My seahorse condominium

[Paulie069]

I’m up n running got fully cycled tank in only 2weeks. Totally stoked about it, had a alge problem within first 3 days and tank got so nasty looking my OCD was in overdrive, my insides were screaming but luckily for me I have a friend that is very experienced and more than just helpful. So after a couple of different approaches to solve problem the answer was a UV light. What a godsend that piece of equipment is, made my tank absolutely crystal clear. So happy of the outcome. So right now I have 15 seahorses (60 percent are small) 3 cardinal fish, 1 hawk fish ( small) and lg sailfin Tang ( it’s beautiful)
For. CUC I have 5 peppermint shrimp,12 blue leg hermits,6 snails. Well more to come as I just picked up some more live rock this evening// for now this is pic of my Sail Fin Tang

 

[Fishingandreefing]

Hopefully your tank is at least 100g.

 

[Paulie069]

Hopefully your tank is at least 100g.

I was reading the last 2 post to my statement I made,, and seems like u people are stuck on what u hear n read. The amount of poniesin a tank rule of 30gal for 2 horses and 15gal more for Each additional horse iS Bull. I’ve been doing this a few years and know for fact that rule is Wrong. I’ve kept up to 15 seahorses in a 20gal tank for 2 years without any problems.So you should be more open minded and not stuck on old rules ( by way I’ve got all that in a 55 gal tank now)

 

[ScottR]

Just because you wouldn’t do it doesn’t mean it’s wrong. And I’m not big on April fools jokes, but appreciate ur concern for the seahorses ( they r awesome n happy n healthy plus not even a little stressed out)

If it works it works. I have a baby tang in my 40. She’s happy as can be. But I needed her to eat all my algae. And that she does. Good luck to you. Hopefully the salifin minds its own business. Each tang has a mind of its own.

 

[motortrendz]

I say if they're happy and healthy, what's the problem. They all seem to cling and hang out in a 6in by 6in section of the tank anyway lol. I've never seen so many colorful horses.. cant be too stressed out If they're all bright and fat. As for the tang, watch out for the tang police. Be-do be-do, theyre coming. Haha. If the tang behaves enjoy him till he out grows the tank. Let him graze on the algae that grows. Let him work. That's what they do.. people put tangs in tiny little frag tanks for that purpose alone. When they get big, they move on out, in fact, I know you know plenty of us with bigger tanks that would gladly rehome him once he hits that point. As for shrimp and hermits... I'm confused on how they're a problem..
And it's funny how people have no clue how the tank was actually cycled, it may have only taken 2 weeks, but using fully cured and cycled live rock from an established system along with 50 gallons of water direct from the ocean, along with a top off of live bacteria... the numbers dont lie, if a tank can convert added amonia to zero overnight, and your nitrites went down to zero and your nitrates are nice and low, hmmm sounds like a cycled tank to me.... well what do I know. I'm just a dumb hobbyist anyway. Lol.

 

[DaneGer21]

What size thank will all of this be going in?

Edit: Nevermind, just seen you said 55gal.

 

[MERKEY]

I have never had seahorses but my fiance wants them. I don't think you have too many in a 55g and from what we have read you could put a lot more of them in the 55g.

The inverts most likely wont be a problem unles food gets sparse for them then they will start eating each other and seahorses if the horses dont move....we have seen a few cases researching where crabs and shrimp have done some damage to horses.

The sailfin tang however is a different story....these buggers get aggressive and will out compete everything in your tank for food.

You say you have done this for many years so just make sure the tang isn't taking food from the horses. You may need to rehome the tang if you notice he is not letting the horses eat.

They grow fast and get bossy...I wanted one in our tank but after a lot of people that had them for years explained how mean and aggressive they get we chose to pass.

Keep us updated, cool tank!

 

[sde1500]

I have never had seahorses but my fiance wants them. I don't think you have too many in a 55g and from what we have read you could put a lot more of them in the 55g.

Perhaps you read that for dwarfs?

 

[MombasaLionfish]

Perhaps you read that for dwarfs?

+1

 

[MERKEY]

Perhaps you read that for dwarfs?

You could have around 3 pairs of regular and yes lots of dwarfs

 

[MombasaLionfish]

30 gallons

Seahorse Aquarium Size
Seahorses prefer tall aquariums with a minimum height of about 18”. The general rule for tank size is 20-30 gallons per adult pair of horses. The height of the aquarium should be at least 3-4 times the height of the Seahorse's adult size
The Dwarf Seahorse requires a small, species-only aquarium and does best in groups of 4 or more. When maintaining only one or two Dwarf Seahorses, a 5-gallon aquarium is suitable; when maintaining more than 10 Dwarf Seahorses, use a 10 gallon aquarium. The smaller aquarium size helps concentrate the food.

 

[Paulie069]

30 gallons

Seahorse Aquarium Size
Seahorses prefer tall aquariums with a minimum height of about 18”. The general rule for tank size is 20-30 gallons per adult pair of horses. The height of the aquarium should be at least 3-4 times the height of the Seahorse's adult size
The Dwarf Seahorse requires a small, species-only aquarium and does best in groups of 4 or more. When maintaining only one or two Dwarf Seahorses, a 5-gallon aquarium is suitable; when maintaining more than 10 Dwarf Seahorses, use a 10 gallon aquarium. The smaller aquarium size helps concentrate the food.

Once again quoting something written years ago that has nothing to do with my tank. I have all WC H.Erectus seahorses. But thank u for ur concern for my seahorses, they are just fine and happy

 

[Paulie069]

Once again quoting something written years ago that has nothing to do with my tank. I have all WC H.Erectus seahorses. But thank u for ur concern for my seahorses, they are just fine and happy

As of today I’ve added a clip with seaweed on it to side wall of tank, was told the tang will eat it and not bother the seahorses food at feeding time. However I have noticed he is a little aggressive at feeding time with slight minimal bullying but nothing to be concerned about yet, but believe me I’m on the watch if I feel others are suffering even just a little OUT he goes. I have 2 other tanks I canput him in

 

[MombasaLionfish]

Once again quoting something written years ago that has nothing to do with my tank. I have all WC H.Erectus seahorses. But thank u for ur concern for my seahorses, they are just fine and happy

Ok as long as they are doing fine. Also any more pictures?

 

[ScottR]

As of today I’ve added a clip with seaweed on it to side wall of tank, was told the tang will eat it and not bother the seahorses food at feeding time. However I have noticed he is a little aggressive at feeding time with slight minimal bullying but nothing to be concerned about yet, but believe me I’m on the watch if I feel others are suffering even just a little OUT he goes. I have 2 other tanks I canput him in

for fun, I’ll break up seaweed into small pieces and put them in front of a powerhead. The tang races around to catch the little pieces.

 

[ScottR]

I was reading the last 2 post to my statement I made,, and seems like u people are stuck on what u hear n read. The amount of poniesin a tank rule of 30gal for 2 horses and 15gal more for Each additional horse iS Bull. I’ve been doing this a few years and know for fact that rule is Wrong. I’ve kept up to 15 seahorses in a 20gal tank for 2 years without any problems.So you should be more open minded and not stuck on old rules ( by way I’ve got all that in a 55 gal tank now)

FWIW, my LFS has them in a 20 something gallon tank. Not only that, they’re in an acrylic box. I kept telling myself I’m going to come back one day and all would be dead. Nope. Months now and they’re alive. They have roughly 8-10 of them.

 

[Paulie069]

Ok as long as they are doing fine. Also any more pictures?

Will do more pics tonight after I add some more live rock that I acquired last night

 

[revhtree]

Guys let's please keep this thread on track and if you don't have anything nice to say please just skip over responding.

 

[motortrendz]

Guys let's please keep this thread on track and if you don't have anything nice to say please just skip over responding.

Thank you rev.

 

[SeahorseKeeper]

While the team understands that seahorse husbandry is something that some members, including myself, feel extremely passionate about, the staff has removed several posts. The reason for this is that some of the posts were attacking the OP for his husbandry choices. This thread was not asking for advice, but the OP is sharing his build thread. If anyone has questions, please reach out to any member of the mod team.