Tank Height

shornik · Jan 1, 2016

I'm thinking of creating seahorse/pipefish/mandarin/goby tank. Is there a reason I should be concerned with tank height? I'm thinking of the innovative marine lagoon 25 gallon but its only 12" high, would that be a problem?

A Red Sea Reefer 170 would be 20" high.

Thanks in advance!

vlangel · Jan 1, 2016

That is pretty shallow for any of the greater seahorses. I think that you would want a minimum of 18"-19" for most species. I have heard that they need that height to keep digestion moving as it ought and also for breeding.

saltyfilmfolks · Jan 2, 2016

Yea check your species. Also a mandarin gets 4 to 5 in
And some pipes are 9. A dragon face is 5 or six and mine likes to hop swim when it hunts and is 4 in tall as he goes across the tank.
Are those both all in ones? aio I don't mean to nay say but want to point out its gonna be hard to feed and keep pods the firs most critical month and sea horses are supposed to be really messy and big poopers. That seems to be why smaller seahorse tanks are seahorse only as they need a special cleaning and feeding setup. That and all the fish you mentioned are competing for the same food. So a pod population without a good fuges gonna be tough.
Not naysaying I have all but the sea horses on you list. It's hard.
A Red Sea would be easier and if it has sump fuge your in business. All my Mandy's have been all up and down the glass hunting and looking at your face. my pipes too. You wouldn't want to miss out on that.

I plan on eventually a reverse under gravel with you same list plus Gorgs and some softies n Zoas. Keeps it sooooo much cleaner.
Shoots the poo right down the tube.

Gazog2 · Jan 2, 2016

That is way to short, a sea horse needs 2.5 to 3 times its length in tank height. So if a seahorse is 6" (average) uncurled then it need a tank that is 15" to 18". Plus there are many other things to be considered also, read the info on the link below, it is a basic primer on what is required. Also I would recommend you go on Seahorse.org, there is a wealth of info you can look at there with out signing up.

http://www.seahorse.org/library/articles/SeahorseFactsAndInfo.pdf

vlangel · Jan 2, 2016

Another good resource for learning about seahorses and pipefish is a free online course that Ocean Rider offers. I took it before I bought my seahorses and pipefish and I found it very informative and comprehensive, and it's FREE! They do imply that you should buy your seahorses and pipefish from them but it's not mandated.