Best Place To Buy Dwarf Seahorses?

[saltwaterbeginner48]

Hi all! I have been cycling my dwarf seahorse tank for a while now after doing lots of research and while that is going on I am looking for the best place to buy dwarf seahorses for it once I am ready. I have come across 2 places that seem like good options: Alyssas Seahorse Savvy and Foxy Saltwater Tropicals. Just wanted to know if anyone had any feedback on either place? I see that Alyssas has captive breed, so I am leaning towards purchasing from them but want to get some feedback on both places first!

Thanks

 

[Omakoshark]

Hi. I am also looking at buying some. I am leaning towards Foxy Saltwater Tropicals. I thought they were captive bred. Are you sure they aren’t captive bred?

 

[saltwaterbeginner48]

Hi. I am also looking at buying some. I am leaning towards Foxy Saltwater Tropicals. I thought they were captive bred. Are you sure they aren’t captive bred?

I did not see anywhere it said they were captive bred and the about me on the their website says they catch most of the stuff they sell, so I am not sure

 

[Omakoshark]

Good point. Thanks!

 

[deetu]

I purchased from Foxy and yes, they are wild caught. Keep in mine that you should quarantine and worm them a couple of times.
Alyssia's ponies can go right into the tank and I was told they are a bit bigger then the wild caught. They are also three times the cost.
I also know that both places have none available at the moment.

 

[Henn]

Hi all! I have been cycling my dwarf seahorse tank for a while now after doing lots of research and while that is going on I am looking for the best place to buy dwarf seahorses for it once I am ready. I have come across 2 places that seem like good options: Alyssas Seahorse Savvy and Foxy Saltwater Tropicals. Just wanted to know if anyone had any feedback on either place? I see that Alyssas has captive breed, so I am leaning towards purchasing from them but want to get some feedback on both places first!

Thanks

Jason Fox ( Foxy ) has provided me with many quality Sea horses.

 

[Henn]

I purchased from Foxy and yes, they are wild caught. Keep in mine that you should quarantine and worm them a couple of times.
Alyssia's ponies can go right into the tank and I was told they are a bit bigger then the wild caught. They are also three times the cost.
I also know that both places have none available at the moment.

You should follow my thread about raising Dwarf Sea horses in a Marine Pond. There are some baby pictures. This is the only multi generational natural breeding population I know of on the West Coast. The Ponies are all from Jason Fox original stock. It's a regular Pop Goes the Weasel around here. They are fed nothing but what grows in the Mesh fabric canyons. The Evil Critters live below and maintain the mesh. I currently have more Horses than Jason and mine are all pond born and bred. Anyone who follows the instructions can do the same.

 

[deetu]

You should follow my thread about raising Dwarf Sea horses in a Marine Pond. There are some baby pictures. This is the only multi generational natural breeding population I know of on the West Coast. The Ponies are all from Jason Fox original stock. It's a regular Pop Goes the Weasel around here. They are fed nothing but what grows in the Mesh fabric canyons. The Evil Critters live below and maintain the mesh. I currently have more Horses than Jason and mine are all pond born and bred. Anyone who follows the instructions can do the same.

Oh how cool. This won't work for me because I live in NJ

 

[deetu]

Hi all! I have been cycling my dwarf seahorse tank for a while now after doing lots of research and while that is going on I am looking for the best place to buy dwarf seahorses for it once I am ready. I have come across 2 places that seem like good options: Alyssas Seahorse Savvy and Foxy Saltwater Tropicals. Just wanted to know if anyone had any feedback on either place? I see that Alyssas has captive breed, so I am leaning towards purchasing from them but want to get some feedback on both places first!

Thanks

You don't happen to live near NJ do you? I've been selling some of my herd.

 

[Henn]

Oh how cool. This won't work for me because I live in NJ

Actually, The smallest breeding Pond I have done was a 35 gallon pond form on a foam pad in the garage. The Mesh overlay, 90 watt grow bulb, shade cloth pond pump bio unit,,, all cost about $100 total. Ponies on top and ugly crew underneath. If nothing else, having 35 gallons of fresh perfect water filled with macro algae in the garage is a great display tank backup. The ponies ( and lettuce nudibranch are extra ). A self replicating safe cleanup crew for in the mesh with the ponies. Nothing else is seahorse safe. I know.

 

[deetu]

Actually, The smallest breeding Pond I have done was a 35 gallon pond form on a foam pad in the garage. The Mesh overlay, 90 watt grow bulb, shade cloth pond pump bio unit,,, all cost about $100 total. Ponies on top and ugly crew underneath. If nothing else, having 35 gallons of fresh perfect water filled with macro algae in the garage is a great display tank backup. The ponies ( and lettuce nudibranch are extra ). A self replicating safe cleanup crew for in the mesh with the ponies. Nothing else is seahorse safe. I know.

Oh no no no... husband just tolerates the two tank I have now, he wouldn't like me to take over the garage too lol
But really, really cool

 

[Charles4400]

You should follow my thread about raising Dwarf Sea horses in a Marine Pond. There are some baby pictures. This is the only multi generational natural breeding population I know of on the West Coast. The Ponies are all from Jason Fox original stock. It's a regular Pop Goes the Weasel around here. They are fed nothing but what grows in the Mesh fabric canyons. The Evil Critters live below and maintain the mesh. I currently have more Horses than Jason and mine are all pond born and bred. Anyone who follows the instructions can do the same.

How do you keep the temperature down when it gets in the 90s + outside? Chiller?

 

[deetu]

How do you keep the temperature down when it gets in the 90s + outside? Chiller?

House is kept at 70 here

 

[Charles4400]

Sorry should have specified... @Henn how does he keep the outside seahorse pond temp down when ambient tenps can reach 90+ ?

 

[Henn]

Sorry should have specified... @Henn how does he keep the outside seahorse pond temp down when ambient tenps can reach 90+ ?

It gets up to 112 f here at noon. The winter lows are 27 f. At first the ponds were ocean range down to 58 f in winter and mid 80 s in summer. There was lots of ocean stuff that was fine. Once the marine stuff was mostly LFS it was time to insulate. It was very easy. There is 50% shade cloth in high sails over all the ponds, it is year round and holds heat in winter. Each pond is wrapped with 4 layers of radiant barrier ( Mylar bubble wrap with aluminum ). The radiant barrier is covered with Black Shade Cloth.The last cover is common corrugated roofing poly panels ( not of Cl stuff ). Put them on, overlap 2, and cut with snips to fit. Most are screwed down to the pond rim to keep out raccoons. They also keep out rain, dust, and reduce evaporation ( a hot day with wind will evaporate 5 gallons from a 250 gallon pond.. Each pond has a 300 watt aquarium heater set for 73 F. They rarely go on.
You should consider an inside pond. The smallest here that bred ponies was a 35 gallon round pond form from the garden store. Looking down into a pond form is different but the pond also is a great water conditioner for a smaller display tank. Just swap out instead of throwing water out. It is also a great refugium ( use floating mesh basket and overhead grow bulb. Most display tanks do not have much room for macro algae or copods. Rotating your display tank items with the pond items allows for more stuff with a smaller tank.

 

[Charles4400]

It gets up to 112 f here at noon. The winter lows are 27 f. At first the ponds were ocean range down to 58 f in winter and mid 80 s in summer. There was lots of ocean stuff that was fine. Once the marine stuff was mostly LFS it was time to insulate. It was very easy. There is 50% shade cloth in high sails over all the ponds, it is year round and holds heat in winter. Each pond is wrapped with 4 layers of radiant barrier ( Mylar bubble wrap with aluminum ). The radiant barrier is covered with Black Shade Cloth.The last cover is common corrugated roofing poly panels ( not of Cl stuff ). Put them on, overlap 2, and cut with snips to fit. Most are screwed down to the pond rim to keep out raccoons. They also keep out rain, dust, and reduce evaporation ( a hot day with wind will evaporate 5 gallons from a 250 gallon pond.. Each pond has a 300 watt aquarium heater set for 73 F. They rarely go on.
You should consider an inside pond. The smallest here that bred ponies was a 35 gallon round pond form from the garden store. Looking down into a pond form is different but the pond also is a great water conditioner for a smaller display tank. Just swap out instead of throwing water out. It is also a great refugium ( use floating mesh basket and overhead grow bulb. Most display tanks do not have much room for macro algae or copods. Rotating your display tank items with the pond items allows for more stuff with a smaller tank.

Excellent work and well done on mastering the temp needs of the pond. I think I read somewhere you were in Canoga Park which definitely gets the extremes in the seasons out here. I am closer to santa monica so we don't see such extremes but enough so where I would of thought it impossible to have an outdoor marine pond of any type. Thats why I was so surprised you could manage seahorses of all things in an outside pond on the other side of the hill!

Thats an amazing feat imo! I'm wowed for sure!!! Truly awesome work!

 

[Henn]

Excellent work and well done on mastering the temp needs of the pond. I think I read somewhere you were in Canoga Park which definitely gets the extremes in the seasons out here. I am closer to santa monica so we don't see such extremes but enough so where I would of thought it impossible to have an outdoor marine pond of any type. Thats why I was so surprised you could manage seahorses of all things in an outside pond on the other side of the hill!

Thats an amazing feat imo! I'm wowed for sure!!! Truly awesome work!

I just caught the 7 th seahorse escapee from the floating coral ( in a week ). They escape when they are less than 2 mm ( head size ) and get through the Tulle fabric mesh. It is a miracle that they grow up hanging out in the big pond. The latest must have been 6 months old. He is now in the new seahorse coral.
My Offer: To anyone in LA or near, Free seahorses to any similar setup. There is everything here to start a complete system. The ponies are not for sale, they are for new Breeders. So to the Macro Algae, nudibranch, pencil urchins, and Brittle Stars. My mom used to drive us down Highway 27 ( Topanga ) to the beach ( 1957 ). There were lobsters in the tide pools along with who knows what. This is the closest thing to the old places within 40 miles. The ponds run as natural as possible. They are larval friendly. With the covers on, they can go a week without any work. My old display tanks were much more work.
My offer is genuine and the results can be seen. Spread the word. Maybe we can get Coral to Spawn and settle instead of forever frags and clones. Maybe the seahorses can pay for the rest.

 

[Charles4400]

I just caught the 7 th seahorse escapee from the floating coral ( in a week ). They escape when they are less than 2 mm ( head size ) and get through the Tulle fabric mesh. It is a miracle that they grow up hanging out in the big pond. The latest must have been 6 months old. He is now in the new seahorse coral.
My Offer: To anyone in LA or near, Free seahorses to any similar setup. There is everything here to start a complete system. The ponies are not for sale, they are for new Breeders. So to the Macro Algae, nudibranch, pencil urchins, and Brittle Stars. My mom used to drive us down Highway 27 ( Topanga ) to the beach ( 1957 ). There were lobsters in the tide pools along with who knows what. This is the closest thing to the old places within 40 miles. The ponds run as natural as possible. They are larval friendly. With the covers on, they can go a week without any work. My old display tanks were much more work.
My offer is genuine and the results can be seen. Spread the word. Maybe we can get Coral to Spawn and settle instead of forever frags and clones. Maybe the seahorses can pay for the rest.

Thats a generous offer, thanks for that! One day it would be nice to at least just check it out, never would have thought there would be a successful seahorse pond out there or anywhere out here!

I know Topanga Beach and live not far from it and have gone kayaking right around the corner of it to the south in that small bay. Havent explored the tidepool areas over there though.

Never thought of an outdoor marine pond in the backyard but n ow you have me thinking...maybe sometime in the future!

Again congrats on successful seahorse pond with breeding capabilities! A natural setup one at that...too cool!

 

[deetu]

You should follow my thread about raising Dwarf Sea horses in a Marine Pond. There are some baby pictures. This is the only multi generational natural breeding population I know of on the West Coast. The Ponies are all from Jason Fox original stock. It's a regular Pop Goes the Weasel around here. They are fed nothing but what grows in the Mesh fabric canyons. The Evil Critters live below and maintain the mesh. I currently have more Horses than Jason and mine are all pond born and bred. Anyone who follows the instructions can do the same.

Hey Henn, I know someone who is looking to buy in CA once their tank is cycled. Do you sell?

 

[Henn]

hi Deetu, I just caught the 8th seahorse ( in a week ) this morning in the main pond. They are more hardy than I thought to survive to adulthood in the company of some rough fish and inverts. They have to have escaped the mesh cage as 2 mm or smaller fry. With a second corral now producing it is possible to sell some matched pairs. I am moving some young to a satellite tank. I have had several dwarf seahorses learn to take flake from the surface ( rare ). These pond raised may learn to take frozen Artemis or small flightless fruit flies ( now testing ). Selling them would be less stressful if they eat LFS food. One of the new ponies is a nice green color with black marks.
Reef2Reef must have some rules on sales or exchanges so I will be asking question. They would sell in pairs of the same age. It is easy to tell the sexes apart as young adults. They would be in a Take Out Container with some macro algae. At first they would be pick up here by arrangement. There is other cool stuff here like tiny green lip mussel shoals, lots of gorgonians. With luck the urchins and brittle stars will have young.Trying to mail out living stuff is always a challenge.