Intro to Keeping Seahorses by Krista Guogas

Keith Cusveller · Sep 1, 2015

Is 48" to tall for a seahorse tank?

vlangel · Sep 1, 2015

Keith Cusveller said:
Is 48" to tall for a seahorse tank?

It depends. If it is 4 feet tall but only 2 feet wide then you would really need to be mindful of oxygenating the tank which is a challenge with such a tall tank with a small footprint. You don't want dead spots in terms of flow with seahorses because they have high respiration compared to other fishes.
Another challenge to consider is tank maintenance. 4 feet of height is going to be a challenge to keep detritus and waste from collecting on the floor but it's important that you don't let it collect because dangerous bacteria can get a foothold in the tank in those conditions. Seahorses are very susceptible to pathogen bacteria.

Keith Cusveller · Sep 1, 2015

Ok thank you for the information its really appreciated

lmccluer · Oct 20, 2015

I'm getting ready to get my seahorses, but have been in SW quite awhile, over 5 years, and FW pretty much over 30 yrs. You mentioned seahorse.org and oceanrider, but are you aware they have a course on raising seahorses? If not, just send them an email and they will send you the course free of charge. It's quite an in depth course written by one of their staff members. As well, I would suggest becoming a member of their seahorse club, as they have a really nice forum section on seahorses and their care along with pipefish and other related topics. From other hobbyists I've spoken with, Oceanrider is the best place to obtain ponies as they are all captive bred on location in their facility in Hawaii, and are the only facility that has a certificate in the seahorse business attesting to the care they take in breeding and selling stock. Another interesting fact about Oceanrider is they have several leafy seadragons they have permission and a grant from NOAA to have and run a research program on them. I know I'm excited to get my horses in my stable, but I'm in the process of resetting my tanks to have one ready for them. If you want the Oceanrider course, you can just email this person [email protected] and I'm sure he would be happy to send you a copy of it. Just to give you a hint on the detail it goes into to help insure your success with you ponies, the course is 427 pages long, however, don't be scared off by that because it contains pictures, diagrams and other sources of reading material. Good luck to all and keep posting your info and pictures so all can see!

vlangel · Oct 21, 2015

lmccluer said:
I'm getting ready to get my seahorses, but have been in SW quite awhile, over 5 years, and FW pretty much over 30 yrs. You mentioned seahorse.org and oceanrider, but are you aware they have a course on raising seahorses? If not, just send them an email and they will send you the course free of charge. It's quite an in depth course written by one of their staff members. As well, I would suggest becoming a member of their seahorse club, as they have a really nice forum section on seahorses and their care along with pipefish and other related topics. From other hobbyists I've spoken with, Oceanrider is the best place to obtain ponies as they are all captive bred on location in their facility in Hawaii, and are the only facility that has a certificate in the seahorse business attesting to the care they take in breeding and selling stock. Another interesting fact about Oceanrider is they have several leafy seadragons they have permission and a grant from NOAA to have and run a research program on them. I know I'm excited to get my horses in my stable, but I'm in the process of resetting my tanks to have one ready for them. If you want the Oceanrider course, you can just email this person [email protected] and I'm sure he would be happy to send you a copy of it. Just to give you a hint on the detail it goes into to help insure your success with you ponies, the course is 427 pages long, however, don't be scared off by that because it contains pictures, diagrams and other sources of reading material. Good luck to all and keep posting your info and pictures so all can see!

Hi imccluer! I too have taken the Ocean Rider free online seahorse course. Like you I found it very informative. I also purchased my pair of H erectus and captive bred pipefish from them and I have had them over a year now. They have proven to be very healthy sturdy ponies. I would like to add that Seahorse Source in FL also have very healthy seahorses. I have spoken to the owner over the phone while placing orders for enrichment and probiotic and he gave me very helpful advise even though I did not buy my seahorses from him. I live in PA so I will probably purchase future seahorses from Seahorse Source as they are closer and more competitively priced. However I am very satisfied with the captive bred seahorses I got from Ocean Rider.

lmccluer · Oct 21, 2015

That's great to hear! I've not ordered yet, as I'm waiting for my tanks to settle back down. I've also got Seahorse Source tagged as a favorite, and have looked at them as well. It's just amazing how the seahorse hobby has changed in the last 5 years or so. I've always wanted some, but back then the only source pretty much was live caught, which were difficult to feed since they were hard to train to take frozen food or anything else. Add that to the fact of the stresses live caught seahorses go through, and it was difficult to get one to stay alive for any length of time, and if you did, it was usually very expensive. My post wasn't to say that Oceanriders is the only source, because I know there are a few others, but mainly to let aquarists know about the training course, which after reading some of the posts, I think it would benefit a lot of people as it has me.

vlangel · Oct 21, 2015

lmccluer said:
That's great to hear! I've not ordered yet, as I'm waiting for my tanks to settle back down. I've also got Seahorse Source tagged as a favorite, and have looked at them as well. It's just amazing how the seahorse hobby has changed in the last 5 years or so. I've always wanted some, but back then the only source pretty much was live caught, which were difficult to feed since they were hard to train to take frozen food or anything else. Add that to the fact of the stresses live caught seahorses go through, and it was difficult to get one to stay alive for any length of time, and if you did, it was usually very expensive. My post wasn't to say that Oceanriders is the only source, because I know there are a few others, but mainly to let aquarists know about the training course, which after reading some of the posts, I think it would benefit a lot of people as it has me.

I agree whole heartedly with you about the training course. It definitely equipped me to care for seahorses and i am not a newbie as far as saltwater is concerned. I worked in a lfs for 12 years and didn't understand the special needs of seahorses until I took the training course. It also helped me raise 15 fry (that my pair spawned) to sexual maturity which was a lot of work but a very cool experience. So please continue to share about the free online seahorse training course. It's good for the seahorses to have well informed owners, regardless where they come from.

lmccluer · Oct 21, 2015

I certainly will, and I will say that Pete at Oceanrider has told me the two times I've contacted him he wants people to call or send him a message if they have any questions or problems on keeping seahorses. I hope some day to go tour their facility as it looks awesome, let alone being in Hawaii, so that's a reason to go anyway right? I've looked all over for forums on seahorses, and just happened to find this one, on a site I've already been on several times and didn't know it was there. I just wonder how many other aquarists that want seahorses and reading in some antiquated book, magazine, forum or an article from even 5 years ago has gotten turned off trying to raise them because of the old way of handling them, getting live horses and not being able to feed frozen food. Now it's completely different. I know I'm one of them. I had no idea s many things have changed for the better, but then again so has the saltwater hobby as a whole. I'm not saying it's easy by any means, especially some of the smaller breeds, and definitely when your make starts pushing out 100-300 or more babies! Being disabled that's one good thing, I'm home all day and can take care of them and watch for any problems as they come up.

vlangel · Oct 21, 2015

lmccluer said:
I certainly will, and I will say that Pete at Oceanrider has told me the two times I've contacted him he wants people to call or send him a message if they have any questions or problems on keeping seahorses. I hope some day to go tour their facility as it looks awesome, let alone being in Hawaii, so that's a reason to go anyway right? I've looked all over for forums on seahorses, and just happened to find this one, on a site I've already been on several times and didn't know it was there. I just wonder how many other aquarists that want seahorses and reading in some antiquated book, magazine, forum or an article from even 5 years ago has gotten turned off trying to raise them because of the old way of handling them, getting live horses and not being able to feed frozen food. Now it's completely different. I know I'm one of them. I had no idea s many things have changed for the better, but then again so has the saltwater hobby as a whole. I'm not saying it's easy by any means, especially some of the smaller breeds, and definitely when your make starts pushing out 100-300 or more babies! Being disabled that's one good thing, I'm home all day and can take care of them and watch for any problems as they come up.

Yes, Pete helped me in the beginning when I first got my seahorses. Eve, my female was looking very round and not eating as voraciously as Adam her mate. I was worried maybe she was constipated or had a blockage. Pete replied and eased my concerns that she probably just needed time to adjust. It turns out that her roundness was because she was ripening eggs and her and Adam consummated their union within a few days. I now know she always gets rounder right before they dance. Pete was helpful and I have appreciated his experience and expertise.

Another forum that has good info is fusejaw.com. When I was raising fry Tami was also extremely helpful.
Like you said, seahorse keeping has changed for the better recently. I couldn't have considered them prior to having captive bred available that eat frozen mysis. Now they are one of my passions.