Pony for the beginner

[Bulwinkle]

Hey all i am just wondering what pony would be the most hardiest for a beginner?
Also are there any tips you can give me so that i can assure the best possible environment.
One last qn, what if any fish are able to be kept with a pony or two?
Thanks
Ryan

[Triggerjay]

Shortly after I entered the hobby, I bought two pair of hippocampus erectus.. spelling might be wrong... not saying they are an easy species to keep, but I had them for about a year... then traded thenm back to the LFS for store credit... They were large black seahorses.... they adapted to frozen mysis well for me... but thats just my experience with them. They had thousands of babies while I had them too..... although I was unsuccessful at raising any of the fry..



Jason

[panmanmatt]

Well seeing as you are in Australia, erectus is not a possibility for you, they are just not available over there yet.

Of the species you do have readily available, I would recommend starting with some reidi or angustus. Both are very hardy species and well suited for a beginner and are available as captive bred.

As for a tank, I'd suggest an AR620T by aquaone. It is a 35 gallon tank and is suitable for 2 pair. Temps should be kept in the 22-23C range.

Live rock and live sand are fine. A turn over rate of 5-7 times your tank volume is a good flow rate.

If you tell us a little more of what you have in mind for a tank set up we can let you know if it will work or not.

[lcstorc]

Great advice given so far but of course I have to add my 2 cents.
IMO there is no such thing as a beginner seahorse. If you have had saltwater tanks or reefs for some time and are now wanting to branch out to seahorses then that us a different story.
These animals are wonderful but are not "easy"
First of all listen to Matt on the temp. They must be in a cool tank. I have tried and tried to keep them in a tank at reef temperatures and it just doesn't work. I have sworn I will not do that again to these special animals. I have to figure out a way to keep my temp down on the pony tank before I even think about it. (Well I do think about it but won't do it again. I promise.)
They are best kept in a species only tank for 2 reasons. One is because they eat so slowly. If you have fish etc in the tank as well they are very likely to steal the food from the ponies. The other reason is agresiin from the other fish. Again the ponies move slowly so if somebody is picking on them they have a hard time getting away. They can be kept with some of the more docile fish particularly the ones that stay on the bottom. For example I have not had any problem mixing them with jawfish and a clown goby. Right now there is a yellow watchman goby in my pony tank and he will probably stay there when I get new ponies since he is another passive bottom dweller
Last and most important is to look for captive bred or tank raised ponies. IME is is very difficult to switch them from live to frozen food. If you get a captive bred or tank raised they should already be used to the frozen food. (Watch the lfs feed them before buying to make sure.) If can be very stressful on you and the animal to convert them so I don't even try it.
The very last thing is listen to Matt. He really knows his ponies and how to care for them. Had he been around when I initially tried to keep them I am certain I would have had better success. I am thrilled he is here for the next time I attempt it.