Anyone seen good stock of seahorses locally?

[roguemonk]

I'm ready to make the purchase but my plan went awry a few weeks ago due to a disaster at Liquid Kingdom (an infection killed their whole stock while they were away on vacation). I had seen some at Key's Island a year or so ago, but it's a long drive so I wondered where else anyone had seen any recently.

I'm looking for the standard tropical varieties like reidi, erectus, or kuda.

Thanks,

Brad

[herostar]

I know D&G in Ft. collins had 3-4 captive bred ones in on Wednesday... might be worth giving them a call.

["Umm, fish?"]

Aqua Imports usually has some. I saw one there this week.

I'm sure they'd special order for you as well.

[roguemonk]

I've lost confidence in Aqua Imports after I foolishly took their word for it that the Banggai Cardinals they had in stock a few months ago were tank-raised and eating frozen mysis.

D&G personnel don't know what species they have (so I can't be sure it's a tropical species) and they tell me that they are currently eating brine shrimp but that they'll learn to eat whatever I give them. We all know that's not true, at least not in all cases. Even if they were tank-raised and ready to eat mysis I don't think they would know.

Unless I hear of some at Key's or some other place I trust I think I will just have to order online, thinking of Liveaquaria.com because I've heard good things, and they do at least offer the arrive-alive guarantee on the seahorses so they have an interest in knowing what they're doing.

Thanks!

Brad

[spstimie]

http://www.seahorse.com/
http://www.seahorse.org/

i really like pixy and pigmy seahorses. there is a pic of a pigmy seahorse on .org but i dont think they are available for hobby trade.

[roguemonk]

Thanks. I've been doing my research for years. I'm no expert, but I know enough to check the species before buying and verify what they're trained to eat. And not to put them in a tank with aggressive fish.

I'm not trying to find anything rare or exotic, just H. kuda or erectus or reidi or kelloggi...

Thanks,

Brad

[oscar89]

Reef and Pong on Santa Fe just South of Evan had five last week. They were in the back in some frag tanks and were $20 or $25.

[wantsalotta]

keys had some last week.

[artful-dodger]

whether you buy local or online...if you are hoping to actually have them breed (whether for profit, fun or education), ask some very specific questions. Many of the breeders are supposedly shipping only females to better control their market. May or may not be true, but I keep hearing it.

The DubDubDub.seahorse.org site (No linking!!! Where do you think you are, the Internet?!?!) mentioned above is great but not very active. Do go through old forum posts for lots of excellent information, though, as a supplement to the RC Seahorse and Pipefish forum (Help me before I link again!)

[roguemonk]

I've perused seahorse.org and many other sites over the years. I think I know as much as I can about them without any hands-on experience, so that's the next step...

I'm not in a rush to try breeding, but I'll steer toward mixed gender couples if I can. Key's has one seahorse at the moment, a male erectus, and I plan to snap him up tomorrow (if he's still there and lives up to his billing!). I'll stop by R&P to see if the have anything, since I'll be in the neighborhood. If not, I may order another pair or two online or just wait. I'm playing it by ear.

Thanks for all the help!

Brad

[boggs32]

little word of experience, if you order online, you're not guarenteed to get a pair. The tank I have has 4 males and 1 female. They were purchased from seahorse.com and were supposed to be 3 pairs. 1 died a day or two after shipping so who knows if it was a male or female but it's for sure that at least 1 pair was male/male not male/female.

To answer your question, I don't see them in stores here often at all. I see one or two every couple of months.

Good luck with a seahorse tank though! They are really fun to watch once you get it going.

[Dave & Monica]

Fun to watch and my wife loves seahorses every time she sees them but even I don't get hand fed three times a day -- too picky for me but they are cool nonetheless. Good luck.