New Seahorses

[NoobtoSalt]

Well I was supposed to get some anthias in my shipment but somehow there was a misunderstanding and I got two seahorses instead. I was told from the vendor that they are Hippocampus fisheri and wild caught. He was feeding them live brine and cyclopeeze. When I got them setup here I fed them frozen mysis and they took it. I plan on setting up a macro algae tank with them being the only livestock in the tank. How big do these get? What is the life expectancy?

[rayjay]

Lifespan of most seahorses kept in proper conditions will be about 5 yrs. However, some might live even longer.
Most seahorses die earlier because conditions are not KEPT ideal.
If it is indeed H. fisheri:
From "A Guide to the Identification of Seahorses"
Description
Maximum recorded adult height: 8 cm2 (about 3")
Trunk rings: 11
Tail rings: 37–38 (36–39)
HL/SnL: 2.2 (2.2–2.3)
Rings supporting dorsal fin: 2–3 trunk rings and 1–2 tail rings
Dorsal fin rays: 17–18
Pectoral fin rays: 15 (13–16)
Coronet: Slightly raised, with five tiny sharp points
Spines: Small but sharp; a few spines expanded and flattened
Other distinctive characters: Small, sharp, slightly hooked double eye and cheek spines; prominent,
sharp, hook-like spine in front of coronet; two spines behind coronet

[NoobtoSalt]

Thanks for the reply. I've been reading more on then now that I've found a few sites on seahorses. Am I really better off having a taller tank then a wide tank?

[mtc1966]

if they only get to 3 inches i dont think a tall tank would be needed 16 inches is what i would shoot for .
RayJay is there a common name for these ? i never new there was such a small seahorse that didnt need live food .
noob good luck with them seems like a awesome mistake to me. keep us posted.

[rayjay]

I've never heard of H. fisheri being for sale before, and as their confirmed habitation is Hawaii, I can't believe they would allow collection of them.
Suspected distribution includes Australia and France (New Caledonia).
Only common name listed is Fisher's seahorse.
I suspect then that tank conditions should be similar to those needed for other tropical seahorses and that is extremely clean tanks and temperature range of 68° to 74°F to lessen the effects of nasty bacterial that plague seahorses in tanks, especially when temperatures go above 75° as the bacteria seem to multiply exponentially with each rising degree.
NoobtoSalt, if you haven't already read through the links provided at the bottom of "My Thoughts on Seahorse Keeping", I'd suggest doing so before too long. The links there are written by experienced seahorse keepers and by Dan U, a commercial seahorse breeder.
Any further questions you may have after reading those links can be addressed on the forum here.

[mtc1966]

noobtosalt do you know were the vender ships from? that may help with confirming a id

[NoobtoSalt]

Originally Posted by mtc1966

noobtosalt do you know were the vender ships from? that may help with confirming a id

They were shipped direct from hawaii.

[NoobtoSalt]

Originally Posted by rayjay

I've never heard of H. fisheri being for sale before, and as their confirmed habitation is Hawaii, I can't believe they would allow collection of them.
Suspected distribution includes Australia and France (New Caledonia).
Only common name listed is Fisher's seahorse.
I suspect then that tank conditions should be similar to those needed for other tropical seahorses and that is extremely clean tanks and temperature range of 68° to 74°F to lessen the effects of nasty bacterial that plague seahorses in tanks, especially when temperatures go above 75° as the bacteria seem to multiply exponentially with each rising degree.
NoobtoSalt, if you haven't already read through the links provided at the bottom of "My Thoughts on Seahorse Keeping", I'd suggest doing so before too long. The links there are written by experienced seahorse keepers and by Dan U, a commercial seahorse breeder.
Any further questions you may have after reading those links can be addressed on the forum here.

That explains why I couldn't find much info about people keeping them. I was on the computer most of the day yesterday looking for others that had them and found nothing. I've been able to get them to eat Cyclopeeze as well as frozen mysis already. I believe he had them for awhile before he sent them out to me.

[NoobtoSalt]

What type of seahorse are these similar to? I'm reading through the material but I see nothing that states these particular ones.

Thanks again for the help!

[NoobtoSalt]

[rayjay]

It states that they are similar to H. trimaculatus.
You can check the info yourself by going to:
http://seahorse.fisheries.ubc.ca/sit...Guide_2004.pdf
Depending on your computer speed it may take a while to load it all as there is so much information on it.

[NoobtoSalt]

I'm waiting to get validated by the admins on seahorse.org before I am able to post anything up there. Thanks for all of the tips. This particular one is tough to find any info on it other than the basics. Nothing for sale etc. Hope I know what I'm getting into.

[NoobtoSalt]

I feel like a proud new parent taking a bunch of pictures of them...LOL

[btreyes]

They are so cool!

[timinnl]

Are they in a Fluval Edge?

[NoobtoSalt]

Originally Posted by timinnl

Are they in a Fluval Edge?

Yes. I understand that it is suggested to be in a larger tank but I do not plan on having any other livestock in this tank other than the 2 seahorses. If for some reason they do not appear to be doing good in this tank I will get a larger one. This was an unexpected addition to my house and I found this tank used locally for a great price.

[rayjay]

If the fluval is 14g or more, it should be OK for that pair.
The one thing I don't like about those tanks is the lack of large surface area for proper gas exchange, especially in homes that are shut up a lot for heating or air conditioning or both.
Keep an eye on the pH as low pH with alkalinity reading is at least to the minimum, then you will have to find a way to increase the gas exchange because the high CO2 levels depress that pH.

[gunlocators]

Those are pretty cool

[NoobtoSalt]

Originally Posted by rayjay

If the fluval is 14g or more, it should be OK for that pair.
The one thing I don't like about those tanks is the lack of large surface area for proper gas exchange, especially in homes that are shut up a lot for heating or air conditioning or both.
Keep an eye on the pH as low pH with alkalinity reading is at least to the minimum, then you will have to find a way to increase the gas exchange because the high CO2 levels depress that pH.

It's the 6 gallon version. I have been looking closer and closer at them and I definately have a male and female pair. It seemed as if they were mating today.

[mtc1966]

your gonna need a bigger tank

[NoobtoSalt]

Originally Posted by mtc1966

your gonna need a bigger tank

What's the reasoning behind it? They are fairly small fish and won't get any bigger than what they are currently. Plus they appear to be happy in the tank. If it's based on cleaning the tank I don't have an issue of doing more frequent water changes. Just want to know the justification behind it.

[mtc1966]

seahorses are messy eaters hence you need bigger tanks and good skimmers . if a pair of 6 inch erectus take a minimum 30g tank then it stands to reason a pair of 3 inch seahorses would need about 15g thats why Rayjay had this to say"If the fluval is 14g or more, it should be OK for that pair"

[NoobtoSalt]

Originally Posted by mtc1966

seahorses are messy eaters hence you need bigger tanks and good skimmers . if a pair of 6 inch erectus take a minimum 30g tank then it stands to reason a pair of 3 inch seahorses would need about 15g thats why Rayjay had this to say"If the fluval is 14g or more, it should be OK for that pair"

Fair enough. not sure about a skimmer but I do have a tunze 9002 that hasn't been working so well on my biocube. I will look around then before I get lighting for the tank.

[rayjay]

First, there is no need for special lighting except for what other life forms you have in the tank as seahorses have no real need beyond ambient lighting.
The reason for minimum tank sizes arises from problems specific to seahorses.
In addition to falling victim to pathogens from other seahorses/pipefish that have not been bred and raised in the same breeding facility, they are VERY prone to being affected by nasty bacteria like vibriosis which is always present in the tanks. The bacteria multiply rapidly as they need only food, and, as temperatures rise, they multiply exponentially with each rising degree.
We attempt to keep temperatures of the tanks between 68° and 74° to limit the rate of growth of the bacteria, and we attempt to also limit the concentration of food for the bacteria to feed on.
The biggest sources of food for bacteria in seahorse tanks are from uneaten food due to seahorses being selective about the pieces they eat, leaving "inferior" looking pieces to rot and decay if not removed regularly.
Also, when they snick the food, they masticate the food and particulate matter is expelled through the gills into the water, again producing food for bacteria.
By having larger water volumes, the tank is more forgiving so it allows you to keep on top of husbandry more to lessen the chances of problems.
Many have problems even with using required tank sizes because we tend to get lazy when every thing is going good, and not realizing the problem is unseen but building up during a lazy stage, until all of a sudden, something like tail rot, or flesh erosion happens.
Keeping them in a tank that is probably less than half of what it should be means houskeeping is going to have to be VERY EXCEPTIONAL with no LAZY stages. It can be done, but not everybody has the fortitude to stick at it for the long term to be successful.

[NoobtoSalt]

Would it be a bad idea to add them to my reef tank? I have an mp10 in there for flow and lots of SPS to grab ahold of. 2 helfenrich fire fish and a mandarin goby. Tons of pods for their liking but was worried about the flow more than anything. here are some pictures of that tank. Much more stable than a small little edge too.