bottom)gonna do more research. If i can't I was thinking a HOB overflow box but read these can be a hassle,and I don't think HOB filter and skimmer will be good enough(correct me if I'm wrong).I have 2 tanks now a 75 w/sump and a 55 w/2HOB filters and a HOB skimmer so I know how to deal with either.I want to add a bunch of tonga branch(still looking for a good source) some seagrass maybe some seafans and (though I'd like to go all natural)some plastic branching coral (I think these will make good hitching posts). Thanks for the help. I will try and get some pics of my build.

[amazo]

By the way I plan on housing dwarfs(have a good local source). I was thinking about starting with 3 or so and a clean-up crew.

[Swanwillow]

dwarves are completley different than regular horses. for dwarfs you want a small pico to nano tank (under 10 gallons) and a lot of feeding...

[TeresaQ]

Three 1 inch dwarfs would be lost in a 37 gal tank. I kept 3 adult H. Erectus in the 37 gal I use to have, and still had room. You would be better off with a 5 gal for dwarfs
I dont think you could put enough bbs in there to make sure they were fed good, since they only take live food.

[rayjay]

I have a 5g tank with 18 dwarfs in it.
Even with this number they would be lost in your larger tank, and, it would be a nightmare to feed them at the density of live baby brine you need for proper feeding.

[amazo]

guess i'll have to re think it I figured they are 3-4 inches long I thought they would be easy enough to see and I planned on adding more after I saw how the first ones worked out (guess I didn't think food through).I could get some giants I guess but like dwarfs a bit better,or i'll use this one for somthing ealse( my wife is on the fence about letting my get an octopus)and use one of my 10gal. for my horses. The only question would it be if the brine shrimp would be a water quality issue (i'm not 2nd guessing anybody I just don't know)or if it would be hard to get the density (i don't think that would be hard I hatch them for my other tanks and one batch is enough to make the 55 very dense with them with plenty left for the 75).I just want to get this one right so i'm open to all ideas,I picked this tank becuse of the highth and it fit the stand I want to use(plus more gallons more stable),but I guess its back to the drawing board and time to read some more. Thanks for all the help.

[rayjay]

H. zosterae are about 1 1/2" give or take, not 3-4".
The brine shrimp need to be grown out for a day and then enriched for two 12 hour periods with new water and enrichment for each 12 hour period, for best results. It's also best to decap the cysts first as it sterilizes the cysts and also lessens the chances of getting hydroids from the 2 or 3 times daily feedings.
Uneaten food needs to be removed because it's nutrient quality degrades and needs to be replaced next feeding again with ongrown enriched bbs.
Not removing the uneaten foods WILL affect water quality.

[amazo]

maybe i'm using the wrong term (dwarf) I was under the impression they came pygmy-under an inch,dwarf-1-6 inches,giants-12 inchs, the ones my "LFS"(its about 50 miles away)has are about 4 inches long.I will call them later and get more information on them.I'm just glad I asked instead of jumped right in.

[Swanwillow]

Oh goodness no. There's many, many different species that grow to different sizes. Only the dwarves (H. zoestrae? I think I have the spelling wrong) stay tiny. They're also the only ones that eat brine shrimp.

I'm unsure if I can go linking other forums, but you can look up seahorse care. Probably H. Erectus would be the easiest/best fit for your tank. They need frozen/thawed mysis shrimp 2-3 times a day. You may or may not need a chiller as the temperature in their tank should be kept under 75*. Good luck, by the way.

[amazo]

I figured it would be a water quality issue and it would be tricky to remove the un eaten ones(I kinda forget about removing un-eaten stuff becuse i've gotten to the point where my fish eat everything I give them -nothing goes uneaten).I'm totaly at the research stage and don't plan on getting anything for at least 6 months so don't worry about me buying them without knowing how to care for them.Even after much reading I feel like I know nothing about them-back to the research thanks again

[rayjay]

Yes, H. zosterae are the only dwarf seahorse in the hobby, and pygmy's are not available for the hobby.
Standard seahorses available in the hobby run from very hard to get fuscus that may get to 4"-5" most times, with reidi and erectus, the most commonly kept seahorses today, getting to be about 6"-7" long.
Some of the others: H. ingens (10"-12") and H. kelloggi (9"-11")
Seahorses are NOT an easy fish to keep and need proper understanding of their needs before you get into the hobby like you are doing now.
There are several links at the bottom of My Thoughts on Seahorsekeeping page that can give you a lot of information for beginning the hobby.
It is recommended to buy TRUE captive bred seahorses that hardly any LFS carry, instead of the commonly sold tank raised that are often mislabelled as captive bred, which most LFSs carrying seahorses are selling.
The store should be able to identify to you, the breeder of the seahorses so you can investigate and be certain of what you are getting.
If they don't, then suspect tank raised, not true captive bred.
Also, tank raised are cheaper than captive bred but are worth the extra money in the better odds of survival.
Check out the True captive bred seahorses at seahorsesource.com, pekasponies.com and seahorsecorral.com.

[amazo]

The more I think about it H.Erectus does sound right (what my LFS stocks) but I will call after work.Sorry for the wrong terminology.

[rayjay]

You never have to apologize for learning.

[Swanwillow]

Nope! I read on seahorses for many years, and it never worked out for me. I am thinking on trying again though...


on a side note, I just looked over to my reef tank and saw gammetes being released by some sort of snail. Huh, cool.

[fishyman12]

I had dwarves and they were easier to care for then i expected. Feeding is most important. Id go 10 gallon max

[amazo]

I put water and sand in.Still looking for advise on the filter I'm thinking of a HOB for now just to get some movement.

[rayjay]

For your filter, you will have to make your own decision on that because there are so many methods used.
For me, I only use rock in the sump for my biological filter, and have "quick fliter" attachments on my Hagen 802 power heads that remove fine particulate matter resulting from feeding.
Larger particles that settle get vacuumed out.

[amazo]

thanks

[TwistedNerve]

Do you plan on breeding your seahorses?

[amazo]

Probably,is there anything I should consider during my build phase?