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[Jocephus]

Hi,

I've been considering trying seahorses. Specifically,

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=2419

I have a 65g tank set up with mushrooms, a torch and star polyps in it. The other occupants are a checkered goby, a mollie, a bunch of snails, a fire shrimp, and ten or so peppermint shrimp. It's pretty low flow, (three koralia #1's) so I think I'd be okay there, but what about the current livestock? Would the seahorses eat, or be eaten by the shrimp? My fire shrimp is a big guy (2"+) the peppermints are pretty small (1/2"). Also would you recoimmend adding some caulerpa, or similar for holds?

Thanks,

Joe

[dfs/la2]

Jocephus,

Thank you for your excellent question regarding seahorses for your aquarium. While there would not be any concerns with the corals, goby, or molly, you may have issues with the invertebrates. Seahorses are carnivores and a good part of their diet is small shrimp and crustaceans. There is also the possibility that the larger shrimp may be aggressive towards the seahorse if it perches too close.

Adding plants for holds for the seahorse is a good idea; however it would not keep the smaller shrimp safe from being eaten as the seahorse grows.


Tina C
LiveAquaria (http://www.liveaquaria.com)
Drs. Foster and Smith (http://www.drsfostersmith.com)