Best seahorses for a beginner

[khull]

We are considering setting up another tank just for seahorses. What species would be best to start with? And, which supplier is best?

[viethunny1]

in my experience, erectus are easier to care for. i had erectus and kudas. a great supplier is seahorsesource.com. they are awesome to work with.most of their erectus eat frozen i think. you can ask them any questions and they are very helpful.

[viethunny1]

oops i meant i had reidi's and they were really hard to care for.

[kidkams]

yes from erectus are generally much easier, and if it is possible for you i would get from someone who has raised them and had succesful breeding

[khull]

Thanks for the replies.

[namxas]

erectus and reidi are both super hardy and are fine for beginners.

the real question is whether or not you think you'll want to try breeding them. erectus give birth to fewer, larger, benthic fry (benthic = they can hitch at birth). reidi give birth to large broods of smaller, pelagic fry (they don't hitch for a few weeks) that often require smaller first food (rotifers).

of course, if you don't want fry at all, you can keep a "same sex" tank with no issues.

DanU (SH source) has great stock and is really great. Beth (Peka here on RC) has some of the most gorgeous erectus i've seen. i highly recommend them as your possible sources.