Dwarf seahorse

haigyfish · May 28, 2023

Hey y’all it’s been a minute I have a baby dwarf seahorse left that’s about 2 months old and a pair of dwarf seahorses, I have struggled with Hydroid colonies for a month plus I have manually removed and scrub off they still come back since I feed live bbs. I have lost 3 adult dwarf seahorses and struggle to keep a dwarf alive for over 4-5 months I plan to switch to a Seahorse rather than a dwarf seahorse eventually. Any thoughts and of course with my tank size of 10 gallons I can only have 1 pair or just a single? And would the mandarin goby be fine living with a large seahorse rather than the dwarves it does now .

danieyella · May 28, 2023

Mandarin would be fine with seahorse just like with the dwarf. I feel like a 10g might be really pushing it for even one though, personally

Mr. Mojo Rising · May 28, 2023

a mandarin or a pair of seahorses should not be in a 10 gallon, its much too small. A pair of seahorses should be in a 30 gallon minimum, same for mandarin. Mandarins and seahorses also eat the same foods, mainly copepods, so they will compete for the pods. A mandarin is an exploring/roaming type of fish, it will explore a whole tank, but very confined in a 10 gallon. Please do some more research into their care

bluemon · Jun 26, 2023

LordofCinder said:
a mandarin or a pair of seahorses should not be in a 10 gallon, its much too small. A pair of seahorses should be in a 30 gallon minimum, same for mandarin. Mandarins and seahorses also eat the same foods, mainly copepods, so they will compete for the pods. A mandarin is an exploring/roaming type of fish, it will explore a whole tank, but very confined in a 10 gallon. Please do some more research into their care

Dwarves should be fine in 10 gallons. I kept a breeding population in a 5 gallon a decade ago (although I would recommend a bigger system). The big seahorses definitely need 30+ gallons, but not dwarves. They barely move, and if you can get the water quality up to par, there are no problems

CCAF · Jun 26, 2023

Smaller tank would be better for the dwarf horses, easier for them to find and eat all the food offered in a smaller size tank, leaving less uneaten food for the hydroids to feed off. But 10gallon is too small for the larger seahorses.

Mr. Mojo Rising · Jun 27, 2023

bluemon said:
Dwarves should be fine in 10 gallons. I kept a breeding population in a 5 gallon a decade ago (although I would recommend a bigger system). The big seahorses definitely need 30+ gallons, but not dwarves. They barely move, and if you can get the water quality up to par, there are no problems

re-read the OP, he plans to switch to seahorses from dwarf seahorses.

bluemon · Jun 27, 2023

LordofCinder said:
re-read the OP, he plans to switch to seahorses from dwarf seahorses.

Oof, looks like you are right.

the 10 gallon can have the proper footprint for a pair of big horsies, but you will not have the VERTICALITY. you need at least 30 gallons to meet that requirement.

haigyfish · Jul 10, 2023

bluemon said:
Oof, looks like you are right.

the 10 gallon can have the proper footprint for a pair of big horsies, but you will not have the VERTICALITY. you need at least 30 gallons to meet that requirement.

After consideration I am sticking with dwarf seahorses I thought Seahorses would be easier and there life expectancy is longer. I had dwarves for 4/5 months and they started dying off. I have been over swarmed by hydroids and don’t know how to control them in my next dwarf seahorse population