a sea horse tank? plz help, SH forum - no good

[supernareg]

as i said before i'll be upgrading to a 90ish gal tank for living room....my mom kept telling me get seahorses... so lets do it, but i'll need some help

i did lots of reading, and this is my plan

i have a 30 gal set up with a 15 gal sump, euroreef 5-3 skimmer, with lighting : 1 55watt actinic, 1 55watt 50/50, and 1 150watt 20k MH.... the PC's run for 10 hours a day, and the MH for about 2.5 hours a day. this is my first saltwater tank, i got totally addicted, so i'ma get a 90 gal reef for my living room, and transfer out most of the corals. for flow i have a pump located on top of the tank (see in pic, i dont know what kind) and an HOB biowheel filter (just for extra filter) and the return. the flow isnt that much at the bottom, just little.

so far i have these in my 30 gal now

1 yellow wrasse
2 false percs
1 cleaner shrimp
1 brittle
1 orange linkia
1 lobo
1 candy cane
buncha frags of zoos
1 GBTA
snails / red hermits
3 xenias
1 gsp

i know i'll have to transfer out the anemoe and the clown fish and the wrasse and the shrimp and the sea stars..... if i transfer out the fish and the anemone and shrimp, will the rest be okay for 2 SHs? and a couple pipefish? maybe 1 6 line wrasse.. oh and the flame scallop is gone..



http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/892155.JPG

[yuhsuen]

From what I've read and experienced taking care of Sh for a friend while he was on vacation.

#1 They have poor survival rates, unless you spend the $$ for the captive bred ones

#2 They are very, very slow feeders and definitely won't be able to compete against the fish and shrimp, unless you target feed mysis/small krill

#3 They prefer slow water and gentle water movement, which tend to lead to stagnant areas and algae problems, so good invert crew is needed

#4 They need structure to hold onto, so some macro algae or sea fan skeleton is what I've seen used

#5 Lighting doesn't seem to be an issue with them, it all depends on if you're keeping coral with them or not (warming about xenia and GSP...they'll grow like crab grass and take over the rocks and tank if not kept isolated on the sand bed)

#6 Pipefish in a 30gal may be pushing it with 2 SH since they all hunt for the same food...pods. They look cool, but low survival also from what I read and seen with fellow reefers' tanks.

I think the setup you have for the powerhead is the wavemaking type with self propelled outlet? They tend to get stuck after a while from the coraline buildup. I'd get a maxijet and do the mod here so you get a more gentle but good flow.
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=711504

And get rid of the biowheel filter since it's just a nitrate farm after a while. Use it for a HOB refuge with a small light if you aren't gonna do one in the sump.

I love SH and hope to have a dedicated tank for them one day, good luck to you :)

Steve

[NicoleC]

Also, remember most need a cool water tank, and that means a chiller is a must. Very few fish can go with them. No corals or anything that will stings them, for the most part.

I would not, under any circumstances, purchase a wild caught sea horse. Captive Bred sea horses are widely available now, are already trained to eat frozen and will be much healthier and stronger.

I suggest you start reading at www.seahorge.org, particularly this article:
http://www.seahorse.org/library/articles/SeahorseFactsAndInfo.shtml

[WarDaddy]

I have a dedicated SH tank. It is 55 gallons, has about 40lbs of live rock, and 60 lbs of live sand.

I have a Remora C hob skimmer, a Small hob Aqua Fuge and a chiller.

I have 4 Captive Bread Erectus Sea Horses, they are not cheap, but they eat frozen mysis, and HEALTHY.

I would start with a tank that s dediated to the horses, if you are going to spend over $60 a fish, you want to be sure they are going to survive. No fast swimming fish.

I have a singularia,kenya tree, some zoa and shrooms in with the horses nnow.

I plan to add a pair of Catalina gobies.

There are several Breeders here in SoCal if you want captive breed, which I suggest, you can get them locally.

Pipefish are noe CB and can carry a bacteria that will not hurt them but kill your CB horses. I want pipes, but will not risk the horses.

I feed from a clam shell attaced to the sde of the tank. After 3 weeks they are figuring out where the food is. Then they spend the day hunting for pods.

keep it simple, give the horses what they need, then expand from there. I hope to have shrooms, zoa, Colt, fingers, singularia... but time will tell.

[NanoLurker]

i would emphasize hanging out on seahorse.org as well, there is also a compatibility list and you can check it against what you would like to put in the tank. the only thing i would add is to have the medications on hand prior to purchase. CB is definately the way to go but there is no such thing as a disease-free fish. they are like all creatures and carry around nasties that given the right circumstances can rear their ugly head. if something were to happen you want to act quickly and not have to scramble around town in a panic trying to find the right meds.

i would also make sure you have a 10 gallon tank with some fake coral, plants and quarantine prior to adding to your main tank.

have fun!

[supernareg]

okay i saw something cool when i picked up some frags from a RCer.. he had a small 10 gal tank next to his 150 gal that was recieving and outputting water into the sump of the 150. i will set that up REAL soon for my 30 gal now... that can be my QT tank... but, having LR seahorses cant attach? i need the live plants? as for fish, i'll move all my fish into the bigger tank, and keep only SH's in the 30 until they are stable and i can add a very mellow fish. thanks a lot for all the info... and wardaddy, can u PM me ur contact #? maybe i can call with some questions.. thanks.

[NicoleC]

An attached tank (plumbed together) cannot be a QT tank. A QT tank needs to be on a totally separate system, or it isn't quarantine.

[supernareg]

oh... errr lol thanks :0

[supernareg]

oh... errr lol thanks :0

[NanoLurker]

hopefully you won't have to med your new horses, but if you do some of them are biofilter toxic and you don't want to wipe out your display tank. it's also easier to dose the meds with a 10 gallon, it's pretty standard and that's what most horse keepers use. i use a fake coral and a couple of sea garden silk-like ones in mine. also remember a heater guard. i'm sure you're also aware that copper is a no no and they do not like ammonia :)

edit: saw you over at the org :)