Hello,
I currently have a 10 freshwater with some misc fish, and 28g bowfront which has 6 (3pr) Lake Malawi African Ciclids, so this will be my first saltwater foray..
I am cycling a 10g tank intended for a pair of H. Kellogi Seahorses. It has about 5 lbs of Live rock a friend gave me, and some "used" aragonite sand. I am feeding the tank a pinch of fish food daily. (I will purchase babies and then they will move into a 28g bowfront in a couple of months) I noticed in many photos on the web that there are Sea Urchins with the Ponies. I was under the impression that anything spikey was not a good idea, or maybe those just look like urchins?
What characteristics should I look for to make a good tankmate? I don't want to do anything which needs high lighting levels. I intend to make the tank an ideal habitat for the Seahorses, but I am not finding alot of info on their natural habitat, or natural neighbors.
I am looking for more info on these too:
*Hermit Crabs -any variety
*Dragonets -I love the colors of the Mandarin, but not sure about them in a small tank?
*Shrimp -peppermint look like a good possibility?
*Plants -I never see anything at the large chainLFS, and the mom & pop LFS does not seem to have a large variety. Ideas on what and where to get plants which are ideal over the net?
I really appreciate any thoughts anyone might have.
:seahorse: Sunshine
Do your fish a favor...use the 28G or another tank first. EVERY one of us has set up a 'temporary system' hoping to grow into a larger one. In the end, it costs you twice as much to take this route. Learn from MY MISTAKES anyway...and try to set up the permanent system now.
Kellogi aren't BIG per se, but can get up to 4+ inches. With that said, a 10 Gallon tank is just a foot tall. If you add in the space taken by sand, rock etc. you will find that the water column is that much shorter. Seahorses really need three times their body length in water column. In that case, 3X4 is 12, but again, take into consideration the loss of height due to decor.
In any case, most keepers would say that they'd NOT keep a spiny urchin in with seahorses. However, the pincushion type have softer spines, used more for locomotion and camouflage rather than as a "sharp defense". I've NEVER heard of a problem with them except for the larger ones that typically re-landscape your system. The tuxedo urchins stay 3" or less and tend to be less destructive.
You can keep a mandarin in a small tank IF IT IS EATING prepared foods. Some get lucky, others do not. Otherwise, they need a LOT of live rock with teeny tiny copepods to eat. They also take juvenile live mysid. They do NOT eat the large amphipods that you often see (Gammarus fasciatus), though your seahorses will
Shrimp are an excellent option. I'd suggest peppermints as they are not nearly as aggressive in "cleaning" as the skunks. The skunk cleaners (Lysmata amboinensis) tend to "aggravate" the seahorses as they always want to clean them. Peppermints will also help keep aptasia from taking control of an already slow water, nutrient rich, tank as is the case with seahorse systems. Finally, as an added bonus, if you have two or more peppermints, they will begin to breed and will regularly release fry into the system. Smaller ponies will eat them. My fry LOVE them.
"Plants".... complicated subject. If you mean Macro Algae, we can find you some. It's relatively easy to find a hobbyist who is throwing it away by the handful every week. It needs to be pruned back often. IF you mean real marine plants and grasses, this is a whole other subject. Some are hard to find. Most are hard to keep. You need a REAL deep sand bed to keep some of the larger grasses. You also need high lighting. Only a few folks keep them and they have very elaborate systems.
C-wrasse gave you the best advice yet. Check out Seahorse.org. It is MY PERSONAL library. The people there are more than willing to help out. Also, check out this podcast that I helped create: http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/showthread.php?t=404 Download the podcast from that page. It is a simple MP3 so you can listen on an MP3 player or on your PC/Mac.
Thanks for the replies! I have been on the Seahorse.org site, but I posted here becuase I felt the information the members discussed was very relevent. I have the 10g set up and it has begun to cycle, but I had considered not actually getting the horses until I have the Ciclids set up in their new tank too so that I don't have to switch the tanks with the ponies already here. My Ciclids only use the bottom of the 28g, so it will be a better match for them in a long wide tank. I am in no hurry, my big concern is the right environment and tankmates. Since you mention plants are difficult, I think some nice fake ones will make a good start!
Thanks again for the replies....I'm off to Seahorse.org to read some more...
Sunshine
I'm glad you did post here. While the Org is a great place to research, it's nice to have similar discussions elsewhere. The truth is, I really enjoy the CR folks and am happy to help out on this site. It further proves that this is a community about like minded people..and it's not all "Just Reef"
Seahorse Tankmates
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