Thinking of a seahorse tank

[ChiSox Rabbitfish]

Hey guys I need some advice my wife has been begging me to get a seahorse. But I keep telling her the only way that’s possible is starting a whole new tank for seahorses only I can’t add them to my main DT where I have a tang and a foxface poor seahorse would never get to eat. She’s finally caving in to the idea of another smaller tank possibly a 8-15 gallon biocube just for seahorses and some corals gotta have corals. How long of a wait after cycle would I need to wait before adding a seahorse is my main question I’ve been in the hobby a long time to know patience is the most important thing I’ve lost hundreds of $$$$$$ on impulse buys in the past. Just not sure my wife will wait a long time for the tank to mature enough.

 

[Hemmdog]

The biocube won’t cut it. You have to feed a ton for them to get enough food. Then you need excellent nutrient export because they need pristine water. So a sump with oversized skimmer is recommended. They also need colder water so a chiller is a must for almost all species of sea horse. You can do it but a biocube will most likely end in dead Sea horses.

 

[ChiSox Rabbitfish]

The biocube won’t cut it. You have to feed a ton for them to get enough food. Then you need excellent nutrient export because they need pristine water. So a sump with oversized skimmer is recommended. They also need colder water so a chiller is a must for almost all species of sea horse. You can do it but a biocube will most likely end in dead Sea horses.

I see what you’re sayin it sounds like something I don’t want to undertake I’ve avoided those strange critters for 20 years when I first started reefing. The wife really wants it but if I show her everything we would need the amount of money that would be needed she would finally leave me alone and let me keep reefing the way I’ve always been. Don’t get me wrong i would love a seahorse tank but I know my limits I run a lps dominate tank no sps they just never seem to work for me but I do keep a clam that seems very happy but that’s the extent of what o want to do. Thanks for the advice

 

[Hemmdog]

I see what you’re sayin it sounds like something I don’t want to undertake I’ve avoided those strange critters for 20 years when I first started reefing. The wife really wants it but if I show her everything we would need the amount of money that would be needed she would finally leave me alone and let me keep reefing the way I’ve always been. Don’t get me wrong i would love a seahorse tank but I know my limits I run a lps dominate tank no sps they just never seem to work for me but I do keep a clam that seems very happy but that’s the extent of what o want to do. Thanks for the advice

Anytime! Species tanks definitely are neat if executed right, but it’s a lot of work for a single species, especially if your not super into said species. You could set one up for $1500-$2500 and 3-8 hours of your time a week, see if it’s worth it to her. She might be down! Who knows !

 

[ChiSox Rabbitfish]

Anytime! Species tanks definitely are neat if executed right, but it’s a lot of work for a single species, especially if your not super into said species. You could set one up for $1500-$2500 and 3-8 hours of your time a week, see if it’s worth it to her. She might be down! Who knows !

We’ll see you never know.
But now that I have your attention do you have experience with a sea apple ?
We saw one yesterday she fell in love with not expensive at all but I have no idea what to expect I’ve never even seen one before yesterday

 

[Hemmdog]

We’ll see you never know.
But now that I have your attention do you have experience with a sea apple ?
We saw one yesterday she fell in love with not expensive at all but I have no idea what to expect I’ve never even seen one before yesterday

They are cool but if they die they release a toxin that will kill the entire tank. I wouldn’t try one personally.

 

[ChiSox Rabbitfish]

They are cool but if they die they release a toxin that will kill the entire tank. I wouldn’t try one personally.

So atomic bomb like a dead anemone or urchin but worse gotcha

 

[Tham121988]

While I agree the cube is too small; with a larger tank it is doable if you get some Captive bred species that are already on a frozen food. Also if you are dedicated. These captive bread species really are so much easier to take care of and feed. You still have to feed them multiple times a day no joke. I feed 2-3 times a day a to make sure they feed well and then I scoop up all the un eaten food to assure I’m not polluting the tank too much. Also they vaporize their food so they really dirty up the tank like others have mentioned. Like I said, if you are dedicated, have the time, and willing to feed them 2-3 times a day then go for it. They are amazing. I’m no expert, just my personal experience.

 

[sixty_reefer]

They tend to be easy to feed if trained on a feeding station, also each day you can remove uneaten food so that it doesn’t spoil the water.

 

[rayjay]

After 17 years now keeping/breeding seahorses, IMO, the NUMBER ONE thing for best chances of success is maintenance of water quality with respect to keeping bacterial problems at bay. As there are NO test kits that will tell you when the water is problematic this way it is important to maintain a husbandry protocol with water changes so that conditions don't build up slowly over time and produce infections in the seahorses.
Seahorses are like people, where some people seem to never get sick and others are perpetually sick, with a great number falling between those two points.
With seahorses unfortunately, I believe the scale is tipped much more towards the bad end of things with some pretty resistant but the majority of them having various degrees of immune system capability making them much more susceptible to diseases. Unfortunately also, you are not able to pick and choose which ones you will get when you buy.
It took me a long time to realize just how often I needed to do things to maintain my seahorse tanks, and, each tank will differ, especially depending on size of tank and numbers of seahorses in them.
It took me over a decade too, to realize that the seahorses immunity was boosted by feeding more times a day (not necessarily more total food intake) as they don't have stomachs and so the food needs more time in the digestive tract to be able to extract sufficient nutrition needed. Too much food at once means the food is pushed through the tract too fast, hindering that extraction. For years now I've always fed 4 times a day, with fry I feed them probably 6-7 times a day.