Seahorse in a Reef tank?

[fishnchip]

Let me start out by saying I AM NOT PLANNING ON DOING THIS... just thought I'd like to hear why this isn't done:) I'm guessing temperature is the main factor in this. Being that seahorses like it cooler than what reef tanks are normally kept at. But what about some of the ponies that come from warmer waters like the Kudas and the Tiger Tails? Just curious and again, by no means do I plan on doing this. Just wanted to get a little insight from my fellow reefers;)

 

[reeferfoxx]

Let me start out by saying I AM NOT PLANNING ON DOING THIS... just thought I'd like to hear why this isn't done:) I'm guessing temperature is the main factor in this. Being that seahorses like it cooler than what reef tanks are normally kept at. But what about some of the ponies that come from warmer waters like the Kudas and the Tiger Tails? Just curious and again, by no means do I plan on doing this. Just wanted to get a little insight from my fellow reefers;)

Yes temp is a factor as well as water flow. Corals require flow where as sea horses can't handle turbulent waters. There are some things you could consider like certain gorgonians, xenia, NPS corals and mushrooms. Though, anything would have to fall along the lines of temp and nutrient requirements.

 

[Tahoe61]

Flow in your average reef would clash with a sea horses natural swimming behaviors. Sea horses can not compete for food against your more common fish available. They are slow eaters and need more frequent feedings. I have seen them in reefs but they were huge tanks with areas of lower flow and passive non territorial fish.
I have seen more Pipe Fish in reefs, smaller tanks where they were the primary fish. Pipe Fish look pretty cool swimming among acropora or other sps.

We have a couple Sea Horse involved members @rayjay, @SeahorseKeeper, @vlangel that can add more specifics.



https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/k...ank-what-to-add-other-than-the-ponies.303718/

 

[samnaz]

@vlangel can probably provide some insight on this...

 

[ectoaesthetics]

There have been a number of nano-reefs that were set up for sea horses and were very successful! They do have to be pretty specific though. The flow required for SPS would be devastating for a sea horse. However, I have seen some beautiful softie tanks that have been set up over the years that worked very well. The hardest thing in a sea horse habitat will always be the feedings. Most people can keep up for a little bit, but fail to keep up in the long term. Gorgons are fantastic, but also kenya trees and other leathers are perfect as well. Even after years of keeping SPS tanks, I am still just blown away by a great softie tank... even more so when it houses sea horses. But I personally know I could never keep up on the feeding.

 

[vlangel]

Let me start out by saying I AM NOT PLANNING ON DOING THIS... just thought I'd like to hear why this isn't done:) I'm guessing temperature is the main factor in this. Being that seahorses like it cooler than what reef tanks are normally kept at. But what about some of the ponies that come from warmer waters like the Kudas and the Tiger Tails? Just curious and again, by no means do I plan on doing this. Just wanted to get a little insight from my fellow reefers;)

Good morning clownenthusiast2017! I can shed some light on your question about seahorses that come from warmer waters.

Actually the H erectus that I keep come from the south of FL and the Caribbean. The reason for cooler water in an aquariam is not for the seahorses comfort...it is to control pathogenic bacteria, (which is a seahorse's biggest enemy in aquaria). For every degree above 74°F, vibrio and other pathogenic bacteria reproduce exponentially.

Seahorses do not have the same immune ability to fight off these dangerous bacteria. However, because they are messy eaters and give off a very heavy bioload from their wastes, their captive enviroments can flourish with dangerous bacterias if special measures are not taken to control it. One of those measures is cooler water temperature. Another is over the top husbandry and finally excellant filtration including an oversized skimmer are all used to keep pathogenic bacteria in check.

For these reasons seahorses are not suitable for reef tanks. They are at a disadvantage to fight off disease that wild caught fish bring into the system. The feeding practices of a reef tank are not compatible with the feeding of seahorses and many reef inhabitants are not seahorse safe. I would never recommend keeping seahorses in a reef.

I hope that satisfies your curiosity.

 

[fishnchip]

Thank so much guys! I love learning about this hobby and really appreciate you guys answering this (maybe dumb) question haha. Hope one day I'll have a little seahorse tank for myself!

 

[rayjay]

Hope one day I'll have a little seahorse tank for myself!

Just to define "LITTLE", you will need a MINIMUM of 30g for a pair of standard sized seahorses. However, you can keep many dwarfs in 2 to 5g tanks.
When it comes to seahorses, other than dwarfs, bigger is MUCH better.

 

[Blue Meg]

Good morning clownenthusiast2017! I can shed some light on your question about seahorses that come from warmer waters.

Actually the H erectus that I keep come from the south of FL and the Caribbean. The reason for cooler water in an aquariam is not for the seahorses comfort...it is to control pathogenic bacteria, (which is a seahorse's biggest enemy in aquaria). For every degree above 74°F, vibrio and other pathogenic bacteria reproduce exponentially.

Seahorses do not have the same immune ability to fight off these dangerous bacteria. However, because they are messy eaters and give off a very heavy bioload from their wastes, their captive enviroments can flourish with dangerous bacterias if special measures are not taken to control it. One of those measures is cooler water temperature. Another is over the top husbandry and finally excellant filtration including an oversized skimmer are all used to keep pathogenic bacteria in check.

For these reasons seahorses are not suitable for reef tanks. They are at a disadvantage to fight off disease that wild caught fish bring into the system. The feeding practices of a reef tank are not compatible with the feeding of seahorses and many reef inhabitants are not seahorse safe. I would never recommend keeping seahorses in a reef.

I hope that satisfies your curiosity.

How does the bacteria issue factor into other warm water species of seahorses. My rebreather instructor was showing me some pics that he took of pygmy seahorses near Komodo Island in Indonesia. Obviously this is a warmer water place. Is this issue just for seahorses in captivity?

 

[vlangel]

How does the bacteria issue factor into other warm water species of seahorses. My rebreather instructor was showing me some pics that he took of pygmy seahorses near Komodo Island in Indonesia. Obviously this is a warmer water place. Is this issue just for seahorses in captivity?

Yes it is only for seahorses in captivity. A captive enviroment just does not have the ability(even with the best equipment and husbandry protocol) to be as clean as our vast oceans are as far as pathogenic bacteria.

 

[w2inc]

Yes it is only for seahorses in captivity. A captive enviroment just does not have the ability(even with the best equipment and husbandry protocol) to be as clean as our vast oceans are as far as pathogenic bacteria.

I have kept cold water Ingens and Warm water Erectus as well as Redi. The Ingens were captive bread and were generally a nightmare even at a careful constant 70 degrees. I have to wonder if the captive breeding just landed a genetically weak species with no immune response. Every day watching them to see if they are gong to eat or start dying. Have TMP sulfa and quarantine tank on hand. 18 months, 4 pair, two false pregnancies, constant plagues, my love for the animals began to die. I might try a wild pair if I see one next time I go diving. ( I have a permit)But I will definitely put a chiller on them and keep them in the 60's.

My warm water species, wild and captive bread, once they stabilized and started eating frozen food were watched and normally given an anti-parasitic drug. If all looked well I would let them be, and move them into a tank with more friends. I kept 2 pair of Redi for over 5 years in a 55 gallon tank. I currently have one pair of Erectus in a 30 tall. I keep a heater in the tank so they don't drop below 70, but I don't worry about the heat. They hover around 74 to 77 in the summer and 70 to 72 in the winter. They we are having excessive heat and they currently hit 78 in the day some times and 70 at night. No issues with the warm water.

A mysis shrimp sitting in the tank over night looking like a good breakfast at 78 degrees is probably a death sentence. I have had many setups and species. Heat stress is real. I have just not had many issues with my tropical species. (or micro bubbles from my skimmer)

They can handle the flow of many peoples reefs. They can't handle 4 to 8 inch per second that you might see in an SPS dominant tank. You would be amazed at what they can handle and appear to enjoy. Slow water can breed bad bacteria, pay attention to your flow.

 

[Maxi]

following

 

[vlangel]

Since writing my prior post I have branched out and tried some new things with my seahorses.

I still keep the tank in the low 70's. My 56 gallon has rockwork, macro algae and coral that could potentially be trapped and eaten a day later, even with my strict maintenance practices. Cooler temperatures definitely helps slow down pathogenic bacteria growth.

I had minimalized the addition of fish for quite a while as I knew they can carry pathogens that the ponies do not have an immunity against. My seahorse tank was looking so inactive though (except at feeding time, haha), so I had decided to add some very quiet species of fish. Cardinal fish and blennies were my choices. My seahorse tank has a large open water area where I figured the cardinal fish would hover. I have a pair of pajamas and a pair of bangaii. I also have a lot of rockwork on the right side of the tank. The peppermint shrimp have had that area all to themselves until recently when I bought some blennies. The linear blenny enjoys the rockwork and is very entertaining. The yellow head striped blennies are mostly in the open water area now that they are comfortable. I QT all fish even though they were CB. Then when I added them to the tank I upped the WCs greatly to delute any pathogens they might be carrying. I will eventually go down to 30-35% a week after I feel the ponies have had a chance to adjust to the fish. I am about 50% a week now.

Let me state clearly that keeping a seahorse tank with coral, macro algae and fish is a risk! Your chances of success as a new seahorse keeper are much better if you keep a species only tank and cater specifically to your ponies' needs.

 

[fishnchip]

Since writing my prior post I have branched out and tried some new things with my seahorses.

I still keep the tank in the low 70's. My 56 gallon has rockwork, macro algae and coral that could potentially be trapped and eaten a day later, even with my strict maintenance practices. Cooler temperatures definitely helps slow down pathogenic bacteria growth.

I had minimalized the addition of fish for quite a while as I knew they can carry pathogens that the ponies do not have an immunity against. My seahorse tank was looking so inactive though (except at feeding time, haha), so I had decided to add some very quiet species of fish. Cardinal fish and blennies were my choices. My seahorse tank has a large open water area where I figured the cardinal fish would hover. I have a pair of pajamas and a pair of bangaii. I also have a lot of rockwork on the right side of the tank. The peppermint shrimp have had that area all to themselves until recently when I bought some blennies. The linear blenny enjoys the rockwork and is very entertaining. The yellow head striped blennies are mostly in the open water area now that they are comfortable. I QT all fish even though they were CB. Then when I added them to the tank I upped the WCs greatly to delute any pathogens they might be carrying. I will eventually go down to 30-35% a week after I feel the ponies have had a chance to adjust to the fish. I am about 50% a week now.

Let me state clearly that keeping a seahorse tank with coral, macro algae and fish is a risk! Your chances of success as a new seahorse keeper are much better if you keep a species only tank and cater specifically to your ponies' needs.

These responses are great! Thank you! Even if all fish are quarantined and disease free, is the chance of a seahorse getting sick/pathogen level decreased? I’m a little confused as to how the pathogens get into a healthy reef?

 

[rayjay]

Quarantine does NOT rid your fish/seahorses of any parasites, it merely shows that at the time, any shipping or tank change stress hasn't upset their ability AT THAT TIME to ward off any parasitic expansion that can cut them down. It is STILL possible for something sometime later to lessen their immunity such that parasitic expansion occurs.
As for bacterial diseases, the bacteria can be brought in with fish, rock, tankmates, but is ALSO airborne spores that can settle and when conditions are right for bacteria to multiply, they most certainly will. Basically you ALWAYS have nasty bacteria present, but it can be handled by keeping the tank clean of hidden food/detritus (provides food AND bedding for the nasty bacteria), especially around rocks and decor, AND in the mechanical filter pads. Keeping the temperature below 74°F aids in the task as above that, the bacteria grow exponentially with each rising degree.
The same bacteria are present in the wild too, but the ocean waters are ever changing, unlike our tanks and the bacteria don't normally get to plague proportions there, even with warmer water.

 

[xclusive252]

I have never had any luck with keeping them in a reef tank. I try to get 1-2 pairs in a tank and feed light 3 times a day. I am looking into finding a way to auto feed these guys but I dont know how. They eat frozen brine and mysis

 

[vlangel]

I have never had any luck with keeping them in a reef tank. I try to get 1-2 pairs in a tank and feed light 3 times a day. I am looking into finding a way to auto feed these guys but I dont know how. They eat frozen brine and mysis

The only way you can keep seahorses in a 'reef' tank is to cater to their needs first. Things like temperature, seahorse safe coral, seahorse safe fish, maintenance and filtration MUST be set up to meet the seahorses' needs. Even if you do all this there are risks and it should not be attempted by new seahorse keepers.

Also I have not read or found any way to incorporate automatic feeders for seahorses. They need fresh frozen mysis and whatever they do not eat must be removed after their meal or they are highly likely to succumb to bacterial infection. They simply do not have the same immune ability as other fish in aquaria.

 

[vlangel]

These responses are great! Thank you! Even if all fish are quarantined and disease free, is the chance of a seahorse getting sick/pathogen level decreased? I’m a little confused as to how the pathogens get into a healthy reef?

I am sorry that I did not respond to this but rayjay answered so well that I really could not add any more to it.