My classes are scheduled out to where I can feed in the morning at 9am before classes, at around 2 which is close to the 6 hours between feedings, and then again around 7pm which is again close to the 6 hour mark and not too late to where they can sleep. Worst case I can feed twice a day which is what most people say is alright
Definitely planning to go captive bred no questions asked.
Yeah I'm more worried about bioload. The bioload increases vibrio which increases your chance of killing your seahorses. They will get along fine.
And this set up has went 2 years and no dead seahorses?
Speaking of bioload, I’ve heard not to use live rock because of worms or other stinging hitchhikers. Should I set up the tank dry or use live rock from one of my tanks or buy new live rock?
I’ve had 1 single issue unfortunately with an unknown cause (we reached out to a few specialists trying to dig into the root with the general consensus being that this thing sometimes just happens). Since, we’ve replaced with a new Seahorse and have been fine. It hasn’t been 2 years yet, the tank was spun up at the very start of this year.
How does the auto feeder work? I’m an engineering student so I’d love to hook up a contraption! Do they know feed directly from it and how long did it take for them to realize it? How do you control excess food if you’re not hand feeding especially in a 20 gallon?
what! that’s plain wrong….
Yeah I heard from multiple sources that the bristle worms and aptasia on live rock can harm the ponies. I was planning on just starting with live sand and caribsea liferock branches, and cycling for 2 weeks (or whatever it takes). With that the bacteria would not be well established and I’d have bioload issues for a while until it does establish which is why I wanted to use live rock from an LFS
That tail rot is usually caused by vibrio. Poor nutrient control will usually be problematic within 2 years. It’s partly why there are rumors that seahorse life span is about 2 years.
Another question, how would you go about moving seahorses? Since they are so delicate I don’t want to do my usual bucket route with them. I’ve moved my reef tank 4 times now using 6, 5 gallon buckets and some hopes and prayers. But with seahorses it seems different and I’d need a plan for the fact they would be moved only 1 time after the summer
Bristleworms aren’t too bad if you have the smaller varieties and they aren’t fireworms. You can tell by touching them. I prefer spaghetti worms to bristle but they do help clean up. That being said irritation points from bristles can be points of infection.
Seahorses are not fragile if kept correctly.
Yeah, it definitely wasn’t old age (never said it was) and we treated for bacterial infections thinking something like this could be the cause. Although, nutrition and whatnot was well in the low range of measurements. Really had no idea what the starter was minus a mistake in temperature fluctuation as noted in the thread.
People really over exaggerate their fragility and over exaggerate the “low flow” need. They are low flow but not no flow. I have an MP10 in the tank on 20-30% ranges without causing them to struggle swimming or causing much sway.
Yeah I get that, kinda like an LPS coral where you want them waving but not blasted with flow. I plan to use a small powerhead running perpendicular to the outflow. My fragile question was for moving the tank. Would they be better in bags in a cooler, or would they be fine with a 5G bucket in a car. The move is 1 hour away
If you need to move them, pick them up with your hands not a net. Put something in the bucket that they can hitch to. You need some biodiversity in the tank to help clean. Live rock is a good thing to have, hitch hikers can be dealt with. Aiptasia, though a nuisance, aren’t going to hurt the adults, babies yes.
How does pairing work? Do you have to get an established pair or can you buy 2. I know there’s specific rules for clowns size wise wondering if there’s any pairing rules for seahorses
They are very social and get along very well. Clowns are nuts!
