Mistakes to avoid when starting with sea horses

[pyly220]

I have being thinking for setting up a sea horse tank for the longest. But I have read in a few sites that there very delicate. So I started a regular reef tank to get used to working with saltwater and all that. I am planing to buy a new tank for just a pair of sea horses. I have read that tall fish tanks are better. What are the stuff that I must have in that tank and what are the mistakes to avoid. I am not going to set it up yet. I am thinking more at around autumn. Thanks for any advise.

[pledosophy]

Biggest mistake I made was buying WC seahorses from the ocean. I was lucky to not have any parasite problems, but mine never took to frozen foods. Buying and even finding enough live food for them was very costly and often difficult and involved long drives.

You want to make sure you buy CB seahorses. I got the 8 I have now from SeahorseSource.com and am very happy with them.

Another common mistake is keeping the temperature of the tank to high. For bacterial reasons seahorses do much better and live longer in tanks that remain under 74F. I set my heater at 66F myself and my tank stays there most of the winter and fluctuates up to 72F in the summer.

If you live in a warmer climate you should plan on adding a chiller to your system to prolong the life and health of your seahorses.

HTH

[mtc1966]

i also recommend a good skimmer . start with erectus or reidi they are the easier of the horses. a fuge for pod population is a good idea as well .

[rayjay]

There are some links at the bottom of "My Thoughts on Seahorse Keeping (http://www.angelfire.com/ab/rayjay/seahorsekeeping.html)" that are written by experienced seahorse keepers and breeders that can help you with understanding some of the basics one should know.

[pyly220]

Thank's for the info I really apreciated

[pledosophy]

If you can get a tank with a sump to put a skimmer in, I would go extra large on that too IMO. My skimmer is rated for twice my tank size, and I still wish it was bigger.

[nikki_42]

I purchased three little southern knights today. They seem really lethargic. They are eating but other than that aren't moving and even to eat they are only taking what comes to them.

I used to have seahorses and was able to successfully breading them so I wasn't expecting problems.

The tank is 42 gallons which I was told was fine but now reading some other threads maybe they need something bigger.

I am horribly concerned I am harming them. Does anyone have tips to help me?

[mtc1966]

not familiar with the breed but were they wild caught or captive bred? maybe try some live food. but keep in mind i dont find my seahorses to be particularly active either and they are erectus.

[nikki_42]

They may be an Australian only breed. They are cool water which is a first for me and are farm bred. Of the three the female seems to have perked up quite a bit but one of the males is basically not moving right now. He is alive but just hanging out under a rock.

Do you think i should get a larger tank? If he is sick is there somewhere i should take him? I really dont want to kill the little guy.

[mtc1966]

the rule is generally 45g for 3 but i would think with a good skimmer and water changes 42 is not out of the question. since they were farm bred they most likely are not eating frozen and will need to be slowly adjusted to eating frozen food by adding some in with live feedings. and slowly removing the live food and adding more frozen.
their are more experienced people on this board but they usually chime in later in the day .

[nikki_42]

Thank you so much for the feedback. They are eating the frozen food but i will go and get some live food and see if that helps. The female in particular seems really fine with the food and keeps snacking of the bottom of the tank.

The are small, probably 5cm each so i hope the tank is big enough. I dont mind buying a new one but am really nervous about changing the environment right now.

Never had cold water before as I said so I am really trying to learn if/what I can do thats best for them.

[rayjay]

Southern Knights=H. abdominalis=potbelley. coldwater species 16°C to 20°C
I've not kept them but the org care guide suggests minimum tank size 65g.

[nikki_42]

Seriously lacking good stores here apparently, I told them what the intent was and took what they recommended. A bit upset about this. I prepped the tank for six weeks before getting them to make sure the water quality was right.

So ill go get a new tank but any tips on transferring them? I am so worried about doing another transfer because two of them finally seem happy. I am thinking I'm going to lose the third. Should I get the new tank and prep for a while and hope they survive in the smaller tank? Or is it better to take the risk and put them in a bigger tank?

[mtc1966]

Southern Knights=H. abdominalis=potbelley. coldwater species 16°C to 20°C
I've not kept them but the org care guide suggests minimum tank size 65g.

how big do they get ? 10 12 inches?

[rayjay]

Probably more like 12 to 14".

[nikki_42]

So right now they are very small, no where near 12". The smaller male i was worried about is now a tiny bit more active. I'm still a bit worried but he came out from hiding, it was quite brief but at least it was an indication of life.

The female seems to swap between hanging out right by both of the males and they get more active when she is around. She by far seems like the most healthy she is swimming about quite a bit.

I think I am going to keep them in this tank and prep a bigger one. I was thinking of trying to swap them over really quickly but seems they are getting more active I would rather get a new environment setup properly and not take a risk.

A few more questions (totally appreciate all the help by the way)
1. When you setup a new tank how long do you recommend to have it running before introducing the seahorses?
2. If they get sluggish and i give them live food will that cause problems with giving them the frozen food? I've just done another feeding and they seem to respond quite well to the frozen food but was thinking of giving live food a try.
3. If i put live brine in the tank will they get sucked up by the filter and end up rotting and causing problems?
4. The store told me because it's winter and even in summer i likely wouldn't need a cooler but i am thinking that was bad advice. It's hard to keep the tank a consistent temperature. Even if i keep it cold the temperature fluctuates so I am thinking I probably need a heater/cooler to stay at a constant temperature. Anyone that has had cold water seahorses might have some good tips on this. In hindsight i wish I went for a warm water breed but i am totally hooked on these guys so am just trying to do what makes the most sense for them.

[CodyH]

Did you cycle your tank first until the ammonia and nitrite tests read zero after introducing a source of ammonia?

You definitely will need a chiller for pot-bellies. Their tanks really must be kept in the correct temperature zone, that is 16°C to 20°C. Tanks size is fine for now since they're smaller.