Easy seahorse

Mac1999 · 05/14/2016, 02:15 PM

Hello I Have two clowns a bicolored cromis a feather duster and 3 turbo snails. I was wondering if there are any hardy and easy or moderate seahorses to get that are not to difficult to feed

Mac1999 · 05/14/2016, 02:55 PM

I heard of the lined seahorse

MMacro · 05/14/2016, 02:58 PM

Seahorses generally do better in their own dedicated tank. They require lower temperatures than most of the fish that we keep in our reefs.

Sugar Magnolia · 05/14/2016, 03:13 PM

This thread has been moved to the current forum.

rayjay · 05/14/2016, 04:07 PM

As already mentioned, seahorses have a MUCH better chance of survival when placed in an appropriate dedicated tank.
While occasionally some hobbyists have succeeded keeping seahorses with clowns in the tank, most have bad experiences with them.
Personally I don't look at a seahorse being easier than another when you are considering most of the basic species normally sold to the hobbyists in North America.
IMO, seahorses need a tank that has water and husbandry that exceeds the levels of a reef tank in order to mitigate the affinity to nasty bacterial infections they succumb to so often.

Mac1999 · 05/14/2016, 04:11 PM

What about the long snout, I read u can feed them frozen food. Also I have a 75 gallon tank

rayjay · 05/14/2016, 04:23 PM

Longsnout, H. reidi are just like the other seahorses available to us, they have been trained to eat frozen.
Even the cheaper imported seahorses have been trained onto frozen.
Best chances of success come with buying from a reputable seahorse breeder like Dan at seahorsesource.com.
IMO the majority, but not all of the seahorses sold in LFS's have come from breeding sources that don't go to the trouble and expense to raise them under best conditions and should be treated like purchasing wild caught and doing the deworming procedure before housing them in the display tank.
Unless you know who is the breeder of the ones for sale in the store, you don't know for sure because stores have been known to be misleading.
Also, many stores house the seahorses for sale in tanks that are part of a system that contains other fish. This exposes the seahorses to pathogens that they haven't grown up with and often succumb to once they do get that exposure.
My Thoughts on Seahorse Keeping

Mac1999 · 05/14/2016, 08:39 PM

What If I get a seahorse feeding station, has anyone had experience with having seahorses and other fish

sde1500 · 05/14/2016, 08:41 PM

Just gonna keep fishing til someone gives you the answer you want to hear huh?

MMacro · 05/14/2016, 09:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sde1500

Just gonna keep fishing til someone gives you the answer you want to hear huh?

Was about to say the same thing.

rayjay · 05/15/2016, 08:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mac1999

What If I get a seahorse feeding station, has anyone had experience with having seahorses and other fish

Feeding station is not going to solve the stress problem than comes from faster moving fish, especially like clowns who most often become aggressive when mature. Stress leads to disease followed by death.
It's not that it CAN'T be done, as some are successful, but the odds are greatly against it.
Unfortunately there is no way to predict in advance if it will work out as it takes seahorses that are at their hardiest coupled with tank mates that have the right personality to not do the aggression they normally exhibit.
Countless numbers of seahorses are lost all the time because so many people haven't got the correct information on seahorses needs, and/or choose to ignore the advice of so many of those who have tried and failed.
Even under ideal conditions it is no guarantee your seahorses will survive as many can be more susceptible to problems than others.
As for feeding stations, I personally no longer use them as some of my seahorses refuse to use them so I have to broadcast feed to satisfy them even if I use the feeding stations for ones that do.
Some hobbyists are fortunate enough that all their seahorses will use the stations, but again, IMO, it is not going to solve the problems you are going to have if you proceed the way you want to.
To put things in some perspective, I've been keeping seahorses now since 2002, and the knowledge available then was no-where near what we know today, making the hobby more successful now. I really believe that this is still an ongoing situation and books written today about the hobby will no longer be as true factually somewhere down the road, just like books written 10-15 yrs ago are now.
Even the information on seahorse.org is sadly in need of upgrading.
You can also check Tami's site at fusedjaw.com for more information.
I implore you to please to a LOT of investigation before you go ahead into this hobby. For the sake of the seahorses.

vlangel · 05/15/2016, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rayjay

Feeding station is not going to solve the stress problem than comes from faster moving fish, especially like clowns who most often become aggressive when mature. Stress leads to disease followed by death.
It's not that it CAN'T be done, as some are successful, but the odds are greatly against it.
Unfortunately there is no way to predict in advance if it will work out as it takes seahorses that are at their hardiest coupled with tank mates that have the right personality to not do the aggression they normally exhibit.
Countless numbers of seahorses are lost all the time because so many people haven't got the correct information on seahorses needs, and/or choose to ignore the advice of so many of those who have tried and failed.
Even under ideal conditions it is no guarantee your seahorses will survive as many can be more susceptible to problems than others.
As for feeding stations, I personally no longer use them as some of my seahorses refuse to use them so I have to broadcast feed to satisfy them even if I use the feeding stations for ones that do.
Some hobbyists are fortunate enough that all their seahorses will use the stations, but again, IMO, it is not going to solve the problems you are going to have if you proceed the way you want to.
To put things in some perspective, I've been keeping seahorses now since 2002, and the knowledge available then was no-where near what we know today, making the hobby more successful now. I really believe that this is still an ongoing situation and books written today about the hobby will no longer be as true factually somewhere down the road, just like books written 10-15 yrs ago are now.
Even the information on seahorse.org is sadly in need of upgrading.
You can also check Tami's site at fusedjaw.com for more information.
I implore you to please to a LOT of investigation before you go ahead into this hobby. For the sake of the seahorses.

Very well and compassionately said!

05/14/2016, 02:15 PM	#1
Mac1999 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2016 Posts: 144	Easy seahorse Hello I Have two clowns a bicolored cromis a feather duster and 3 turbo snails. I was wondering if there are any hardy and easy or moderate seahorses to get that are not to difficult to feed

05/14/2016, 02:58 PM	#3
MMacro Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 2,442	Seahorses generally do better in their own dedicated tank. They require lower temperatures than most of the fish that we keep in our reefs. __________________ 155 Mixed Reef (48x31x24)

05/14/2016, 03:13 PM	#4
Sugar Magnolia Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Northern VA Posts: 17,691	This thread has been moved to the current forum. __________________ Adrienne The only thing to fear is fear itself....and spiders.

05/14/2016, 04:07 PM	#5
rayjay Registered Member Join Date: Oct 1999 Location: London, Ontario, Canada Posts: 3,969	As already mentioned, seahorses have a MUCH better chance of survival when placed in an appropriate dedicated tank. While occasionally some hobbyists have succeeded keeping seahorses with clowns in the tank, most have bad experiences with them. Personally I don't look at a seahorse being easier than another when you are considering most of the basic species normally sold to the hobbyists in North America. IMO, seahorses need a tank that has water and husbandry that exceeds the levels of a reef tank in order to mitigate the affinity to nasty bacterial infections they succumb to so often. __________________ Seahorses. Culture nanno, rotifers and brine shrimp. Current Tank Info: Seahorses

05/14/2016, 04:23 PM	#7
rayjay Registered Member Join Date: Oct 1999 Location: London, Ontario, Canada Posts: 3,969	Longsnout, H. reidi are just like the other seahorses available to us, they have been trained to eat frozen. Even the cheaper imported seahorses have been trained onto frozen. Best chances of success come with buying from a reputable seahorse breeder like Dan at seahorsesource.com. IMO the majority, but not all of the seahorses sold in LFS's have come from breeding sources that don't go to the trouble and expense to raise them under best conditions and should be treated like purchasing wild caught and doing the deworming procedure before housing them in the display tank. Unless you know who is the breeder of the ones for sale in the store, you don't know for sure because stores have been known to be misleading. Also, many stores house the seahorses for sale in tanks that are part of a system that contains other fish. This exposes the seahorses to pathogens that they haven't grown up with and often succumb to once they do get that exposure. My Thoughts on Seahorse Keeping __________________ Seahorses. Culture nanno, rotifers and brine shrimp. Current Tank Info: Seahorses

05/14/2016, 02:55 PM	#2
Mac1999 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2016 Posts: 144	I heard of the lined seahorse

05/14/2016, 04:11 PM	#6
Mac1999 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2016 Posts: 144	What about the long snout, I read u can feed them frozen food. Also I have a 75 gallon tank

05/14/2016, 08:39 PM	#8
Mac1999 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2016 Posts: 144	What If I get a seahorse feeding station, has anyone had experience with having seahorses and other fish

05/14/2016, 08:41 PM	#9
sde1500 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Glocester, RI Posts: 3,336	Just gonna keep fishing til someone gives you the answer you want to hear huh? __________________ My build thread: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2548422 Current Tank Info: 65 gallon mixed reef, Eshopps sump and HOB overflow, RO-110int skimmer, Reefbreeder 32" photons V1.