Welcome to Marine Aquarium Co-Op. We hope you enjoy your visit. You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. Join our community! If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: Username:   Password: Log In

• Pages:
• 1
• 2

Not directly related to breeding (sorry in advance; Seahorses in a reef display
Topic Started: Sep 14 2008, 01:54:03 PM (188 Views)
Post #1 Sep 14 2008, 01:54:03 PM	srwells
I know this is a breeder forum, but I also know that the experts who can probably help me most hang out here, so sorry and thank you. I have a post on WMAS message board here about creating a mixed reef tank suitable for seahorses(but not only seahorses). I will cut and paste my post here to make it easier for you to contribute your expertise. So I am planning out my 210 gallon Aquarium and I am trying to get some feedback on whether or not I can swing this. I was thinking it would be really cool to have a lagoon type place in the tank with lots of Macro Algae and a feeder tube coming up right in the middle of the macro so I can spot feed the seahorses all sorts of goodies (live and frozen). I am looking for your feedback as to whether I will be able to pull this off (I know the initial reaction will be "no way" but maybe your brilliant ideas will help us come up with a way to make it work. Reasons I think this can be done: * pipefish are common in reef tanks that are properly set up. * Seahorses are better at eating prepared foods than they have been in the past. * I want Macro algae in my display (no tangs to gobble it all up) means lots of "natural" habitat for them in my display. * the feeder tube will help get the food they need to the right place without calling attention from the other tank mates. Obstacles that may be problematic * Water current: I want some SPS so certain parts of my tank will be very high current for a seahorse * feeding: I know how smart fish are when it comes to food. Also, is there a certain type/species that would be better suited for this environment than others. Lets discuss it and determine if this is worth dreaming about or if I am just off my rocker.	fry baby Posts: 5 Group: Members Member #46 Joined: September 12, 2008
Post #2 Sep 14 2008, 02:39:14 PM	Shane
its possible i have seen it before, pets and such in wvc has a coral tank with seahorses and fish including hippo tang and some blennies and such in it, it has pretty decent flow, the big thing would be to to make sure they are getting enough food, and that there isn't a lot of compotition for it.	breeding stock Posts: 311 Group: Members Member #22 Joined: August 5, 2008
Post #3 Sep 14 2008, 06:03:30 PM	srwells
I may have to go check out that tank...I think feeding should be okay with my fish lineup...clowns, jawfish, Heniochus, cleaner wrasse, not sure what else at this point. My biggest concern is the flow rate. do you think Healthy Seahorses do okay with moderate flow?	fry baby Posts: 5 Group: Members Member #46 Joined: September 12, 2008
Post #4 Sep 15 2008, 04:17:56 AM	Suzy
I'm with Shane on this one. I think people try to keep these fish in low flow environments very unlike their natural environments. If we consider their natural habitat (sea grass beds near the shore in Belize!), it seems to me like it would be a great place for sps. The last time I walked in the ocean, the water that splashed on my calves seemed strong, strong enough to knock over a toddler, in fact! Also, consider the body shape of a seahorse: linear and streamlined, apparently evolved into a shape to allow flow to move around without causing much push on the fish. My seahorses swim well in the higher flow areas of my tank, right in front of the ph. That being said, I think there are a few caveats to consider. I think the seahorses available to us are very weak, compared to their WC cousins. Plus, they are very small and juvenile. I think it might be difficult to find them in a large tank, to be able to target feed them. Granted, a large tank with no other pod eaters would be able to sustain a large population of live food, so the fish might be able to fend for them selves on days you couldn't find them. My fish know the turkey baster means food, so they all come as soon as they see me. Maybe if you used another tank to grow them larger it would work? I think a tank full of macroalgae and pods could actually be an ideal home for them. The key, IMO is your last question: healthy seahorses would do OK with moderate flow.	Seahorse Whisperer Posts: 3,047 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: June 28, 2008
"i was informed of some dolphin related testing going on up there" Too Funny!
Post #5 Sep 15 2008, 07:34:41 AM	srwells
Thanks Suzy, I agree that the key would be linear flow and feeding. I am going to do a lagoon area in the tank with lots of different macros regardless of whether I put seahorses in or not. I think I will probably wait to see how the actual tank flows before I start seriously considering seahorses. If I do decide to give it a try, I will definitely grow the seahorses out in my 24 gallon nano. I may have to settle for pipefish, they seem to do much better in sps environment than seahorses. thanks again.	fry baby Posts: 5 Group: Members Member #46 Joined: September 12, 2008
Post #6 Sep 15 2008, 07:50:50 AM	Suzy
It might depend on the species, IMO. Some pipefish are hard to get to frozen food....With seahorses, you can see them eat before you buy.	Seahorse Whisperer Posts: 3,047 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: June 28, 2008
"i was informed of some dolphin related testing going on up there" Too Funny!
Post #7 Sep 15 2008, 09:22:19 AM	Amie
If you have ever been scuba diving, you know that the water flow on top of the water is stronger than it is below the surface. So I'm not sure you can really judge how strong the water flow is below by the waves on the surface. I've always wondered if pointing powerheads at our corals really simulated the ocean flow at all because of this. It makes more sense to me to point a couple of powerheads up towards the surface at each other, creating a swirling effect, and then the waterflow in the tank would reflect the surface aggitation. With that said, it seems like you could create that effect on one side of your tank and not the other. Making lower and higher flows in the tank. Could you put a temporary divider in the tank, fish on one side and seahorses on the other, and then feed both the fish and the seahorses using some kind of contraption that they learn to go to all the time. Once you take the divider out, if you fed them at the same time, (or the fish 30 seconds before the seahorses) then maybe the fish wouldn't race to the other side to steal the seahorses food because they would stay by their feeding station. What do you think?	stormy, stormy nights Posts: 2,362 Group: Admin Member #4 Joined: June 29, 2008
http://www.spawar.navy.mil/sandiego/technology/mammals/interns.html Tell them Adam sent you.
Post #8 Sep 15 2008, 09:36:08 AM	Shane
its a 210 so its what? like 72x20x31? thats tall enough that you could have the ph pointed toward the surface and or even on the sides blowing across and still have pretty low flow on the bottom, hoping thats where they would stay. i think it is very possible. or even just have the sps in front of the returns, granted this only allow limited amounts of sps but it would work for the sh's.	breeding stock Posts: 311 Group: Members Member #22 Joined: August 5, 2008
Post #9 Sep 15 2008, 09:50:26 AM	Amie
Agreed, I think because of the size of the tank, you can definitely determine the flow characteristics for different areas of the tank. Did you ever see Adam's old tank before he tore it down? He had glued rocks to the back of the tank. You could glue rocks, or shelves, to the back of the tank up high and put SPS' on them - this would put them in the higher flow areas as well.	stormy, stormy nights Posts: 2,362 Group: Admin Member #4 Joined: June 29, 2008
http://www.spawar.navy.mil/sandiego/technology/mammals/interns.html Tell them Adam sent you.
Post #10 Sep 15 2008, 10:00:53 AM	Shane
no the only tank of adams i saw was the 300 and that was right after he got it. i would love to try this out i have a 90 laying around but convincing the wife might be a different story.	breeding stock Posts: 311 Group: Members Member #22 Joined: August 5, 2008
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)

Go to Next Page

« Previous Topic · Tank Maintenance · Next Topic »

• Pages:
• 1
• 2

Welcome to Marine Aquarium Co-Op     Tank Maintenance     Spawning Fish Blogs     Spawning/propagating Invertebrates Blogs     Nutrition: The Most Important Thing?     Intensive Care Unit Buy/Sell Home Grown Marine Ornamentals     Home Grown Organisms for Sale     Seller Contact Info     Broodstock Suppliers Go