need everyone expieriance ...

[lReef lKeeper]

we are thinking of starting a seahorse tank, what i need from you guys and gals is Pro's and Con's to a pony tank. this will heavily sway me to start one or not to start one. so lets start with things i NEED to know about the little horses, fire away ...

[ReefNeck]

You have to be very careful about tankmates! There are many fish that will be fine with them but many, many more that won't.

My 2 cents.

[dakar]

I was kinda waiting to chime in here, as I'm far from an expert and actually do little with Angel's pony tank (besides sitting and watching them) she does 99.9% of the maintenance and care. But so far it has not been too challenging, but can be time demanding.

There are a number of things to be considered before jumping in, the environment for keep seahorses is radically different for fish and
coral. first you are intentionally creating a low flow, high nutrient, lower light ecosystem. That in itself should be enough to ring a few bells, in a reef tank that spells a disaster, algae can consume the system in days. A proper clean up crew in need, but must be balanced so that the clean up crew and any other inhabitants do not directly compete for food with the seahorses. Temps are another big one, higher temps (80+) can be quite leathal (sadly, you can find a thread in this forum about that) if you can't maintain consistant low water temp a chiller will be a must. Having the time availble for at least 2 daily feedings is an absolute must, there are dozens of other things to consider as well. But this should give you a bit to think about for the moment.

Seahorses are magnificant creatures, the notion they should only be kept by more advanced aquarists/hobbyists is, in my opinion, mislabeling at best, you need not be an expert but have the time and willingness to dedicate to them and their care, common sense alone will go a long way.

Pick out a specific species you like (there are MANY!) and research what others have found to be suitable husbandry practices and determine if you can reasonably maintain that environment. Not many of us here on CR keep them, DavidP and Angel are keeping H. Reidi and AngieG is keeping H. Erectus, but there are many other species out there. Check around to see what is available in your area or otherwise for Captive Bred poinies.

Other than that the only other advice I can offer up at this point is to figure out what you'd like to keep, set up a tank accordingly and see if you are able to maintain it in that fashion for a while BEFORE adding any seahorses to it.

Care can be quite time consuming or can go pretty easily, but you have to always be prepared for the worst. However the natural attraction to them is easy enough to figure out, their near mythical existance alone is amazing, their behavior and such in a stable envionment is as entertaining as watching a pile of puppies only better. Oh BTW we're hooked!

[lReef lKeeper]

thanx Dave, you are right ... that is some food for thought. now to sit back and do some thinking, and some research.

[JustDavidP]

Also do check out www.seahorse.org. They are a GREAT resource.

Dave

[tigersax7]

hello,


Its been a while since ive posted, just thougt I would throw in my two cents. Sea horse's are increadible creatures but as mentioned they have very specific care needs that have to be kept in mind when setting up a tank for them. Also most species of sea horse have realtivaly short natural life spans (2-4 years). You should also consider planting some form of Macro algea to help prevent undesirable algea outbreaks and manage phosphates/nitrates. And then there is feeding, though I do not have any sea horses I do know that sea horses have very small mouths and move pretty slowly so when picking out tank matses for them its important to consides this. You may also look into pipe fish which have similar tank and feeding needs. Well thats my two cents take it for what its worth.

tigersax7

[lReef lKeeper]

thanx guys for all the input, i think we are gonna hold off for a while. now that she is more into my second love, REEFING, we dont really have the time for the requirements of ponies.

[JustDavidP]

Hey... regardless of whether or not this is my podcast the information on said podcast is what I have learned from Seahorse.org, Sygnathid.org and other great sites. I'm sure thta my mod and admin friends here wouldn't mind if I post this "Seahorse 101 Podcast":

http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/showthread.php?t=404

If so, feel free to remove it.

Dave

[dakar]

Of course we'd not mind! We've listened to many of Rob's podcasts, though sadly I'll admit I've missed the past few months worth.