Considering dwarf seahorses. Talk me out of it!

Weasel1960

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I don’t have a pony in this yet either but following to learn. I have asked several questions to Alyssa Seahorse Savvy and she has answered all my emails. 2 concerns I heard dwarves are still not available pending outcome of endangered species...has that been updated yet? Also not sure you want crabs in this tank.

 

deetu

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I have had 5 seahorses for over a year now mixed with some Carefully chosen tank mates. I have set up a feeding station with handles for them to grab onto. This minimises wastage 100% for me as the food is stuck in a bowl and trickles down a tube. I have some other tank mates that will also come and check it out for a quick feed but none that hogs it. Depending on how dedicated you are it will take 1-2 weeks to train them to use the station. Mine took about 3-5 days. Now at the same time as my normal feeding times they line up at the station waiting for food. It’s so cute.
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He was asking about dwarf seahorses. They will only eat live food.
I had Erectus 20 years ago and had a feeding station too. It was great. I admit, they were easier to keep.
 

deetu

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I don't think light time has anything to do with them breeding its tempture related as my light cycle was 10 hours and they still breed like guppys at 76 degrees
I would forget to shut off the light until I went to bed so it was on usually 12-15 hours lol Definitely the factor in my case
 

Tankkeepers

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Mine were wild caught and had babies... then the babies had babies...


Mabey that was the difrence mine were tank raised and had been for 10 years before I got them and I had them for 8 years they may not of know any better lol heck I didnt even know they wernt soposed to breed under 12 hrs of light lol I thought they just breed all the time since mine did learn somthing new every day
 
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xxkenny90xx

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I don’t have a pony in this yet either but following to learn. I have asked several questions to Alyssa Seahorse Savvy and she has answered all my emails. 2 concerns I heard dwarves are still not available pending outcome of endangered species...has that been updated yet? Also not sure you want crabs in this tank.

 
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xxkenny90xx

xxkenny90xx

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Also the hermit crabs can definitely go as I have another tank (30 something gallon) dedicated completely to hermits. Still weighing my options here guys, I really appreciate all of your input!
 

deetu

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Also the hermit crabs can definitely go as I have another tank (30 something gallon) dedicated completely to hermits. Still weighing my options here guys, I really appreciate all of your input!
Disagree on the hermits. They can grab on to the dwarfs and injure them. Ponies will hitch on anything
Perfect Perch.jpg
 
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xxkenny90xx

xxkenny90xx

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Disagree on the hermits. They can grab on to the dwarfs and injure them. Ponies will hitch on anything
Perfect Perch.jpg
I don't think we disagree. I was saying the hermits can be removed and put into my dedicated hermit crab tank
 

deetu

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oh oh oh.... look into Hamburg Matten filter system. If I could have done it again, this is the way I would have gone. This way you can have small area to start and make the display area bigger as you need by moving the sponge and still have the water volume and quality from a 10 gallon tank. Also wouldn't have to worry about the bbs or ponies being sucked into filter or the ponies getting burned on heater. Have more room for media
 
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xxkenny90xx

xxkenny90xx

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oh oh oh.... look into Hamburg Matten filter system. If I could have done it again, this is the way I would have gone. This way you can have small area to start and make the display area bigger as you need by moving the sponge and still have the water volume and quality from a 10 gallon tank. Also wouldn't have to worry about the bbs or ponies being sucked into filter or the ponies getting burned on heater. Have more room for media
Whoa I just read a bunch about those on Swiss tropicals website. That is new to me and a really interesting design!
 

Max The New reefer

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You asked the wrong people to talk you out of this.

Use fenbendazole in the tank, or do something to keep hydroids out. You don't want those in a dwarf tank.

Macroalgae can help with reducing nitrates and stuff in the tank as well.

Make sure to hatch out brine 2x/day, or at least take the morning batch and put half in the fridge for feeding later in the day. You could also do something like a drip feed? Oh, and if you feed BBS, make sure you either feed NHBSS (newly hatched BBS, like, immediately after 24 hours after putting the cysts in), or wait until they've developed a mouth and gut so you can gut load them.

Buy your horses from a breeder. They breed prolifically once fully settled in.
YOUR FREAKING EVERYWHERE ON EVERY TOPIC I LOOK AT HOW DO YOU KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT FISH
 

ichthyogeek

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yeah no stuff bruv, any tips for a aqua scape of a seahorse tank? I'm worried that my design doesn't have enough hitches
Currently the plastic chains you find at home depot and lowes are in vogue in the seahorse community (example from Home Depot Here). It helps that seahorses are slightly chameleonic (they change colors), so using bright decor (red macroalgae, etc.) will give you brighter seahorses (kind of the "standard" yellow that everybody's used to).

oh, and of course, Gracilaria for rockwork will help with creating hitching posts, as will using something like Caulerpa on the sandbed. Lots of hitching posts that way.

If you're aiming for dwarves, I'd go for a "feathery" macro (again, Gracilaria works), or a "bubbly" macro (Sargassum, Botryocladia, etc.). Because you are in california, do not buy Caulerpa taxifolia (stuff's also illegal to sell on the forum btw). However, I'm a fan of the aesthetic of C. paspaloides (they're like palm trees!). Regardless, standard disposal of all macro, is to toss it in a bag and freeze it for 24 hours. After that, you can trash it, or use it as fertilizer for garden plants.
 

Max The New reefer

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Currently the plastic chains you find at home depot and lowes are in vogue in the seahorse community (example from Home Depot Here). It helps that seahorses are slightly chameleonic (they change colors), so using bright decor (red macroalgae, etc.) will give you brighter seahorses (kind of the "standard" yellow that everybody's used to).

oh, and of course, Gracilaria for rockwork will help with creating hitching posts, as will using something like Caulerpa on the sandbed. Lots of hitching posts that way.

If you're aiming for dwarves, I'd go for a "feathery" macro (again, Gracilaria works), or a "bubbly" macro (Sargassum, Botryocladia, etc.). Because you are in california, do not buy Caulerpa taxifolia (stuff's also illegal to sell on the forum btw). However, I'm a fan of the aesthetic of C. paspaloides (they're like palm trees!). Regardless, standard disposal of all macro, is to toss it in a bag and freeze it for 24 hours. After that, you can trash it, or use it as fertilizer for garden plants.
awesome!
 

deetu

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Currently the plastic chains you find at home depot and lowes are in vogue in the seahorse community (example from Home Depot Here). It helps that seahorses are slightly chameleonic (they change colors), so using bright decor (red macroalgae, etc.) will give you brighter seahorses (kind of the "standard" yellow that everybody's used to).

oh, and of course, Gracilaria for rockwork will help with creating hitching posts, as will using something like Caulerpa on the sandbed. Lots of hitching posts that way.

If you're aiming for dwarves, I'd go for a "feathery" macro (again, Gracilaria works), or a "bubbly" macro (Sargassum, Botryocladia, etc.). Because you are in california, do not buy Caulerpa taxifolia (stuff's also illegal to sell on the forum btw). However, I'm a fan of the aesthetic of C. paspaloides (they're like palm trees!). Regardless, standard disposal of all macro, is to toss it in a bag and freeze it for 24 hours. After that, you can trash it, or use it as fertilizer for garden plants.
I got my chains from Amazon that were bird toys...more colors.
And for dwarfs, it is best to do bare bottom and plastic plants. Yeah yeah, I fought it tooth and nail but in the end did it because it was easiest to care for them. I constantly battled nitrates with the sand in... after it was out, was easy to suck out the dead bbs and poops from the bare bottom.
I did have macro in the tank though.
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this was my 2.5 gallon tank
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

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