Dwarf seahorse

Hi all, I'm thinking of keeping dwarf seahorses.

I've read through plenty of websites, but I'm probably gonna need more help as I read that seahorses are not for beginners.

I read that these seahorses do not need as big a tank as their bigger relatives, so I'm thinking of using a 1.5ft tank for them.

Anyone else can give advice?

Also, where can I find these seahorses? Hippocampus zosterae to be exact.

Avoid this if you can because keeping seahorses is not easy and it needs a species tank as other inhabitants could harm them. Also they are very slow and picky eaters.

Foir a small tank. the conditions are more critical then a larger tank as 10% variance in water parameters in a small tank is very significant as compared to a larger tank.

Have a small part of the ocean in your home is an onus on your contribution to marine life conservation.

Have a thought for these seahorses since they are endangered species.

[acedophin]

There are not much selection in local market, local species like tigertail, kuda, barbouri are not easily available and if there is, high cost. CITEs are required for a single shipment of 50-100pcs which might set you back at $4-7k. I prefer reidi for the easy weaning to feeding and the bright colours.

The common problem many fails in this horse keeping is having no idea that you need to provide it with constant live food(mysis) initially to regain its health and slowly convert it to frozen mysis. By just throwing it dead food or brine shrimp, hoping it will feed, you are ending its life slowly.

[dravan]

for a seahorse tank, height is more important than the length of the tank... so if you are thinking of keeping seahorses, ensure that the tank is of sufficient height before embarking on it.

Seahorses are very picky eaters especially ones that are wild caught so I think you should be very sure about what your seahorse eats.

Well,Its not as scary as some of you said here. i been reading a book The complete guide to Dwarf Seahorses in Aquarium. The author stated that Dwarf Seahorses as easy to keep as guppies and you just need to put in the right enviroment for them.donkey years ago no one believe man can fly but look at what happen today!


Dont buy your tank too huge as they are lazy feeder:P.5 gallons at least.I also very interested in sea horses care to share some of your webpages?

Originally Posted by Fishery

Well,Its not as scary as some of you said here. i been reading a book The complete guide to Dwarf Seahorses in Aquarium. The author stated that Dwarf Seahorses as easy to keep as guppies and you just need to put in the right enviroment for them.donkey years ago no one believe man can fly but look at what happen today!


Dont buy your tank too huge as they are lazy feeder:P.5 gallons at least.I also very interested in sea horses care to share some of your webpages?

yes u r rite...

I would seriously ask you take second thought about dwarf seahorse.. They required a very dedicated and matured tank to be able to sustain them long term... They are very sensitive to water parameter change..

I am going against keeping seahorse is because mainly reefers don't have the adequate equipment, food and time to care for them..

For equipment, you will need a large tank with high height and slow flow... And also a chiller for temperate species, i think zosterae is one of them... Which is fairly simple with all the artificial coral for them to anchor on...

Food is the main problem here... Even with Tigertail, Kudas and Reidi, it is already very difficult to keep them with ghost shrimp and live mysis shrimp(Not readily available and not able to keep alive with normal marine tank)... You will still need to source for the right size to fit their snout..
And it will take months to get them to feed on frozen, and WC seahorse might not even eat frozen... CB is easier but they are not cheap and you will have to source for yourself...
For Dwarf Seahorse, They require a even smaller kind of food, Rotifer, Copepod and live small mysis... And they need several feeding a day, unless you have live cultures of rots, pod and mysis running in your house( which I doubt unless your are doing aquaculture).. You will not be able to sustain them for long and how long are you going to be home to constantly feed them..
And not many in singapore have live mysis culture, so far I only know of one..

As for the books, I wouldnt say it is bullshits... But comparing seahorse care to guppies care then I think the book is not really frank and take the info with a lot of pinches of salt... Personal experience with experience reefers who kept seahorse before is better than books...

If you really wanna keep seahorses, den try kudas and reidi... Tigertail are doomed to die with reefers... Kudas and Reidi are easier to wean and train to frozen.. If you cant even keep these two species, you can forget about zosterae...