[Q] Sea Horse Fact or Fiction?

[PupChow]

I have a couple questions regarding sea horses (especially OR mustang-sized ponies)... I read some of the following suggestions on a site, perhaps the owner had dwarves in mind:

1) It might not be wise to keep ponies with cleaner shrimps. Because sea horses don't have scales, the cleaners might harm the fresh while cleaning.

2) It might not be wise to keep ponies with hermit crabs, because the crabs might harm the horse's snout if the horse decided to pick on the crab.

3) It might not be wise to keep ponies with sand bottom. Because the sand might get in the gill and suffocate the horse.

Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated!

[Airel]

Hi Pup,
In short. 1. WRONG 2. WRONG and 3. WRONG

1. It is fine to keep horses with cleaner shrimps. The horses will enjoy occasional cleanings and they LOVE the snacks provided by the shrimp fry.

2.Hermits are also OK. I personally don't keep hermits but they are fine. I've heard of a few horses eating the hermits though, so be forwarned that your hermits may disappear!!

3. Absolutely false. If you go to the tank database on Seahorse.org, you can see what substrate all of the keepers are using. I was also told in my Seahorse beginnings that sand is a NO-NO so I have crushed coral as my substrate. Sure wish I had sand!!! I'm planning a tank size upgrade in the near future and I WILL have sand.

Maybe the person giving you this advice was thinking of dwarfs. The answers would be different for dwarfs with the exception of the sand. Sand is fine for dwarfs.

Best of Luck and HTH,
DeAnne

[SeaNemesis]

Do you remember where you saw this information? They may need to be contacted. If the person was talking about dwarfs, small hermit crabs are fine. The cleaner shrimps may pester the dwarfs a bit, especially the fry so those I do not recommend. As for the sand bottom, my personal feeling that sand bottoms are great. Indeed seahorses will snick up sand, but they spit it out and if some goes through their digestive tract they certainly do not appear to have difficulty passing it. The rest exactly how DeAnne said.

[PupChow]

Thanks for clearing up the myths! I read these on a web site that I surfed through, forgot the address thought. Okay, time to drive 40 minutes to get my Southdown sand =b

BTW - I have two cleaners in my 30g, gave birth the other night, everything was gulped down within 10 mins =(