newbie questions

thornbury · #1 01/10/2006, 08:41 AM

Would my tank be suitable for keeping seahorses? Dimension is: 50cm (L) X 40 cm (W) X 35 cm (H). I heard the taller the tank is the better for keeping any kind of seahorses. Is this true?

I'll update with more questions

LisaD · #2 01/10/2006, 01:02 PM

taller tends to be better, but you do have some smaller species available in Australia. a general suggestion is that you have AT LEAST 2X the uncurled adult length in height for at a minimum, with the recommendation that for normal courtship and other behavior, the tank height should be 3X the uncurled adult length. if you go barebottom or with a very shallow sand bed, you should be able to keep seahorses that are around 10-15 cm adult length. just be aware that some of the cuter small species, such as H. breviceps, will require a chiller to keep the tank water cool. I'm not sure, but I think H. procerus does not require very cool water, and stays fairly small.

thornbury · #3 01/10/2006, 01:40 PM

Thanks LisaD for answering

I am not sure about the species name, but I'm 100% sure it's "coldwater seahorses". It could be called a "pt-belly" however O'm not sure. Unfortunately, it doesn't sell tropical ones. They're usually white/ yellow in color, typically have a big belly, and are average-sized.

I will ask the LFS keeper what kinda temperature they require. I'm suspecting it's around 18-20 C, could be lower. What I'd like to know is what happens if the temperature jumps to 27 C? It's summertime here, and it could happen two, three times a week.

KarenHorn · #4 01/10/2006, 07:13 PM

Pot bellied seahorses are one of the bigger ones and need a BIG tank.

thornbury · #5 01/10/2006, 08:25 PM

^ My tank is 18.5 (US) gallon, won't it be good for 2-3?

KarenHorn · #6 01/10/2006, 09:31 PM

Pots get to be 12 inches long, the minimum recommended tank for pots is 55 gallons. They truly are large horses. You'd be better off with some breviceps if you can find them.

LisaD · #7 01/11/2006, 06:29 AM

yes, potbellies would be totally unsuitable for your tank (they require cold water too). there are breeders of tropical seahorses in australia. try a good search.

greenighs · #8 01/11/2006, 08:31 AM

H. breviceps are small (3" or so) and temperate (65-68 degrees F) and outrageously cute. They are native to your waters, and you should be able to find them captive bred by saseahorse.com.

thornbury · #9 01/11/2006, 06:02 PM

Thanks for the replies guys

greenighs thanks for the link, breviceps are small and beautiful but they're also cold water seahorses... I'm looking to get the tropical ones.

Kuda and barbouri seem more like it. Would you guys agree?

And is the rule of waer current in the tank 4 times of the volume per hour? My tank is 70 litres does this mean I should get a powerhead that flows 280 litres/ hour max. My current one does 740 litres/ hr. I guess it is too strong.

pledosophy · #10 01/13/2006, 03:15 PM

The current powerhead is going to be to much for seahorses in a tank tht small.

I think you will find it diffucult to keep seahorses in an 18g tank. I think you should step up to at least a 29g.

thornbury · #11 01/13/2006, 09:23 PM

After much consideration I'm not going to set up a seahorse tank for now... instead I'm going freshwater with guppies.

Thanks for the info guys you've been helpful.

pledosophy · #12 01/14/2006, 02:29 AM

What's a freshwater tank ? ? ?

Do you mean a bathtub ? ? ?

Lisa I'm so confused ? ? ?

LisaD · #13 01/14/2006, 02:48 AM

Quote:

Lisa I'm so confused ? ? ?

pledosophy, are you talking to me? did I say something confusing? I was agreeing that the tank is too small for potbellies and also noting that they would need a chiller.