hey I heard that even though seahorses are sensitive, you can keep them in a full reef tank. I read this up in tfh magazine, and they say seahorses actually like some places with water movement. But you must provide places with calm current. Also they say that you can keep them with gorgonians and toadstool corals. In addition, they say the barbouri seahorse can be kept with lps corals with caution because they instinctivley know not to go near them.... Is this true?
Seahorses are possible in a reef
- Thread starter LCP136
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First of all, HN, I appreciate your concern. However, my point is not for everyone to go and buy seahorses. I wrote the post because all the info i've ever read has said it isn't possible, but in my experience it is. I don't think that it is bad information at all if your careful with keeping seahorses in a reef.
Fish guru, the horses may know not to go near the lps, i've actually never heard that though. However, everything in the coral family and all of their relatives(most jellyfish, anemones) all have stinging cells. In a reef, even if it has gorgonians and toadstools, it would be wise to provide a calm area with vegitation.
Fish guru, the horses may know not to go near the lps, i've actually never heard that though. However, everything in the coral family and all of their relatives(most jellyfish, anemones) all have stinging cells. In a reef, even if it has gorgonians and toadstools, it would be wise to provide a calm area with vegitation.
I think the heart of the question here is who has successfully kept seahorses in a home reef tank over the long term? (i.e. -- not in a sea horse only "reef" tank)
Aquarium organizations have access to more resources and trained / experienced professionals to potenitally make a situation like this work than the average person does. Although, considering that most of the aquariums I've been to tend to focus more and more on showcasing animals in something that resembles their native habitat, I'm not sure the reasoning behind an aquarium organization wanting to encourage sea horses to be kept in captivity within even a modified version of a typical reef tank. There's one thing to definitely remember, nonetheless... Words like "reef" / "fish" / "coral" are very general terms used to categorize very diverse groups of things.
To be honest, the opinion and experiences of one handful of biologists may not agree with that of a different handful of biologists. While I'm not saying they are or may be wrong, biologists can debate back and forth over topics much like politicians.
LCP -- You mention that the biologists helped you set up your reef tank to house sea horses... How long before you give this a shot? It would make for an interesting blog, or at least a tank log thread. Thank you for sharing -- hope there'll be more soon.
Aquarium organizations have access to more resources and trained / experienced professionals to potenitally make a situation like this work than the average person does. Although, considering that most of the aquariums I've been to tend to focus more and more on showcasing animals in something that resembles their native habitat, I'm not sure the reasoning behind an aquarium organization wanting to encourage sea horses to be kept in captivity within even a modified version of a typical reef tank. There's one thing to definitely remember, nonetheless... Words like "reef" / "fish" / "coral" are very general terms used to categorize very diverse groups of things.
To be honest, the opinion and experiences of one handful of biologists may not agree with that of a different handful of biologists. While I'm not saying they are or may be wrong, biologists can debate back and forth over topics much like politicians.
LCP -- You mention that the biologists helped you set up your reef tank to house sea horses... How long before you give this a shot? It would make for an interesting blog, or at least a tank log thread. Thank you for sharing -- hope there'll be more soon.
Whilst i like the idea of running a reef tank with seahorses in it, its certainly not something i would recomend...You dont say how much experience you have, but, after running a system like this, i would "hope" your an experienced reef keeper...
I dont think anybody will / can say that you "cant" keep seahorses in a reef tank, its just that, in my opinion, you shouldn't...Main reason, stock and flow...Most of the stock in the average reef tank would damage the seahorses, so, i would not advise that....Also, flow...Reef tanks are high in flow, average about 25 x tank volume per hour....that, in itself, makes the habitat hard for seahorses...I feel that the suggestion of having a gap like area for a seahorse is not a valid route..If we think about it, what use is this, as the seahorses can only inhabit a small portion of the tank....This in itself does not this good for seahorses....what life would they have, when they can only stay in one area...
On the whole, this is a bad idea...Just my opinion of course... :grinyes:
I dont think anybody will / can say that you "cant" keep seahorses in a reef tank, its just that, in my opinion, you shouldn't...Main reason, stock and flow...Most of the stock in the average reef tank would damage the seahorses, so, i would not advise that....Also, flow...Reef tanks are high in flow, average about 25 x tank volume per hour....that, in itself, makes the habitat hard for seahorses...I feel that the suggestion of having a gap like area for a seahorse is not a valid route..If we think about it, what use is this, as the seahorses can only inhabit a small portion of the tank....This in itself does not this good for seahorses....what life would they have, when they can only stay in one area...
On the whole, this is a bad idea...Just my opinion of course... :grinyes:
I have to agree with Reefscape... I don't have SW experience, but in any aquarium, it should be about what's best for the animals; not what's possible because you can./
I have seen several people set up "sps" reefs with seahorses quite successfully. They tanks, in general had high volume, but diffused water flow, in addition to some calmer spots and lots of "hitching posts." Also, there was a sheltered location for feeding, as well. I believe a sort of removable feeding tray was used, with acrylic rods for wrapping their tails. That being said, a good display refugium is really the best place for seahorses "in" a reef tank.
I'll have to respectfully disagree about mysid shrimp, though. I haven't seen any veterinary studies or evidence to support that. That is also my personal experience. I had a pair for about six years that were fed almost 100% enriched mysids. In fact, many of the most popular farms of captive raised seahorses use mysids exclusively as feed.
@Hooked Newbie: the Ga. aquarium is an interesting place. Two of my best friends/ex-coworkers actually work there on full time basis. They are both maintenance techs there.
I'll have to respectfully disagree about mysid shrimp, though. I haven't seen any veterinary studies or evidence to support that. That is also my personal experience. I had a pair for about six years that were fed almost 100% enriched mysids. In fact, many of the most popular farms of captive raised seahorses use mysids exclusively as feed.
@Hooked Newbie: the Ga. aquarium is an interesting place. Two of my best friends/ex-coworkers actually work there on full time basis. They are both maintenance techs there.
Very cool. I love the place. I do have a fundamental issue with keeping Whale Sharks in captivity, but I believe they are doing it as responsibly as anyone ever could and educating alot of people along the way. I "work" mostly in the FW gallery, but am absolutely in awe of the SW exhibits (especially the reef). Between reading posts here and watching their tanks, it's increasingly hard to not start a tank of my own.
I know this was a while ago, but I would like to clear things up. I did some more research, and as it turns out, H. comes, H. barbouri, H. ingens, H. reidi and some others are often found among corals. So, to amend what I said, some species can be kept in a reef tank, given you keep the stock of other fish low to null, you provide a couple areas with low flow and hitching posts, and maybe you provide some macros or non coral hitching posts. Seahorses actually do like flow. I hope this clears up what I meant.
