For Canadians: Group buy dwarf seahorses (H. Zosterae)

[Karen00]

Hello fellow Canadians. As you know getting seahorses in Canada is difficult but getting dwarf seahorses is near impossible. I have managed to find a lfs here in Canada that has a connection in Florida that is willing to do the paperwork to export these guys but the minimum purchase is 100 seahorses from the seller. I have seen a lot of threads from folks asking if these are available in Canada so I thought I would put this post out to see how many folks are interested to see if a group buy is possible. These creatures are very social so the recommendation is to purchase at least four. Note: It won't be cheap to bring them in. The price per seahorse will be approx. $80 - $120/seahorse (CAD) then approx. another $70 to ship them out from the lfs. I'm thinking if anyone in the Toronto/GTAH area is willing to come to my place then I can have those guys shipped to me to save money. The same could be done for other areas as well. If you're interested or have questions feel free to reply to this thread or pm me. Please provide your city and how many seahorses you're interested in. Ensure you have read the threads on keeping these guys (feeding, tank requirements, etc) so you know whether they are the right addition to your setup. They are best kept in tiny tanks (10g or less and most say between 2g and 5g). They are very tiny so make a great pico inhabitant.

This is just a preliminary "who's interested" thread.

Thanks!

 

[noahcw]

Hello fellow Canadians. As you know getting seahorses in Canada is difficult but getting dwarf seahorses is near impossible. I have managed to find a lfs here in Canada that has a connection in Florida that is willing to do the paperwork to export these guys but the minimum purchase is 100 seahorses from the seller. I have seen a lot of threads from folks asking if these are available in Canada so I thought I would put this post out to see how many folks are interested to see if a group buy is possible. These creatures are very social so the recommendation is to purchase at least four. Note: It won't be cheap to bring them in. The price per seahorse will be approx. $80 - $120/seahorse (CAD) then approx. another $70 to ship them out from the lfs. I'm thinking if anyone in the Toronto/GTAH area is willing to come to my place then I can have those guys shipped to me to save money. The same could be done for other areas as well. If you're interested or have questions feel free to reply to this thread or pm me. Please provide your city and how many seahorses you're interested in. Ensure you have read the threads on keeping these guys (feeding, tank requirements, etc) so you know whether they are the right addition to your setup. They are best kept in tiny tanks (10g or less and most say between 2g and 5g). They are very tiny so make a great pico inhabitant.

This is just a preliminary "who's interested" thread.

Thanks!

Did this ever get any traction?

 

[Karen00]

Did this ever get any traction?

I have about 20 to 25 that are spoken for from people I know outside of this site. I was going to start tagging people on here that I have seen asking about dwarfs over the past five years and was going to put up a post on a couple other sites where people have been asking about them. Are you interested?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Count me in please.

As an FYI, candy corals had 3 captive bred horses this past weekend, they got sold already, $350 each. I dont know where they got them from, but I've asked them before and they told me they didnt have a contact for horses, guess that changed

 

[Karen00]

Count me in please.

As an FYI, candy corals had 3 captive bred horses this past weekend, they got sold already, $350 each. I dont know where they got them from, but I've asked them before and they told me they didnt have a contact for horses, guess that changed

Thanks for joining the group buy! That's interesting about the ponies. Were they the large guys? Those guys are fairly abundant up here. There is an organization in London, ON that captive breeds the erectus and reidi and maybe one other type. I know the shop in Burlington gets them fairly often but I'm not sure if it's from that facility. I had asked candy corals and the Burlington store and was told they get the big guys from time to time but not the dwarfs so I assumed they were getting them from this facility. After all it's not like the big guys don't require CITES paperwork. They all require that to be imported which is why I figured they were coming in locally to avoid that.

 

[Fangz]

If I am reading all this correct from the Canadian govt websites, CITES is not required.

From website: https://www.canada.ca/en/environmen...al-trade-endangered-species/permits.html#toc3

Importing to Canada​

A CITES import permit is required for species listed in CITES Appendix I.

For species listed in CITES Appendices II or III, a Canadian CITES import permit is not required.

Hippocampus Zosterae is listed as a CITES II

Checklist of CITES species

checklist.cites.org

When I goto the AIRS import site for Canada, I also get a pass to allow it through.

Summary of Requirements​

Import Details for Requirement : 60761 Version : 2​

HS Description : 030119​

03
Fish and crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates
01
Live fish
19
Ornamental fish: Other

OGD Extension : 365848​

3658
Taxonomic names starting with Hi (cont.)
48
Hippocampus zosterae - TSN 166493 - Dwarf Seahorse (ornamental, live)

Origin : BS​

SA
South America (includes Central America)
BS
Bahamas

End Use : 102​

102
Aquarium - private

Recommendations to CBSA/Documentation and Registration Requirements​

Approved

Importer / Broker Instructions​

Automated Import Reference System: Import Requirements

airs-sari.inspection.gc.ca

 

[Karen00]

If I am reading all this correct from the Canadian govt websites, CITES is not required.

From website: https://www.canada.ca/en/environmen...al-trade-endangered-species/permits.html#toc3

Importing to Canada​

A CITES import permit is required for species listed in CITES Appendix I.

For species listed in CITES Appendices II or III, a Canadian CITES import permit is not required.

Hippocampus Zosterae is listed as a CITES II

Checklist of CITES species

checklist.cites.org

When I goto the AIRS import site for Canada, I also get a pass to allow it through.

Summary of Requirements​

Import Details for Requirement : 60761 Version : 2​

HS Description : 030119​

03
Fish and crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates
01
Live fish
19
Ornamental fish: Other

OGD Extension : 365848​

3658
Taxonomic names starting with Hi (cont.)
48
Hippocampus zosterae - TSN 166493 - Dwarf Seahorse (ornamental, live)

Origin : BS​

SA
South America (includes Central America)
BS
Bahamas

End Use : 102​

102
Aquarium - private

Recommendations to CBSA/Documentation and Registration Requirements​

Approved

Importer / Broker Instructions​

Automated Import Reference System: Import Requirements

airs-sari.inspection.gc.ca

We don't have to get permits but the exporter does. Border Services needs to see the appropriate CITES permits from the exporter for Appendix II listed species.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Candy corals just had some captive bred in last week, $300 each. Kind of pricey. but so is everything else these days.

Now that I know they can get them, I'll start working on a new tank build for them, I'll try to be ready to add them in January.

 

[Karen00]

Candy corals just had some captive bred in last week, $300 each. Kind of pricey. but so is everything else these days.

Now that I know they can get them, I'll start working on a new tank build for them, I'll try to be ready to add them in January.

I think those are the large guys. I asked them about dwarfs before and they said they haven't been able to get those. Most of the large ones come from an organization up here called Seahorse Canada (they're like the Biota of Canada for Seahorses). The ones I'm trying to get are the teeny weeny guys. Do you know which ones they were. Most common is Erectus but I have seen Reidi as well. Both are large.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I think those are the large guys. I asked them about dwarfs before and they said they haven't been able to get those. Most of the large ones come from an organization up here called Seahorse Canada (they're like the Biota of Canada for Seahorses). The ones I'm trying to get are the teeny weeny guys. Do you know which ones they were. Most common is Erectus but I have seen Reidi as well. Both are large.

you're right, it was the H. erectus.

 

[Chanel05]

Hello fellow Canadians. As you know getting seahorses in Canada is difficult but getting dwarf seahorses is near impossible. I have managed to find a lfs here in Canada that has a connection in Florida that is willing to do the paperwork to export these guys but the minimum purchase is 100 seahorses from the seller. I have seen a lot of threads from folks asking if these are available in Canada so I thought I would put this post out to see how many folks are interested to see if a group buy is possible. These creatures are very social so the recommendation is to purchase at least four. Note: It won't be cheap to bring them in. The price per seahorse will be approx. $80 - $120/seahorse (CAD) then approx. another $70 to ship them out from the lfs. I'm thinking if anyone in the Toronto/GTAH area is willing to come to my place then I can have those guys shipped to me to save money. The same could be done for other areas as well. If you're interested or have questions feel free to reply to this thread or pm me. Please provide your city and how many seahorses you're interested in. Ensure you have read the threads on keeping these guys (feeding, tank requirements, etc) so you know whether they are the right addition to your setup. They are best kept in tiny tanks (10g or less and most say between 2g and 5g). They are very tiny so make a great pico inhabitant.

This is just a preliminary "who's interested" thread.

Thanks!

Hi there, has this 'happened' yet? I am interested.

 

[Karen00]

Hi there, has this 'happened' yet? I am interested.

Thanks for reaponding. No, it hasn't happened yet. I'm still collecting names. I have to go back to everyone to see how many each person wants. If I can't get 100 sold then it won't happen. The seller in the US won't ship any fewer than 100. I know there were people asking about these on other forums so I am to post on those sites as well.

 

[Nalgene00]

If this does ever come to fruition I'm interested. Has there been any movement on this recently?

 

[Karen00]

If this does ever come to fruition I'm interested. Has there been any movement on this recently?

I've been reaching out to other forums as well where I found fairly recent posts. The problem is the seller won't do any less than 100 dwarfs. They would be about $120 each. People aren't telling me how many they want so I'm going on an average of two per person. I need 50 people for that. Even if some people wanted more that's still a lot of people needed. I'm hoping to find someone that will sell fewer than 100.

 

[John N.]

If this does ever come to fruition I'm interested. Has there been any movement on this recently?

Hello fellow Canadians. As you know getting seahorses in Canada is difficult but getting dwarf seahorses is near impossible. I have managed to find a lfs here in Canada that has a connection in Florida that is willing to do the paperwork to export these guys but the minimum purchase is 100 seahorses from the seller. I have seen a lot of threads from folks asking if these are available in Canada so I thought I would put this post out to see how many folks are interested to see if a group buy is possible. These creatures are very social so the recommendation is to purchase at least four. Note: It won't be cheap to bring them in. The price per seahorse will be approx. $80 - $120/seahorse (CAD) then approx. another $70 to ship them out from the lfs. I'm thinking if anyone in the Toronto/GTAH area is willing to come to my place then I can have those guys shipped to me to save money. The same could be done for other areas as well. If you're interested or have questions feel free to reply to this thread or pm me. Please provide your city and how many seahorses you're interested in. Ensure you have read the threads on keeping these guys (feeding, tank requirements, etc) so you know whether they are the right addition to your setup. They are best kept in tiny tanks (10g or less and most say between 2g and 5g). They are very tiny so make a great pico inhabitant.

This is just a preliminary "who's interested" thread.

Thanks!

I am interested for 6 or 10.

 

[RapturesSaviour]

I've been reaching out to other forums as well where I found fairly recent posts. The problem is the seller won't do any less than 100 dwarfs. They would be about $120 each. People aren't telling me how many they want so I'm going on an average of two per person. I need 50 people for that. Even if some people wanted more that's still a lot of people needed. I'm hoping to find someone that will sell fewer than 100.

Did you ever end up finding anything cheaper? I'm searching everywhere for the dwarf seahorses in Ontario and so far it's just been bad luck. Absolutely Nada! I don't know why, they're honestly adorable and ...Well. You can have them!!! Is there no breeders here?! Seems like no one has any aUGHH I hope we can figure this out.

 

[Caleung1]

Hi. I would be interested in about 5.

 

[Dougald]

I have Dwarf seahorses and been breeding them since last October.

 

[Henslay2]

I have Dwarf seahorses and been breeding them since last October.

Do you have any available? Location?

 

[Dougald]

Do you have any available? Location?

Yes , I have lots available. Edmonton Alberta