Got Hooked on Seahorses…

Hi Pete,

I saw some seahorses at the fish store yesterday, and I really enjoyed watching them, and I’ve decided I’m going to adjust my setup so I can have some. This means I need to find a way to either keep the hydroids in check and keep H. zosterae in the tank I am currently developing, or get a bigger tank for one of the larger species (I really like the look of H. comes).

In your experience, are H. zosterae able to learn where food comes from? It sounds like what enables to hydroids to grow is the constant supply of baby brine shrimp in the entire tank. If I was able to slowly pipe them into the tank through a tube, do you think H. zosterae would learn to hang out by the mouth of the tube? I could adjust the influx to try and match consumption, and thus greatly reduce the food going to hydroids. I know some other fish could learn this, could a seahorse?

Also, as a means of controlling the food going to hydroids, what if I fed something other than baby brine shrimp? Copepods and amphipods are capable of clinging to objects and controlling their movements, making them less easy pickings for the hydroids. If the H. zosterae can hunt, and learn to hunt near a tube where the ‘pods enter the tank, maybe that would limit hydroid growth?

If those don’t work, I need a larger tank, which will take time to save up for and mature (turtle grass needs a sand bed that has developed for several months). My current tank’s sand bed came from an older tank, and the turtle grass arrived today, so it will be in full force soon. If I got some young H. comes that are 2-3 inches, how soon would I need to have the new tank ready?

Thanks again for you help!