anyone here keep seahorses?

[seper_fishy]

well i walked into my LFS today and saw a 12 gal aquapod all set up with a sign that said buy this tank as you see it for $250. well it was a nice looking tank the worker said if we wanted something different he could build us one.
the wife has always loved seahorses so i asked if he could set up a seahorse tank and he said yes. he suggested going up to the 24 gal aquapod for a little bit more $$$$$.

our wedding anniversary is coming up and i would love to surprise here with a seahorse or 2.

i wouldn't really want to much else in the tank just just wondering if anybody here keeps any.

 

[1979camaro]

I don't think we have anyone who actually keeps seahorses as they are very tricky. There are a lot of threads about keeping them on here (just do a search) but I would say if you do go that way make sure you get tank bred and make sure you read a ton of stuff!

 

[FroggyFox]

Yep...research is the name of the game. I have a friend in Canada who keeps them, used to be an active member here, I could ask him for some contact information for you if you want to talk to him about keeping them.

I know that feeding is particularly difficult because of what they eat and the fact that they eat...um...like horses Just from talking to him I wouldn't attempt seahorses, even though they are super cool lookin, unless I had a lot of time and money to devote to them.

 

[seastaar88]

we had lined seahorses at the aquarium. picky eaters. we alternated between blood worms and live adult brine shrimp. make sure you have soemthing in the tank for them to wrap their tails around like rope or eel grass...

 

[CoolWaters]

they love copepods!

not a bad idea to connect a good refuge to get a constant supply of thos things.

 

[jessey]

they are really cute. there are a few tanks that have em at the lfs i go to for my saltwater needs... i would never think about keep them, of course, because right now i'm having trouble keeping snails alive.

 

[seper_fishy]

the lfs has tank raised or captive bred sea horses that eat frozen foods.
im thinking i might give it a try.

 

[aresgod]

they are doable, I used to take care of the seahorse tank at work...the tricky thing is to keep enough flow to prevent algae break outs, but not blow the sea horses around, they also need things to curl around, and have a species only tank so they are not competing for food...there is lots of good literature out there...so if you want to suprise your wife I would do all the research your self so you can take care of/ know what your getting into when you get them.

 

[Fuzz16]

if you do decide to get one, ask the lfs guy to feed him. dont just take his word that he is eating...

 

[Betta5]

I have some right now, i would suggest you dont get LR as some things that come with it can really harm your seahorses. You could scrub it but even then i wouldnt trust it with my lil guys. I go for a sump with a bio filter (like the sponge kind) with mech and chem also. Then in their tank i have mangroves and macro algeas to help keep nitrates and other nastys down. Defo go for the 24 cube the 12 would be to small for anything and to big for dwarfs (they need smaller tanks for a higher food density, or they dont get much food and start to starve). Im sure the aquapod filter would be ok with some adjustments but also i would suggest mangroves and macros in the main tank also (they dont run a very high price either).

research is your friend. I did loads and am still finding out new things everyday. And just enjoy it, dont get stressed over things, then it will become negitive not a fun hobbie. Also once your suprise your wife, get her to do lots of research too.

Good Luck and have fun with it!!!

Sean

 

[Lotus]

If you haven't already, you can visit Seahorse Organisation. Keeping and Breeding Seahorses in the home aquarium. for some info. I believe there is a lot there.

 

[seper_fishy]

been reading up a lot and think i need to take a trip out to the LFS and see if they got any 24cubes to get set up/ last time they were out of stock they are selling them under retail so i wanna get one before they figure that out.