seahorse/sps tank anyone?

[mtc1966]

cool i would love a 3rd or 4th opinion . waiting on rayjay and danu

[mtc1966]

cool i would love a 3rd or 4th opinion . waiting on rayjay and danu

[mtc1966]

from tropical fish magazine
"
5. Reef keepers that prefer SPS and LPS corals should strongly consider reef specialists such as H. barbouri and H. comes that know their way around stony corals.

Whether you prefer soft corals, stony corals, or a mixture of both, one of these tropical seahorses should be ideal for your reef system. Happy seahorse-reefkeeping!

Hippocampus comes is one of the few seahorse species that has been studied in the wild. Field research shows that they are reef animals that select a favorite piece of coral as their home base, and they seldom stray from that tiny patch of reef thereafter. H. comes evidently prefers living amongst stony corals because they serve as good holdfasts, provide crevices for protection from predators, shelter the seahorses from currents and wave action, and are prime microhabitats for the small crustaceans they prey upon. Needless to say, tigertails feel very much at home in a reef tank filled with SPS corals.

Hippocampus barbouri

The prickly seahorse Hippocampus barbouri is equally well-adapted for a reef system with hard corals. In fact, H. barbouri is said to be impervious to the stings of stony corals. Barbs prefer warmer temperatures than most other seahorses and are the perfect choice for a reef tank that includes LPS and SPS corals.
"

so it seems they do sting however certain seahorses are immune to the stings even prefer sps but my erectus is not one of those species.
looks like we were both correct and incorrect in my opinion.

[kevantheman35]

wow wasn't trying to stir up trouble with this thread lol

[mtc1966]

sorry Kevan me neither just fell like i was personally attacked and didnt like that much.

[gar732]

Originally Posted by Allmost

okay lets break this down a bit.

1. you have NO personal experience, and basing your post on a statement you have read.

2. I HAVE personal experience that they cause no harm to seahorses as far as stinging.

3. the statement 3 up there, means SPS and seahorses arent compatible ! not cause of sting but cause of the second reason."typically don't do well."
seahorses are dirty SPS want clean water, thats what that statement mean.

I Will PM ray and Dan you chime in and correct you !

it is ppl like you, who make FALSE STATEMENTS, and send New other reefers in WRONG direction !
its ppl like you, who make more experienced reefers NOT post !

not cool ...

WOW! Who pittled in your pool today. Ever heard of tact? People who flame others like this is what makes people not want to post. This is supposed to be a forum for people with a common interest to share ideas, obviously not all those ideas will be correct or will have an opposing views. Why not try and conduct yourself like an adult and make a constructive debate out of it where everyone can learn from it? Especially when sources are posted to support a certain view. You can go ahead and flame me now if you like but it won't change the fact that you reacted poorly. I'm cycling a tank for seahorses now, I just hope others with experience aren't so touchy so I can actually learn something.

[rjmurd]

Hmm, allmost needs to realize this is a forum for information and sharing, not for being a jerk.

You could both be right. I have had flame angels who are terrible in a reef tank and other flame angels who never touched a coral.

It could be the type of seahorse that is causing the issue. Maybe some are sps safe and some arent. Calm down and realize that personal experiences differ.

[c.declivisowner]

sorry if i caused any trouble between you guys i was actually wondering the same thing because i will be buying a all in one tank in a week or so and was wondering if i could keep SPS with them i thought they would be great hitching posts for the seahorses.

[novahobbies]

Not to add more fuel to the fire, but I have a little experience in this as well: I kept a small 2 inch acropora frag in my horse tank for a few months with no ill effects on the horse. The Acropora eventually had a sudden bleaching event after 3 months or so....it died in the course of a couple days. I discovered I had a nitrate spike that might have hastened its demise. The horses occasionally hitched on it, but they seemed more interested in the PS gorgonians and macros. Never did any damage to the horses.

I can't say if the occasional hitching killed the acro, or the nitrate swing, but for the time being I'll stick with my softies and horse-safe LPS choices. I also have a green pagoda cup that the horses hitch onto all the time come suppertime...it's never given the horses or the pagoda the slightest pause.

[Chriskid]

Originally Posted by gar732

wow! Who pittled in your pool today. Ever heard of tact? People who flame others like this is what makes people not want to post. This is supposed to be a forum for people with a common interest to share ideas, obviously not all those ideas will be correct or will have an opposing views. Why not try and conduct yourself like an adult and make a constructive debate out of it where everyone can learn from it? Especially when sources are posted to support a certain view. You can go ahead and flame me now if you like but it won't change the fact that you reacted poorly. I'm cycling a tank for seahorses now, i just hope others with experience aren't so touchy so i can actually learn something.

+1

[ilikelps]

Allmost, just remember its a website about reefing and fish. Its a hobby to most of us, and we just come here to share opinions, facts, and useful information mtc 1996 would not be posting to hurt another reefer in his journey. We are all here to help each other, and share our common interest. If someone is wrong just simply say "Ya know I think it goes this way...." and explain why, but theres no reason for name calling and questioning of a fellow reefer. Just my outlook on this whole deal...

Ben

[Kurtneb9]

seahorses always seem to get stuck too any powerheads with any significant intake, ive never had luck other then soft corals with my seahorses

[timinnl]

Originally Posted by mtc1966

from tropical fish magazine
"
5. Reef keepers that prefer SPS and LPS corals should strongly consider reef specialists such as H. barbouri and H. comes that know their way around stony corals.

Whether you prefer soft corals, stony corals, or a mixture of both, one of these tropical seahorses should be ideal for your reef system. Happy seahorse-reefkeeping!

Hippocampus comes is one of the few seahorse species that has been studied in the wild. Field research shows that they are reef animals that select a favorite piece of coral as their home base, and they seldom stray from that tiny patch of reef thereafter. H. comes evidently prefers living amongst stony corals because they serve as good holdfasts, provide crevices for protection from predators, shelter the seahorses from currents and wave action, and are prime microhabitats for the small crustaceans they prey upon. Needless to say, tigertails feel very much at home in a reef tank filled with SPS corals.

Hippocampus barbouri

The prickly seahorse Hippocampus barbouri is equally well-adapted for a reef system with hard corals. In fact, H. barbouri is said to be impervious to the stings of stony corals. Barbs prefer warmer temperatures than most other seahorses and are the perfect choice for a reef tank that includes LPS and SPS corals.
"

so it seems they do sting however certain seahorses are immune to the stings even prefer sps but my erectus is not one of those species.
looks like we were both correct and incorrect in my opinion.

How old is the article?

[timinnl]

Originally Posted by c.declivisowner

sorry if i caused any trouble between you guys i was actually wondering the same thing because i will be buying a all in one tank in a week or so and was wondering if i could keep SPS with them i thought they would be great hitching posts for the seahorses.

What trouble did you cause? You asked a really valid question and you are doing all the right things by asking questions before getting the seahorses. You cannot control someone elses POV or how they wish to express it. It like beating a .

I think your next few questions should be this:

1: Can I keep SPS in an all in one tank?

2: Are the all in one tanks a good design for seahorses or do I need to mod them? (Read this.)

3: Can you please post a picture?

4: Where should I buy them from?

5: What is the difference between TR/PR/CB seahorses?

6: Why is the sky blue?

7: Can I mix species together?

8: Can I mix pipefish & seahorses together?

Kind Regards,

Tim

[Allmost]

lol sorry guys ..... was having a bad day at work yesterday, reading back, I see my comments were quite Rude, so my appologies to MTC I really didnt want to personally "attack" you, rather wanted to correct your information.


I currently have Reidis, and Eructus, with SPS frags, of species I named before, Monti caps, monti digitata, pocilopora, stylopora. and I see no sing of stinging. and seahorses hitch to them no Issues.


it makes no sense to me, that I see this in front of me, and yet there are ppl on here, who have never tried it and are basing their "guesses" on some website. [which might be outdated, or might have another meaning ]

again, I didn mean this as attacking anyone, but rather sharing my side of info as well, as I like to do "wild stuff" with my reef to learn more ! I think I have enough experience to make those changes and observe.

as you guys all said, this is a website for fish, and all of us have the same interest, and we are here to share info and knowledge right ? well I shared my side as well ! something wild, that according to litreture is not true ! I wasnt expecting it to be easy neither

Goneopora coral [flower pot] was my biggest suprise, I thought they would have a sting, but apparently, they dont !


MTC, thanks for that quote from fish magazine .... that raises a new posibility ... of SPS actually having some sort of sting, and seahorses being immune to it, I simply do not know .... my experience with this is limited to 2 species of seahorse, and 4 species of SPS .... and it was not performed in a scientific manner for me to make that conclution. Also, as I stated on my first post. I used to believe in same thing you believe in, follow the guide, and never question any thing ... well that was 5 years ago lol I wanted to try more, and started by increasing temp, trying different corals, and so on ... and I have proved many of the myths on the guides online wrong ! at least for myself and reefers local to me

My appologies again for my tone yesterday. I wish I could edit them out ... nothing constructive about them ... but cant edit now so please ignore them and lets get back to the friendly discussion we are all here for

[Allmost]

Originally Posted by Allmost

I am not saying keep SPS, you will NOT be successfull !

and I do not think, nor advice others to do what I do ! I have kept SPS for many years, and Seahorses about 5-6 years !

FWIW .... I keep SPS at 72 with deep water angels .... yes, angels eat SPS too...

so please do not get me wrong, I am not saying you should keep SPS, I dont think it would work out for you. but the statment that "SPS polyps sting seahorses" is simply wrong, and I felt like correcting it and not sure why this person with no experience is arguing with me who has it in front of my eyes as I type this


sorry for taking the thread on an extra ride

I gotta make a correction here ^^^

I keep my SPS tank at 74 .... not 72 ...
sorry about that.

[mtc1966]

thanks allmost the way i look at any info i get of these forums is to be weighed and judged for yourself. we all push the limits as we get more comfortable with our set up. i myself have recently introduced a small yellow finger gorgonian which according to the guides is the only one to be avoided . i will watch this carefully but with all my other hitching posts i think it does sting the horses would just hitch elsewhere.

[novahobbies]

Originally Posted by mtc1966

thanks allmost the way i look at any info i get of these forums is to be weighed and judged for yourself. we all push the limits as we get more comfortable with our set up. i myself have recently introduced a small yellow finger gorgonian which according to the guides is the only one to be avoided . i will watch this carefully but with all my other hitching posts i think it does sting the horses would just hitch elsewhere.

You know, I always thought YF gorgonians were to be avoided because of how difficult they were to keep alive for extended periods...nonphotosynthetic critters as they are. I actually have one in my tank right now mounted under the feeding shell. The horses regularly hitch to it when they eat. No ill effects on the horses, and I've kept this one alive by manually removing any cuticle sloughing to allow the polyps to open. I feed it oyster eggs 2-3 times a week.

[mtc1966]

nova please explain? cuticle sloughing

[novahobbies]

Occasionally the exterior of the gorgonian will loosen and slough off, revealing new bright yellow tissue underneath. Usually the cuticle gets dull and the polyps don't extend out as much as they should. Also seems like aggressive algae such as hair algae and cyano tends to take over the shedding cuticle more easily than it does with healthy tissue. I usually give the gorg a quick cleaning with a soft toothbrush during weekly water changes, and the exterior sheds about once a month / 6 weeks or so.

The layer that sheds is very thin, and easy to remove with a little help. I imagine that this is done naturally in the wild by high alternating currents and a little help from fish. For my tank, there is a K1 pointing directly on it (I tried a wavemaker on this tank once, but the horses said no thank you to that plan) so it gets a good strong linear flow, but not enough to keep the occasional HA off of it without manual intervention.

[novahobbies]

I'll try to remember to take a picture of it the next time I see it happening. Maybe its a stress function in the tank, honestly I don't know! I do know that I've had it in there since September 25th 2011.

[mtc1966]

thanks i have noticed algae likes to get on mine and have been hitting it with the turkey baster during water changes

[jck16]

Wow, I was originally following this thread with interest but then forgot about it. Now it's exploded lol.

I'm adding my input only because I do keep SPS, LPS, and seahorses.

I picked the H. barbouri because of its resistance to coral stings (more for the LPS I keep, not that the SPS I have sting) and natural habitat in coral reefs. I keep SPS with my horses. HOWEVER, I do NOT keep Acroporas and other "difficult" SPS (I tried an SPS frag once in my tank before adding seahorses, it got RTN and died). My montipora cap. and setosa are growing and doing well. My pokerstar monti base color browned out. I have a green birdsnest minicolony that I added in after my seahorses which is growing except for a small spot of polyp retraction with possible adjacent necrosis that I just noticed...I'm keeping a very close eye on that and will amputate it at the first sign of progression. My SPS are all high up in the water column, and the seahorses do not hitch onto them.

For a seahorse tank, I'd say my tank is relatively clean even after 1.5 months of HEAVY feeding. The macroalgae bush in the middle keeps the phosphates down in the tank itself, I barely have any visible cyano, and no hair algae (although the sides of my tank have a green hard film). My sump has chaeto in all the compartment and I put a bag of Rowa-Phos too. And, of course, I change 10% of water volume every week.

That's just my personal experience so far. I don't guarantee the same results will hold even for myself.

[mtc1966]

jck16 would love to see your tank how about starting a new thread with some pics for us. love to see other tanks

[jck16]

You can see 2 full tank shots in the seahorse tank thread, I don't think it's worth starting a whole new thread just for pics of my tank haha.

Although in hindsight, the pictures don't really show the SPS. I'll use this opportunity to add a link to a video I made a few weeks back
Video
I've since added a dying sun coral colony which is slowly reviving although not helped by my female seahorse hovering around when I feed it and sometimes snatching mysis from it.

Oh yeah, one more thing, I keep my tank at 74 degrees which is the bare minimum recommended by most sites for Montipora.