Thinking of starting a seahorse tank

Well seahorses are not the easiest fish to keep but once they settle and find their place they do very well. If you got a pair of seahorses and a clown then that would probably be the maximum for that size tank. Well seahorses like to have something to grab onto (hitching posts). The best diet for them is mysis with Vibrance. They work well in reef tanks (no anemones though). They can only live with certain non agressive fish (find a marine fish compatibility chart). Seahorses are natural born hunters so shrimp are not the best tank mates. Your clown would go very well with the seahorses (exept the maroon clown fish which is very aggressive). Seahorses are not generally active and swim around all the time. Also in the wild they camoflouge to blend in with their invironment so the will change color according to surroundings. if you have any more questions feel free to ask and good luck with you new seahorses!

~nigel~

Dear Jared:

No, sir — I wouldn’t recommend a 12-gallon Aquapod for any of the greater seahorses. They are nice units for a nano reef, but have too much water flow and lighting that is perhaps too intense for the seahorses, as we discussed in your previous post. More importantly, the 12-gallon unit doesn’t have sufficient height to protect the seahorses from gas bubble syndrome or to allow them to mate successfully, and it is simply too small to safely accommodate any of the larger seahorses in the long term.

If you’re looking for nice inexpensive starter fish that would do well in a 12-gallon Aquapod, then I would suggest that you consider any of the various damselfish. They are economical and very hardy and would do well with your clownfish and anemone. If you are relocating the peppermint shrimp, then you might also consider a small Humu Humu triggerfish (triggers can be hard on crustaceans in general, so don’t be contemplated a Picasso trigger, or any other type of triggerfish, unless you first find a new home for the peppermint shrimp).

If you are not going to relocate the peppermint shrimp, then don’t worry that four of them is too many. They are colonial shrimp that do best in small groups.

When it comes to performing water changes, smaller but more frequent water changes are always preferable to larger, less frequent water exchanges. So it would be a good idea to do bi-weekly water changes of half the normal amount, if your schedule permits it, rather than the larger weekly water changes even if you are not keeping seahorses.

If you contact me off list ([email protected]), sir, I will be happy to provide you with tons of general information on the care and keeping of seahorses for you to keep in mind when you’re ready to upgrade to a larger aquarium.

Best wishes with all your fishes, Jared!

Happy Trails!
Pete Giwojna