Draco's Dwarf Seahorse Journal

[Draco]

I am in the planning stages of owning a pair of Dwarf Seahorses. It's going to be a while before I actually get a pair. There will be no other life, aside from CUC in the tank.

I am starting a log of sorts. hope it's the right place? I want to make sure I don't make any mistakes! After reading the sticky and care sheet posted within the article, I feel comfortable. Except for the food making.. that makes me a little nervous as I am new to that, lol. I am sure I will get the hang of it quickly!

I am a bit confused on what's the best size tank to get for dwarfs. Some say 3-5 gals, others say 10+ gal. I was looking at PetCo's cube with the chambers in the back, which is 3.7 gallons.. anyone think that's too small? I am thinking a cube with chambers would be best as its less flow and has more vertical swimming room. Or should I forget the chambers and put in a sponge filter or two?

Would planted macro's do OK in bare bottoms? I am thinking of doing mainly macro/planted type of tank as I don't want it to look like a reef tank. If I need sand, I would go dark to pop the horses out a bit more.

I am not sure what macros to get yet.. there's so many to choose from! If anyone has suggestions on what would the horses like best, please do share!



I look forward to any advice you guys have to share!

 

[DaveK]

Be sure to read up on dwarf seahorses, especially the feeding requirements, before you get them. They almost always require live food, and keeping up with this can be a big job.

You might want to consider the larger seahorses since captive raised ones will take frozen food. You'll also see them better.

With seahorses you kind of have to balance the tank size. On one hand, a larger tank means more stable water conditions. On the other, a smaller tank means the seahorses don't have to go a long way to chase down food.

I would tend to opt for the larger tank, about 10 gal or so, but the smaller tanks are ok.

Depending upon the type of macro algaes used, you may need some sand on the bottom. I'd keep the layer shallow, only about 1/2" or so. Depending on the color of your seahorses, you may not want a dark substrata. It will tend to hide them rather than make them stand out. My personal choice would be for something in the middle.

Until you get your macro algae going well, you can use plastic aquarium plants to give your seahorses something to hang on to. Look for long green plants. They actually don't look too bad. Once you get the macro algaes growing you can remove them.

Consider your filtration carefully, especially your biological filtration. Ideally you still want live rock for that, so it will cover a lot of the tank. I'm not a fan of sponge filters in SW for anything other than quarantine tanks. You do need a slower flow though. There are a number of ways you can go, but I'd opt for a smaller canister filter. I don't think you'd need a skimmer in this case.

 

[Dracko]

Go through with this and I, for one , will be watching.

 

[StirCrayzy]

Same here:lurk:,
Id love to have a couple dwarf ponies, but time to keep up with feeding needs keeps me away for now. I setup my 8g display refugium with the intent on getting some.

 

[Draco]

Thanks for the advice I understand the live feedings.. which is something I am going to have to do. I want dwarves because of their smaller size (and restricted space for tank), rather than the larger ones. I def. want tank-raised ponies, no wild caught.

Before I get any ponies, I will have the tank running with macro and LR for a long time. Months before I consider ponies. Just to make sure I can handle the smaller tank with the chemistry and temperature. It's harder than 28 gallon (though I had a 9 gal running smoothly for a year). I want the macros to fill in and stabilize the tank.

I almost wish I hadn't converted the 9 gallon to a FW Planted. I guess I can take it apart, but that means I'd have to rehome the fish and shrimps and that's a pain.