Oppinions on a seahorse tank

[Feron]

I've been thinking about a tank to replace my tv in my bedroom (hah..)
Preferrably a 72g bow with an overflow etc etc..
can handle all the mechanics etc..
More interested in oppinions on seahorses!
I assume seaponies, pipefish and dragonettes can get along (yes yes I know about mature tanks for the drags).
I want a nice serene tank for night viewing (light cycle adjusted accordingly anyhow).
Any advice on the whole species only-ish type of slow feeder tanks?
I assume the general rule of fish length is different for them, but how many in a 72?
Would a nice variety of tonga branch be a good habitat?
Cmon! Help an addict out!

TIA

 

[MT79]

assume seaponies, pipefish

The only thing I would point out is yes, captive bred seahorses are sustainable these days. But pipefish are not widely, if at all, captive bred. They are normally wild caught and therefore can introduce diseases that seahorses are also susceptible too. In addition to that they are often very picky eaters. I have to say though I have no first hand experience-I'm sure Fluff can help you more...best of luck.

 

[TCTFish]

Regardless of anything...seahorses should be the most aggressive animal in the tank and must be a reef system. The maturity requirements for mandarin gobies (drags) should apply for seahorses as well.

As of how mny you can have depends on available territory and bio.

Have some nice macro algae...the seahorses seem to like to hide among and hang on them.

 

[Feron]

Oh, am all about getting the full scpectrum of advice and stories before even beginning the tank heh
I have read enough to know all 'versions' of the "sea-pony" are picky eaters (usually more like slow eaters), so that's why I am aiming for a 'species' aka "slow-eater" tank.
Figured the same shaped head with the slow eating habbits (and then the dragonettes once I get the pods all over the place) would make for a nice happy happy tank..
Of course, while I hate it when you all rain on my parade, I am totally at square..2.. of this project, and need the infos from many sources beyond book facts (cause, well, book facts are only +1 beyond LFS facts in many cases)

 

[Feron]

Regardless of anything...seahorses should be the most aggressive animal in the tank and must be a reef system. The maturity requirements for mandarin gobies (drags) should apply for seahorses as well.

As of how mny you can have depends on available territory and bio.

Have some nice macro algae...the seahorses seem to like to hide among and hang on them.

Hmm..wasn't aware they were a mainly pod consumer.. guess I read wrong? I read they required a varied diet of meaty foods, so a diet of supplied zoo and mysis along with pods would be sufficient?
The plan is a seriously docile tank (seahorses and their like-kin and dragons later on (or whenever the pods are sufficient to support without serious intervention)).
I already have a macro tank set up that I'm growing things in, so that should help to seed the new one (and trust me, I know there is no such word in this hobby as rush)

 

[MT79]

It sounds like it will be a very nice tank. Not just the "garden" variety reef. I've been wanting seahorses, I just don't have the time to handle another demanding aquarium. Best of luck and share some pics when it's up!

 

[TCTFish]

You want the maturity of the tank more than the pods, but the pods are a source of nutrition to a point. Most seahorses, just as some of the drags eat only live foods, so the pods help. Seahorses would take the opportunity to snack them up

The macro tank sounds like a good start. In fact, it can also be a place to cultivate pods.

 

[GinaD]

I got my seahorse pretty young and he was eating frozen mysis shrimp just fine.
I suggest making sure your seahorses are captive bred for several reasons. Health, hardiness, and they will probably already be weaned on frozen mysis. LFS's may tell you their horses are captive bred, but you never really know - unless you know you can trust the people telling you this. There are many places to get captive bred seahorses.

As far as feeding, mysis shrimp are very nutritious, and Hikari brand seems to be the best out there - it's 'bio-encapsulated' with vitamins.

By the way, I PM'd you.

 

[Hara]

The other thing I will say right now, is even though captive bred is the way to go IF you are going to insist on buying them, it is no surety on their survivablity rate. This is still a VERY VERY difficult species to keep alive in the home aquarium.

 

[Feron]

It's a shame they are so difficult to maintain :/
The LFS I go to (which is actually a halfway decent one) always has a tank full of em... orange and greenish brownish ones.
Guess it's jsut like anything else in saltwater hobby-dom.
Alot of care and patience and reading heh

 

[vsnsofadrgn]

check out seahorse.org

 

[TCTFish]

I personally see no sense in keeping wild seahorses in captivity unless you plan to breed them and contribute to the conservation efforts. More and more species are being restricted for capture for the aquarium. This is due to overfishing and areas that still harvest seahorses for primative medicines and yeah...the all to notorious aphrodesiac (gimmie a break!!)...as well as dried ornaments in souveniers found everywhere. The wild seahorse population is under serious threat.

 

[rayjay]

I put my first pair of seahorses in a 40g tall. Within a week, there were no pods of any kind left. You will never build up a pod population with seahorses in a tank, and if you build them up ahead of time, the same thing will happen that happened in mine, gone in no time at all.
I waited years to get captive bred seahorses and that is all I would use.
I have kudas and reidi's in my tank and both will basically only eat the frozen mysis, but even then, they only pick out the ideal specimens and I have to vacuum out the rest before they pollute the tank.
Like a previous post mentioned, check out seahorse.org.
SEAHORSE.ORG

 

[vsnsofadrgn]

its back up now, and theres alot of friendly ppl on there willing to help. you can get cb at seahorse source http://seahorsesource.com/. hes also a member on seahorse.org and a very nice guy.