Seahorse care

brandoniscool · 02/24/2014, 01:52 PM

Hi my name is Will (the helper to post new thread on Reef Central). My teacher is Mr.Rutherford (Brandon). I love seahorses so I am interested in how to take care of seahorses

so I was wondering if you guys could tell me online on Reef Central how to take care of seahorses like do they like fresh water or salt water and what calcium is the best for seahorses.

Thanks,
Will

Mark Bianco · 02/24/2014, 05:19 PM

Hi Will,

As far a seahorse go they do require saltwater as they originate from the ocean. There may be some that are freshwater but I have never seen any. The requirements for a seahorse tank are as follows. A tank the not too bright. a tank that has a low flow rate. as they are not great swimmers in stong current. They also need some type of small skinny rock work something like Tonga Branch rock as they will wrap their tails around it to steady themselves while resting or hunting for food. The ones I had I fed Mysis shrimp and they were a joy to watch. There is no special calcium or other type of requirements for seahorses that you do not have already have in saltwater.

Mark

tmz · 02/25/2014, 11:01 AM

Hello Will.

Seahorses are my favorite. I had 8 and now I have 35 after raising some babies they had. They are the only fish where the boy gets pregnant and caries the babies in a pouch like a kangaroo for about 2 weeks until they are ready to swim on their own.

They live in the sea in nature and need salt water that has the things sea water has, like calcium magnesium, carbonate, chloride , sulfate, and a long list of other things.

The need clean water and a clean tank. They swim ok, but not in strong currents. In nature they live in sea grass and coral areas where they can hide ,get protection from the current and other fish that might want to eat them. In my aquarium I keep them in their own tank without other fish. I use some plastic chains , plastic corals and other things to give them an interesting home with a lot of places to hold on with their tails.

They also have special cells in their body that let them change their color.

They like to curl their tails up around things and perch like a bird. They sometimes curl around my fingers when my hand is in the tank.

They like to eat a lot. I feed them some special shrimp twice a day.

Some pictures I thought you'd like:

tmz · 02/25/2014, 11:06 AM

A few more picutres:

Random shots of the corral and it's ponies:

Sorry for the duplicates;hitthe wrong buttons. Here are a few more:

fishgate · 02/25/2014, 11:08 AM

One more thing - most Sea Horses are cooler water fish. Low 70s. This usually requires a "Chiller" to cool the water as room temperature along with all the heat producing devices in the water tend to make the water too warm.

AZBigJohn · 02/25/2014, 11:38 AM

Hi, Will,

I too like seahorses, although I do not keep them anymore as I was unable to keep my tank cool enough for them. There is a great forum on here dedicated solely to seahorses and pipefish, found here: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=35

Paul B · 02/25/2014, 12:17 PM

Seahorses are the only fish that have a skeleton inside, like us, and a skeleton outside like an insect.

tmz · 02/26/2014, 02:02 AM

Some species like erectus live across a broad range of temperatures. Mine do very well in the mid to upper 70's and occasional low 80s.

02/24/2014, 01:52 PM	#1
brandoniscool Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Champaign IL Posts: 526	Seahorse care Hi my name is Will (the helper to post new thread on Reef Central). My teacher is Mr.Rutherford (Brandon). I love seahorses so I am interested in how to take care of seahorses so I was wondering if you guys could tell me online on Reef Central how to take care of seahorses like do they like fresh water or salt water and what calcium is the best for seahorses. Thanks, Will __________________ Coral Reef Project Stratton Elementary rutherbr@champaignschools.org mrrutherfordisawesome.weebly.com/reef-system Current Tank Info: Mix Reef

02/25/2014, 11:01 AM	#3
tmz ReefKeeping Mag staff Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: West Seneca NY Posts: 27,691	Hello Will. Seahorses are my favorite. I had 8 and now I have 35 after raising some babies they had. They are the only fish where the boy gets pregnant and caries the babies in a pouch like a kangaroo for about 2 weeks until they are ready to swim on their own. They live in the sea in nature and need salt water that has the things sea water has, like calcium magnesium, carbonate, chloride , sulfate, and a long list of other things. The need clean water and a clean tank. They swim ok, but not in strong currents. In nature they live in sea grass and coral areas where they can hide ,get protection from the current and other fish that might want to eat them. In my aquarium I keep them in their own tank without other fish. I use some plastic chains , plastic corals and other things to give them an interesting home with a lot of places to hold on with their tails. They also have special cells in their body that let them change their color. They like to curl their tails up around things and perch like a bird. They sometimes curl around my fingers when my hand is in the tank. They like to eat a lot. I feed them some special shrimp twice a day. Some pictures I thought you'd like: __________________ Tom Current Tank Info: Tank of the Month , November 2011 : 600gal integrated system: 3 display tanks (120 g, 90g, 89g),several frag/grow out tanks, macroalgae refugia, cryptic zones. 40+ fish, seahorses, sps,lps,leathers, zoanthidae and non photosynthetic corals. Last edited by tmz; 02/25/2014 at 11:18 AM.

02/25/2014, 11:06 AM	#4
tmz ReefKeeping Mag staff Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: West Seneca NY Posts: 27,691	A few more picutres: Random shots of the corral and it's ponies: Sorry for the duplicates;hitthe wrong buttons. Here are a few more: __________________ Tom Current Tank Info: Tank of the Month , November 2011 : 600gal integrated system: 3 display tanks (120 g, 90g, 89g),several frag/grow out tanks, macroalgae refugia, cryptic zones. 40+ fish, seahorses, sps,lps,leathers, zoanthidae and non photosynthetic corals.

02/25/2014, 11:08 AM	#5
fishgate Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Damascus, MD Posts: 3,340	One more thing - most Sea Horses are cooler water fish. Low 70s. This usually requires a "Chiller" to cool the water as room temperature along with all the heat producing devices in the water tend to make the water too warm. __________________ 125RR in-wall, 40B Sump, CS180 BM Skimmer, ATI 4x80 watt, eheim 1262, custom wrap around rock wall, ReefKeeper Elite 120g in-wall, 40B Sump, PC 54wx4, Jabao DC-6000 (full siphon), future seahorse t Current Tank Info: 125g, 120g, 2x40b sumps, ATI 4x80 T5HO

02/25/2014, 11:38 AM	#6
AZBigJohn Usually confused... Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 1,091	Hi, Will, I too like seahorses, although I do not keep them anymore as I was unable to keep my tank cool enough for them. There is a great forum on here dedicated solely to seahorses and pipefish, found here: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=35 __________________ John Current Tank Info: Currently a 29 gallon all-in-one frag tank and a 210 gallon tank slowly becoming my dream system!

02/24/2014, 05:19 PM	#2
Mark Bianco In Memoriam Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Infinity and Beyond Posts: 2,445	Hi Will, As far a seahorse go they do require saltwater as they originate from the ocean. There may be some that are freshwater but I have never seen any. The requirements for a seahorse tank are as follows. A tank the not too bright. a tank that has a low flow rate. as they are not great swimmers in stong current. They also need some type of small skinny rock work something like Tonga Branch rock as they will wrap their tails around it to steady themselves while resting or hunting for food. The ones I had I fed Mysis shrimp and they were a joy to watch. There is no special calcium or other type of requirements for seahorses that you do not have already have in saltwater. Mark

02/25/2014, 12:17 PM	#7
Paul B Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 15,549	Seahorses are the only fish that have a skeleton inside, like us, and a skeleton outside like an insect. __________________ I used to get shocked when I put my hand in my tank. Then the electric eel went dead. Current Tank Info: 100 gal reef set up in 1971

02/26/2014, 02:02 AM	#8
tmz ReefKeeping Mag staff Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: West Seneca NY Posts: 27,691	Some species like erectus live across a broad range of temperatures. Mine do very well in the mid to upper 70's and occasional low 80s. __________________ Tom Current Tank Info: Tank of the Month , November 2011 : 600gal integrated system: 3 display tanks (120 g, 90g, 89g),several frag/grow out tanks, macroalgae refugia, cryptic zones. 40+ fish, seahorses, sps,lps,leathers, zoanthidae and non photosynthetic corals.