Dwarf Sea Horse care

[Paleofish]

I was thinking of doing a DSH tank and I was wondering if you guys can tell me some information on these guys. So far, I've read the best tank for them is a 5g, That uses a sponge filter, They need live bbs every day and They need things to hang on to.

[Minderella83]

That would be a nice take, I love sea horses.

[Minderella83]

that would be a dream tank for me.

[travie]

You will have to be ready to make almost daily water top offs. In a tank that small, you can't let the salinity level get too high, which happens with evaporation.

[Paleofish]

Ok that's fine I have aged water always around. But i read it's not a good idea to use live rock with these guys is that true?

[OscarFan]

LR is a neccessity in all SW tanks to my knowledge. And I hear sea horses are extremely hard to care for. But if you have experience in SW you should be fine.

[Holyvision]

Live Rock is the salt water biological filtration, pretty much.

[Paleofish]

LR is a neccessity in all SW tanks to my knowledge. And I hear sea horses are extremely hard to care for. But if you have experience in SW you should be fine.



I don't have much SW experience. But from what I've read and Heard they are the hardiest of the seahorses and I know Kayla-bug first SW was a tank with Dwarf Seahorses and I've talked to her the she said the tank wasn't hard to take care of.

[kaybee]

...So far, I've read the best tank for them is a 5g...

Not knowing anything about them, why is a small tank best for them (as opposed to, say...a 29-45gal?)

How big are dwarf sea horses, paper clip-sized?

[Kayla-Bug]

Not knowing anything about them, why is a small tank best for them (as opposed to, say...a 29-45gal?)

How big are dwarf sea horses, paper clip-sized?Because if you have them in a tank too big it makes it harder for them to get food because of them being so small. And live rock doesn't hurt them. You could get some base rock and get all the good stuff on it so theres no bad bugs in there to harm the seahorses.

[Paleofish]

Yea thanks for coming in Kayla:19: I just got to decide which tank to set up first.:hmm3grin2orange:

[Paleofish]

I got another question. What type of lighting does the seahorses need? Will a Regular Flourescent bulb that puts off 4200k work? Or, Will i need a plant and Aquarium bulb that is a Wide spectrum?

[Dave66]

LR is a neccessity in all SW tanks to my knowledge. And I hear sea horses are extremely hard to care for. But if you have experience in SW you should be fine.

The vast majority available are captive bred and raised, as wild seahorses are CITES III protected, and only unscrupulous, not to mention illegal, fish stores carry wild caught examples.
Seahorses have the reputation as hard to care for, but in reality they need the same water quality, stability and parameters of a well-kept reef tank.
We have eight adult Hippocampus reidi seahorses and have for several years.
The dwarves, H. zosterae, ARE difficult to care for because they are so small. The baby brine shrimp must be enriched (24 hours in 50-50 seawater and selco or super selco) before feeding, and refugiums should be employed to keep the zooplankton levels steady.

Dave

[Tigerbarb]

I'd add a synthetic sea fan for something to hang on. A public aquarium I go to has a sea horse tank with glass formations that resemble sea fans, and the seahorses love them.

[Paleofish]

So will regular flourescents work?

[Paleofish]

Well i have decided not to go with the DSH cause of their need to eat everyday.

So any ideas what could go into a 10g?