Seahorse Beginner

[re_vogel]

I have a 45 gal tall that I was not using so I figured I would add to the diversity in my 3 yr old reef. However, I don't want to make as many stupid mistakes as I did setting up that tank so I was wondering if someone could answer the following.

I have a 2 in deep sandbad and an Emporor 400.I want (will add) about 50 lbs of LR.

1) What type of Macro algre should i use in the tank.

2) I dont want to use plastic plants so what types of hitching post should I use (IE sponges, Gorganians, mangroves ect)

3) What type of horse provides the best color and survival rate.

4) How much flow should I have.

5) What are some good tank mates.

Thanks, more questions to come.

[hydroid]

I'll take a stab, since nobody else has piped up.

1. Personally, I like codium ... it grows slowly and I've had luck with it. Just started trying some helimeda. Any macro you can grow that won't require persistent pruning should be fine.

2. I've had gorgs, but the horses didn't hitch to them ... not sure the gorgs would have liked it anyway. I mostly use peices of branching rock. Mangoves would be great if you have experience with plants. Airlines seem to be sh favorites.

3. Erectus seem to have the reputation as being the hardiest ... perhaps due to the fact more is known about them and that they are more readily available from top breeders. Color shmolor. Seahorses are incredible creatures ... their activities, personalities, manorisms, interactions, etc. are what make them so, not color. My favorite seahorse was a bland colored female reidi. When I approached the tank, she met me at the front glass, swimming back and forth like a puppy who was glad to see me. If I put my hand in the water, she would instantly hitch to my finger. I wouldn't have traded her for a hundred fire-engine red horses. Unfortueantly she died at only 2 1/2 years old.

4. The rule of thumb I always heard was 3x-6x tank volume turn over. Personally, I think this is a bit low. I shoot for a fairly even flow throughout the tank (no dead spots). To acheive this in a tall tank, I found it takes 6x-8x. I put all my flow in at the top though, so by the time it reaches the bottom of a tall tank it is very gentle.

5. For a beginner, I would stay with a species tank. Seahorses are challenging enough. Adding anything else adds some degree of risk, and I would try to minimize risk at first. That said, if you do add tank mates, stay away from fast or perpetual swimmers. Stay away from potential bullies, including all clowns and damsels. Also, stay away from all other species of seahorse and pipefish, as there is an increased desease risk. Also, I don't include anything with hands in my cleanup crew, but I might be overly protective there.

Overall advice: don't try to do too much right from the start. Everyone dreams of the perfect seahorse environment, with natural hitches, flowing macros, etc. My advice would be to concentrate on the seahorse needs first, then after having sucess there, gradually add other things. I call it the KISS method (Keep It Simple Stupid).

[LisaD]

A 45 will make an awesome tank. I think hydroid pretty much nailed it. I have a LOT of macro in my seahorse tank. Codium does really well for me, I even keep it in my refugium. I also have several species of Caulerpa, which do very well under moderate light. I don't know what they are, but I also have at least three species of red macroalgae. Halimeda does well in my tanks. The seahorses primarily hitch to the macro, but they also use some Tonga branch that I put in the tank. My tanks are very natural looking, with a lot of green and red macro, and a few hardy, seahorse-safe (non-stinging) corals. My seahorses have hitched to Capnella and gorgonians. Not sure of the long-term effects on gorgs...

I with go higher flow than 3-6X, but direct most of it to the surface or behind the rock to avoid disturbing seahorse eating, swimming or courting.

Definitely beef up your filtration if you can, with a skimmer and/or hang on refugium (unless you have a sump). Good skimmers - BakPak or Remora (regular or Pro). Good HOT refugium, CPR Aquafuge - there's also one with a built in skimmer.

Here are some tankmates to start out with that won't cause any problems.

1) good clean up crew - scarlet reef hermits, peppermint shrimp, appropriate detritus and algae-eating snails

2) harmless inverts like feather dusters, mushrooms, zoanthids, leather corals

I'd wait until seahorses are well established and healthy before adding any fish, and QT fish tankmates at least a few weeks. Fish I have successfully kept with seahorses include:

orchid dottyback
bicolor blenny
neon gobies (and other small, non-aggressive gobies)
Hawaiian leaf fish (need live food)
black sailfin blenny
six line wrasse
mandarin dragonet (needs abundant live pods - mature tank)
blue assessor
shrimp gobies and sand-sifting gobies

you basically want something that won't eat or pick at them outcompete them for food, or swim around so fast they bother them.

this is an incomplete list, but avoid:

-any strong-stinging corals
-any coral that can engulf/eat a seahorse (and anemones)
-giant clams - I actually had a seahorse sit in one and have it close on the seahorse
-most aggressive eating fish; fast fish; pickers like triggerfish or puffers; some ambush predators (e.g., anglerfish)

[cwilson]

please excuse me somewhat taking over this thread....

ive been thinking about setting up a seahorse tank as well. however, i wont be using a tall tank the two sizes im debating on (LxWxH) would be a 43gal (24x24x17), and a 54 (30x24x17). with such a shallow tank, would it be wise to stay with a lower flow rate, seeing as there isnt much room for the flow to "calm down" when it gets to the bottom?

also, adn i am not doubting you at all, but is that stuation with the clam common? i absolutely lve clams, and i would like to haev one in the new system. and with the having a large base for my tank, would i be able to set up seahorse "hang outs" that have nifty little hitchign spots and macros away from the clam to help prevent this?

any advice regarding that, or anything that should be done different with a wider, shallower tank would be great. TIA everyone :)

[hydroid]

Those tanks would work but the height might not accomodate breeding once the horses get full sized.

To me, flow is as much about how its delivered as it is the gph. For example, a pressure pump pointed down into the tank in a single stream will be less gentle than a flow pump (rated w/ same gph) pushed through a spray bar across the surface. So, yes you can get away with less (or more) flow depending on how it is delivered. Bottom line, you want gentle flow throughout the tank but an isolated area with higher flow is okay. How you get there is of less importance.

As for the clam ... I don't think Lisa's case is an isolated one. Clams seem to instinctively close any time something touches its mantle, as a way to protect itself. A seahorse can and will hitch to almost anything, or rest almost anywhere. Imo, it would be an extreme risk to assume the horse won't eventually hitch in/on the clam ... or that the clam won't bother to close if it did. They simply are not compatible.

HTH

[cwilson]

dang. alright, i appreciate all of your info...

i knwo they arent exactly the same, but do you have any knowlede on pipefish? i thought about starting up a pipe reef, but i could find even less info about them then horses.

im that would be in a PM or new thread, i understand. call me a hypocrit, but i think its really lame when people take over threads