Seahorse Addiction?

[want2bsleepy]

I collected these here in the Atlantic in New York. They are fairly common on the south side of Long Island.
Here the female is transferring the eggs to the male. I raised them to adult size.

Paul, I'm interested to know what your setup was for the seahorses. Did you keep them separate from your reef tank? Did you treat them like any other fish, or use special precautions for them?

 

[Paul B]

Hello Want2bsleepy. I kept those and all seahorses in a partitioned part of my reef. My tank is long and skinny, 6' long so I just partitioned about 8" on one end for the horses. The babies had their own tank.
I fed them with this device which I patented a long time ago, but no longer sell. http://breedersregistry.org/journal...strategy-for-hippocampus-sp-and-other-fishes/

They were raised on brine shrimp and nothing else. I realize that that was probably not the best diet, but they never complained and grew nicely. That was also many years ago so today I would probably change their diet. I can still collect them but have not in a few years.

 

[want2bsleepy]

Hello Want2bsleepy. I kept those and all seahorses in a partitioned part of my reef. My tank is long and skinny, 6' long so I just partitioned about 8" on one end for the horses. The babies had their own tank.
I fed them with this device which I patented a long time ago, but no longer sell. http://breedersregistry.org/journal...strategy-for-hippocampus-sp-and-other-fishes/

They were raised on brine shrimp and nothing else. I realize that that was probably not the best diet, but they never complained and grew nicely. That was also many years ago so today I would probably change their diet. I can still collect them but have not in a few years.

Do you know about what the temp was? And did they live long?

 

[Paul B]

I don't remember the temperature, it depends on the season. My reef runs about 78 degrees. Those lived a year or two but they were adults when I caught them so I don't know how old they were.

 

[Lucie]

Way to hot, especially for Nothern Erectus... for southern it s 74 max...

 

[Paul B]

It is to hot for many seahorses especially the ones I collect here in New York. Those live here all year and in the winter our water gets close to 40 degrees. But they lived fine for a few years and their babies grew up nicely and I never noticed them sweat.

 

[Parsec]

I have had my eye on some beautiful red and white striped pipefish for a while. My tankmates are pretty mellow but i am wary of adding them them to the display. Have you encountered any time of fish specifically that will seek them out to hurt them? The only one i have that has a bit of an attitude is my purple tang, and he only has an attitude when it comes to his nori clip.

 

[I'm a natural blue]

I have had my eye on some beautiful red and white striped pipefish for a while. My tankmates are pretty mellow but i am wary of adding them them to the display. Have you encountered any time of fish specifically that will seek them out to hurt them? The only one i have that has a bit of an attitude is my purple tang, and he only has an attitude when it comes to his nori clip.

Hello, @Parsec! The only time I had Pipefish was with my seahorses. They are related and coexist well together. I am not sure how well they do in a reef tank. I wish I could help you with that. One thing I will tell you about them is to make sure you have a covered tank. I didn't and one of mine went carpet surfing

 

[Parsec]

Hello, @Parsec! The only time I had Pipefish was with my seahorses. They are related and coexist well together. I am not sure how well they do in a reef tank. I wish I could help you with that. One thing I will tell you about them is to make sure you have a covered tank. I didn't and one of mine went carpet surfing

Oh yes most certainly covered! I have lost way too many fish to that.

 

[want2bsleepy]

So, what does everyone put around their power heads to protect the ponies?

 

[Annette Garcia]

So, what does everyone put around their power heads to protect the ponies?

I personally don't cover mine. My tank is 3 feet tall and I have a big double one on top that run all day and I have one in the middle and 1 in the bottom that only turn on after lights out. When I had them in my 75 I would cover them with filter floss cut to size and rubber band to hold in place.

 

[I'm a natural blue]

So, what does everyone put around their power heads to protect the ponies?

I use this ugly plastic mesh zip tied. Not attractive but gets the job done. Lol

 

[Annette Garcia]

Here's a picture of how it looked in my 75g

 

[Daniel@R2R]

BUMP! Let's see some more pics of those ponies!

 

[dcom]

Here's a picture of how it looked in my 75g

Hi Annette, Is your culerpa growing on the rocks?
Although gorgonians grow well on my barebottom tank, I havent been able to grow culerpa ... or any plant really.
Thanks

 

[Annette Garcia]

Hi Annette, Is your culerpa growing on the rocks?
Although gorgonians grow well on my barebottom tank, I havent been able to grow culerpa ... or any plant really.
Thanks

Yes they do attach to my rocks.

 

[I'm a natural blue]

Hey there everyone! My new tank is up and running! I upgraded to a 60g rimless cube. My build thread is behind. I really need to update it soon. But.....I did get two new babies to keep Clyde company. Meet Phoebe and Abbie.
Phoebe....

Abbie.....

I love her tail

 

[vlangel]

They are gourgeous! I absolutely love the last pic of phoebe looking right at you. Abbie is a very beautiful seahorse. Pintos are stunning but watch them super closely as it is more difficult to see marks on their bodies.

 

[I'm a natural blue]

They are gourgeous! I absolutely love the last pic of phoebe looking right at you. Abbie is a very beautiful seahorse. Pintos are stunning but watch them super closely as it is more difficult to see marks on their bodies.

Thank you, Dawn! That is great advice. I'll be sure to be extra diligent about that.

 

[Lucie]