5 gallon seahorse only tanks
- Thread starter fishinak
- Start date
Well I have been reashurching all day and now have found that I am going to convert my 5 gallon hexagon into a seahorse only tank. I have found that people have gone as small as two gallons to use as a sea horse tank. I plan on using the fultration that i already have for it is the best to use with these fish the only mod I have to make is put a sponge filter on the end of the biowheel filter so that i dont suck out the brine shirmp. I plane on getting 1-2 pounds of live rock mabey a sea fan or some sea grass and than Im going to order a pair of dwarf seahorses. I will tell everyone how it goes but from all the resurch that I have done it shoould be pretty sucsesfull.
1 day of research is nowhere near enough, no matter what your reserching. That tank is too small for a pair of seahorses, just because some people have gone as small as 2 gallons for a seahorse tank dose'nt mean it's big eough for them. Do you know what cycling is? you need to research that. Do you have a site in your favourites that deals with hitchhikers on live rock? that will come in handy. Do you know what kind of substrate your going to use?plain sand won't serve you well there. do you know what test kits to buy? You absolutely need to know this. What salt mix do you plan on using? this is'nt essential but something you should have planned out. You also say you want to get a sea fan or some sea grass. do you know what kind of ight you plan o using for your tank? most likely the lighting you have on that tank is an incandesant and will only give you loads of algae problems? do you know if your tap water is good enough or are you using RO or DI water?
these are all questions you should have answered if your ready to set up your tank.
these are all questions you should have answered if your ready to set up your tank.
ok. I guess i was not clear enough in my plans so I will fill everyone in. I plan on getting a pair of DWARF SEAHORSES. Dwarf Seahorses are quite small and actualy are best to be kept in a vary small fish tank(2-10)gallons. The smaller that you go the easier it is to feed them(go to seahorse.org if you dont belive me). I plan on useing the biowheel filter that came with my 5 gallon hex althogh i will have to modify it because it siphans to much water out too fast and will suck up the brine shirmp so i plan on puting a foam filter on the end of it. All's that I am puting in the tank is just some plastic plants and a small piece of white rock. I decided aginest the idea of live rock because of two many hitchhickers. I will use crushed coral for my substrate. I plan on cycling the tank for about 2 weeks with some water from my 20 gallon salt water tank. Here are some quotes from Seahore.org for those who question my motives( The use of the 10-gallon is not recommended for beginners due to feeding concentrations. Newly hatched brine shrimp are very small!! The larger the tank, the more brine shrimp that is needed to concentrate feeding. When using the 10-gallon tank you would also need to house at least 10 dwarfs to even out the concentration so there is less die off. I find a 2 or a 5-gallon to be the best size and food concentration is easier. A 2-gallon tank can easily hold 5 pair including any babies that they may have.) So if you still have questions feel free to ask or if you have any helpfull pointers(by the way im not new to the saltwater world)
All the foam will do is get clogged up with the brine shrimp, the biowheel will be a nitrate factory and coupled with th enormal lighting you have your goining to have alot of alge problems a tank that size will need to have its sality checked and adjusted daily with fresh water top off.
Yes Dwarves can be kept in a 5g but 5g and Seahorses are not easy to keep. will you be skimming this tank?
Yes Dwarves can be kept in a 5g but 5g and Seahorses are not easy to keep. will you be skimming this tank?
seahorses
These little guys are extemely fragile and volitile. I have been researching and caring for them for years. If you want to take care of them then do yourself and them a huge favor and research it first. They need a min 14g tank for one small dwarf or pgmy. You will have to add multicolored anchors (Sea horse coral) for them to grab hold of and sit around. They need very specialized water parameters and react severlly if the PH in the water goes to far in one direction or the other.
Sea horses need to be feed a minimum of three to four times perday. The tank should have a sea horse feeding station. they may need to be coaxed to feed when they are stressed. When you first bring them home the lights should be kept off for twenty for hours so they destress. When you are adding them to the tank, you will have to acclimatize them for at least 2 hours with a slow iv drip. Sea horses are also known to develop problems that need immediate care if they develop a air bubble in their pouch.
If you decide to breed sea horses at some point you will have to set up special pony nurseries if you want them to survive.
Before they are even put into a new tank the tank should have acclimatized for a min of 6 months and have perfect water params, no ammonia.
If you require more info i would be more than happy to PM you with the necessary info but really think about what you are getting into. I spend numerous nights without sleep because of these precious darlings. You also have to take into consideration their nutrious needs as well and have someone avail to feed them a min three times a day.
good luck
These little guys are extemely fragile and volitile. I have been researching and caring for them for years. If you want to take care of them then do yourself and them a huge favor and research it first. They need a min 14g tank for one small dwarf or pgmy. You will have to add multicolored anchors (Sea horse coral) for them to grab hold of and sit around. They need very specialized water parameters and react severlly if the PH in the water goes to far in one direction or the other.
Sea horses need to be feed a minimum of three to four times perday. The tank should have a sea horse feeding station. they may need to be coaxed to feed when they are stressed. When you first bring them home the lights should be kept off for twenty for hours so they destress. When you are adding them to the tank, you will have to acclimatize them for at least 2 hours with a slow iv drip. Sea horses are also known to develop problems that need immediate care if they develop a air bubble in their pouch.
If you decide to breed sea horses at some point you will have to set up special pony nurseries if you want them to survive.
Before they are even put into a new tank the tank should have acclimatized for a min of 6 months and have perfect water params, no ammonia.
If you require more info i would be more than happy to PM you with the necessary info but really think about what you are getting into. I spend numerous nights without sleep because of these precious darlings. You also have to take into consideration their nutrious needs as well and have someone avail to feed them a min three times a day.
good luck
as i said before every sight that i go to says that it is best to use a foam filter and that the biowheel filter is a really good filter too. Dwarf Seahorses are not soposed to be kept in anythig bigger than a 10 gallon and thats only if you have a ton of them. No i will not be useing a skimmer they are unnessisary if you are still questioning about this go to www.seahorse.org they will tell you everything you want to know about dwarfs. I know its a hard concept for most people to grasp but these are unique creatures and as most fish need specal features or enviorments to live in so do these they just happen to be a lot smaller. Belive me the Smaller the better with these guys!
