Recommendations

[GOTW]

I am looking into setting up a seahorse tank. I have been doing a lot of reading but I was wondering what the knowledgeable people on this board thought about the type of setup needed. Also I've read that some types of clownfish are ok but it never lists which ones. Is that true and if so can anyone tell me what types. lol I think that's all for now.
Thanks,
Theresa

[panmanmatt]

Welcome to the world of seahorses.

A basic set up would be a 29 gallon aquarium (minimum size for most medium/large seahorse species), filtration with a flow rate of about 5-7 time turnover rate of the tank volume, LR,LS and something for the horses to hitch onto. These can be branch rock, macro algaes or artificial corals. They require no special lighting so regular fluorescents will be fine for them however if going with macro algaes I would suggest either power compacts or T5 HO flourescents.

You want water quality to be as good as you can get it: Ammonia 0, Nitrtites 0, Nitrates <20, SG 1.020-1.023, PH 7.8-8.2, temp 72-74F.

I personally would not trust any type of clown fish with seahorses. They all have a tendency to become aggressive.

Tell us a little bit more about what you had in mind and we can see if it will work.

[GOTW]

I really didn't have anything specific in mind yet. Just a general idea of "it would be neat if...". If it's not recommended that's ok too. My biggest question is how do you tell your flow rate? Does it say on the box, do you measure it some how?

[GOTW]

Oh yes my qt is a 20g but they will be setup in a 40g tall. I'm excited the 40 is coming home with me tomorrow. It has everything including the LS & LR. What type of items do you recommend for hitching posts?

[SeahorseBT]

Branching pieces of LR, fake coral and macros are all good choices for hitching posts. The more the merrier.

[panmanmatt]

Most filters are rated for a certain number of gallons per hour(gph). It is usually listed on the box somewhere. Divide that number by the number of gallons of your tank volume and that will tell you how many times your tank will turn over in an hour. For example, you have a 29 gallon tank which after adding rock and sand will hold roughly 25 gallons of water. The filter has a rating of 200 gph, that gives you a 8 times turn over rate.

[lcstorc]

Welcome to the wonderful world of ponies.
IMO one of the most difficult things about ponies is keeping the temp low enough for them. Maybe it is because I am in Florida but that is the challenge. If the temp is too high they get bacterial infections. I've lost several horses to this.
You can use most anything for hitching posts. Personally I like branching rock mostly but there is a guy here who makes some really cool pyrex stuff. He could easily make something cool for the ponies to hitch on.
You may also want to think about a feeding station. This can be as simple as a half clamshell but the idea is to train the horses to come there for the food. This helps to keep the excess food to a minimum.
You need to be very careful about what you put in with seahorses. Any agressive species they won't be able to get away. Many medium fish will just steal their food and they starve.

[GOTW]

Thanks for the feedback and advice. I've read on different threads about training to feed from a feeding station. How do you do this?

[GOTW]

My lfs has kelloggi's does anyone know about them? I'm been researching them online but it would be nice to talk to someone who has some experience.

[panmanmatt]

I would suggest leaving them in the LFS. The kelloggis that are on the market are net pen raised and have a very very poor track record. They are essentially the same as buying a wild caught seahorse. Even experienced keepers have not had success with them so I would not recommend them as a first seahorse.

I would look for true captive bred specimens. A few members on Seahorse.org (your account is active there ) post some for sale from time to time. You can also check out SeahorseSource.com.

[hma]

Because of the H. kelloggis I can only agree panmanmatt, even I would not keep this kind and I have a lot of experience with the care and breeding of seahorses.

This is my feedingstation:





...and this an ideal aquarium also for greater growing kinds:

[SeahorseBT]

Sweet pics Hienz!

[lcstorc]

Well if Matt and Heinz both say no then it must really be no.
Great pics.
I love to see them all around the feeding station. I tried to get my last ones trained but it never worked. Hopefully I will get some eventually and I can try again.

[Frankie]

Nice tank there hma! You never cease to amaze me with your aquariums.

[GOTW]

Thanks for all of the advice. I will look for another source for seahorses. Most likely seahorse source. But for the good news my 40g is up and starting to cycle!