Seahorses in refugium

[reefcrazed]

Can you and is it wise to put a few seahorses in my 50g refugium for my 350g reef? There is caulerpa (all kinds) and some seagrass in there. There is not a lot of water movement, but enough to turn the refugium over a few times an hour.

[Airel]

Hi Reefcrazed,

I think the horses would LOVE living in your refugium. They will be spoiled quickly on all the pods in there!! Just be sure there are plenty of hitching posts and all should be fine.

Best of Luck,
DeAnne:D

[reefcrazed]

Thanks for the feedback. I do not know that much about seahorses. Can somebody point me in the right direction, which species, how many, when, what to look for, how much to pay, etc...

[DrMilhouse]

There is a ton of information and knowledgable people located at http://www.seahorse.org They have a message board that is very active and everyone I've encountered has been very friendly. Sounds like a great Idea, I've been thinking of doing that too. I currently have a 7 gallon seahorse tank with just a few dwarfs in it. It's fairly new, but make sure you go and read up there before you go buying anything or you'll be kicking your own butt later.

HTH

[Airel]

Hi,

Naturally, Captive Bred horses are the way to go. Also more expensive than WC, but well worth the extra cost in the ease of care. They are hearty, healthy, pathagen free, and trained to eat frozen mysis. Shop online at www.oceanrider.com or www.ffexpress.com Both have CB ponies. Ocean Rider does not disclose the species of horse but FFE has H. kuda, H barbouri, H. whitei and Pot bellies. For temperature requirement reasons, I would suggest H. kuda or H. barbouri from FFE and the Sunbursts or Mustangs from Ocean Rider. In your 50g you can comfortably keep 6-7 pair or 12-14 horses. Expect to pay $30 and up per horse.

HTH,
DeAnne :D

[dogf]

I have wondered same. However, what if the ref was lit 24/7?

Thx...

[Airel]

Hi dogf,

You could not keep Seahorses in the refugium if it is lit 24/7. Seahorses need their rest too!!!! I run my lighting 14hrs per day.

HTH,
DeAnne:D

[acrophoria]

You couldnt call it a REFUGE anymore.It would be a seahorse tank.:)

[quiksilver5768]

I was also wondering about keeping a seahorse in my 5 gal refugium. Would they eat the copepods in the refugium or would you have to feed them? If you do have to feed them, what would it be? Ive heard mysis shrimp...but what are they? Are they like brine shrimp? Thanks :)

[Airel]

Hi Quick,

5gal is much to small for the larger species of horses. Dwarfs would be the only species you could comfortably keep in a tank that small. I'm afraid the water flow in your refugium would be too much for the dwarfs. Sorry:(

DeAnne:cool:

[Feather Duster]

Hey Quick,

Dwarfs do eat copepods but you would have to feed them baby brine shrimp.

Hydroids are another problem with keeping them in your refugium. If you have any live rock in your tank, you probably have them and they can kill babies and, I think, adult dwarfs.

From my research, they seem to do best in a stand alone tank.

[SeaNemesis]

I would have to agree 100% with feather Duster here. If you would like to keep seahorses I would highly recommend a seprate set-up and read some info at seahorse.org. There are tons of valuable information there. This will help you decide what set-up and type of seahorses you may want to get if any.