Tank Size and First Seahorses?

[Seajellyy]

I have a ten gallon set up that I would like to add some seahorses to. There isnt much else in it because I just moved everything else to another tank. I've been wanting seahorses for a long time but didnt feel ready and now I'm starting to feel more confident that I can care for their delicate needs lol. I am still going to be a first time seahorse caregiver though so I want to start with something that isnt impossible. I can consider a 15 or 20 gallon tank if needed as well but I really just want to know the answer to these questions:

1. What is the 'easiest' seahorse to start with in a 10 gallon?
2. Easiest to start with in a 15 or 20 gallon?
3. What other types of seahorses can live in a 10 gallon?

Daily water cleaning or even changes if needed wont be an issue at all and I work from home so I can spot clean as needed all day. So it's really mostly just about how much space they will need to be happy.

 

[Brad Miller]

Hobbyists have reported keeping a pair of dwarf sea horses in as little as a 1 gallon aquarium.
There are a couple seahorses that you can raise successfully in a 10 gallon, but you must be very diligent on husbandry and feeding 3x a day...usually gut loaded brine shrimp.
Please consider and research carefully...here is the #1 go to site hobbyist use;
http://www.seahorse.org/

 

[Seajellyy]

Hobbyists have reported keeping a pair of dwarf sea horses in as little as a 1 gallon aquarium.
There are a couple seahorses that you can raise successfully in a 10 gallon, but you must be very diligent on husbandry and feeding 3x a day...usually gut loaded brine shrimp.
Please consider and research carefully...here is the #1 go to site hobbyist use;
http://www.seahorse.org/

Okay thanks! I dont mind spending half my day feeding and cleaning honestly. I overdo it with my other tanks bc they dont need much but I like being tedious and constantly 'fixing' things. Love feeding and spot cleaning and small tank water changes dont bother me at all so I think seahorses in general will be a great fit. So for me the tank size is more about if they have the room they need. I'll be on top of husbandry and multiple feedings a day and all of that. Love reading as much as I can to feel as prepared as possible. Really appreciate the link, thanks!

 

[vlangel]

Hi seajellyy,
Have you read all the stickies under this topic. I highly recommend it because there is a lot of good info there.

I use a 10 gallon as a hospital tank but I do not recommend it as a display tank for healthy seahorses of the large specie. All the greater seahorses should have a minimum of 30 gallons for 1 pair. Seahorses are happier if they are not kept singularly.

Dwarf seahorses can be kept in small tanks and actually should be kept in small tanks. They are not for everyone however. They only eat live food which means you need to set up a hatchery for live artemia (baby brine shrimp). Then once the bbs hatch they need to be enriched so that the dwarf seahorses nutritional needs are met. This a chore that must be done daily and although it is not hard, the daily rigor of it can feel enslaving after a while. I suggest that you set up hatcheries and hatch bbs for 3 or 4 weeks plus enrich them so you have an accurate idea what you are getting into. You can feed the live food to your other reefs. If you feel you can handle that, then look into acquiring dwarf seahorses.

 

[Dom]

You sound ready to commit to such a high-maintenance pet, so I wish you good luck.

And while I don't doubt the diligence of your husbandry, I would ask you one question: Do you have someone who will keep up with that level of care when you go away on vacation for a week?

Any problems I've encountered in the hobby have always come while I was away and left the care of my tanks to others.

Good Luck and post pictures once you're set up. We all enjoy looking at pictures here!

 

[rayjay]

IMO, there are NO seahorses that are suitable for a ten gallon tank.
First, for dwarfs, it would take an INORDINATE amount of live artemia each feeding to give proper density of food for the dwarfs, such that you could maintain about 100 of them in a 10g. (for me, it was 50 in a 5g)
Secondly, even the smallest of seahorses that at one time might have been available to the hobby should have been one pair kept in at least a 20g. However, I've not seen any of these smaller types available in many years now, like H. fuscus.
While it used to be the recommendation to have 29/30g for the first pair and an additional 15g for each extra pair, Dan Underwood of seahorsesource.com has found in his experiences with customers and his research that you would have better chances of success with 25-30g for each pair, not just the first pair.
Now that all being said, it IS possible to keep them in less than stellar situations, but to be successful, it means a LOT more work and usually, a fair bit of experience at recommended levels first.
The big problem IME, is the fact one CANNOT test (no such kits available to the hobbyist) for the water quality that determines the probability of expansion of the nasty bacterial that cause the problems with seahorses. Your basic tests that ARE available can ALL test excellent but conditions can be promoting the exponential growth of the bacteria like the vibrios and others.
For this reason, excellent husbandry protocols and large more frequent water changes are needed to ensure best chances of success.
Unfortunately, one can see postings on forums or social media of seahorses being kept in less than ideal conditions, but that doesn't mean it works for a lot of keepers.
Seahorses, like people, have varying degrees of immune activity, with some people (seahorses) never seeming to get sick or have problems, while others seem to always be sick. The rest of us (and the seahorses) fall somewhere in between those extremes.
As we CANNOT KNOW what the immune capacity would be when we buy seahorses, best success will come if we assume they are the most vulnerable, especially as we might have a RANGE of vulnerability when we have more than one.
Another link to add for your research is Dan's Seahorse Source Facebook Group Files: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Seahorsesource/files/

 

[Brad Miller]

Wow,
If everyone paid attention to that...the only seahorses in our hobby would have to stay in the ocean.
Many dwarf sea horses have been and still are successfully kept in small aquariums (not 100 as was mentioned)

 

[rayjay]

With regard to dwarf seahorses, YES, they are successfully kept in small aquariums and in numbers as small as a pair. HOWEVER, keeping smaller numbers in a ten gallon tank CAN be done but it's a BIG waste of food and THAT'S why I don't recommend it. Food density is important for dwarfs as many (most) don't hunt their food but rather wait for it to pass by them where they are hitched. Then as the enrichment quickly wears off, the nutrient depleted artemia should be removed and replaced with new enriched nauplii.
Therefore, it is MUCH better to have an appropriate sized tank for the number of dwarfs one wishes to keep.
Generally speaking, I WANT the seahorses to remain in the ocean, using only small numbers to replace brood stock as needed.
As it is now, all too many seahorses sold (majority) don't even last a year in the hobby, mainly IMO because too many are sold by stores with staff lacking sufficient knowledge to pass on to prospective keepers.
In my sixteen years of keeping, breeding and selling seahorses, I have seen a LOT of change in the recommendations, and this has been coupled with a higher success ratio because of such changes. Just as an example, flow rates at one time when I started were recommended to be low flowing, but, now most of us have rates of at least 10X water volume and many of us have rates exceeding 20X.
Success rates have most DEFINITELY increased since keepers have moved to increased volumes per pairs.
In addition, there are many more tank raised and true captive bred seahorses now that are already trained to eat frozen mysis when sold to the hobbyist, unlike the wild caught ones that had to be fed the live artemia. However, enriched artemia are still nice to use as an additional nutrient source, and, some use them as a conduit for getting medicines to the seahorses.
Most recommendations that I write about are now common with most long term successful seahorse keepers and breeders.

 

[Seajellyy]

With regard to dwarf seahorses, YES, they are successfully kept in small aquariums and in numbers as small as a pair. HOWEVER, keeping smaller numbers in a ten gallon tank CAN be done but it's a BIG waste of food and THAT'S why I don't recommend it. Food density is important for dwarfs as many (most) don't hunt their food but rather wait for it to pass by them where they are hitched. Then as the enrichment quickly wears off, the nutrient depleted artemia should be removed and replaced with new enriched nauplii.
Therefore, it is MUCH better to have an appropriate sized tank for the number of dwarfs one wishes to keep.
Generally speaking, I WANT the seahorses to remain in the ocean, using only small numbers to replace brood stock as needed.
As it is now, all too many seahorses sold (majority) don't even last a year in the hobby, mainly IMO because too many are sold by stores with staff lacking sufficient knowledge to pass on to prospective keepers.
In my sixteen years of keeping, breeding and selling seahorses, I have seen a LOT of change in the recommendations, and this has been coupled with a higher success ratio because of such changes. Just as an example, flow rates at one time when I started were recommended to be low flowing, but, now most of us have rates of at least 10X water volume and many of us have rates exceeding 20X.
Success rates have most DEFINITELY increased since keepers have moved to increased volumes per pairs.
In addition, there are many more tank raised and true captive bred seahorses now that are already trained to eat frozen mysis when sold to the hobbyist, unlike the wild caught ones that had to be fed the live artemia. However, enriched artemia are still nice to use as an additional nutrient source, and, some use them as a conduit for getting medicines to the seahorses.
Most recommendations that I write about are now common with most long term successful seahorse keepers and breeders.

Okay I think I understood most of what you've said. So what size tank would you recommend if I wanted maybe 10 dwarf seahorses to avoid that issue? Are you saying a 10 gallon is too small for most seahorses but actually too big for dwarfs? How many would need to be in a 5 gallon to avoid the issue with the feeding?

 

[Seajellyy]

You sound ready to commit to such a high-maintenance pet, so I wish you good luck.

And while I don't doubt the diligence of your husbandry, I would ask you one question: Do you have someone who will keep up with that level of care when you go away on vacation for a week?

Any problems I've encountered in the hobby have always come while I was away and left the care of my tanks to others.

Good Luck and post pictures once you're set up. We all enjoy looking at pictures here!

Thank you! I do live with someone and we have other uncommon pets that cant be left alone so in the past we have taken turns going out of town. If we ever both HAD to go somewhere at the same time I'm not sure what I would do. I probably just wouldnt go. We live on the coast so I dont really travel for vacation but I know it's possible for other things to come up.

 

[Seajellyy]

Hi seajellyy,
Have you read all the stickies under this topic. I highly recommend it because there is a lot of good info there.

I use a 10 gallon as a hospital tank but I do not recommend it as a display tank for healthy seahorses of the large specie. All the greater seahorses should have a minimum of 30 gallons for 1 pair. Seahorses are happier if they are not kept singularly.

Dwarf seahorses can be kept in small tanks and actually should be kept in small tanks. They are not for everyone however. They only eat live food which means you need to set up a hatchery for live artemia (baby brine shrimp). Then once the bbs hatch they need to be enriched so that the dwarf seahorses nutritional needs are met. This a chore that must be done daily and although it is not hard, the daily rigor of it can feel enslaving after a while. I suggest that you set up hatcheries and hatch bbs for 3 or 4 weeks plus enrich them so you have an accurate idea what you are getting into. You can feed the live food to your other reefs. If you feel you can handle that, then look into acquiring dwarf seahorses.

The hatchery I am totally willing to do but does make me a little nervous just because I'm not sure how to go about starting it up but ill definitely look into that first. So there are no seahorses that I can keep in a 10 or 20 gallon? Are dwarfs the way to go do you think? And if I were able to get a 30 gallon set up what is the hardiest seahorse for a first time seahorse caregiver?

 

[Seajellyy]

Wow,
If everyone paid attention to that...the only seahorses in our hobby would have to stay in the ocean.
Many dwarf sea horses have been and still are successfully kept in small aquariums (not 100 as was mentioned)

Hoping to find seahorses that are captive bred or maybe I am missing the point of the other persons message but hopefully I can make it work nomatter what. Seahorses have always been my favorite, just never knew it was possible to have them until I saw others doing it

 

[rayjay]

Okay I think I understood most of what you've said. So what size tank would you recommend if I wanted maybe 10 dwarf seahorses to avoid that issue?

I'd recommend a 2.5 gallon tank for 10-25 dwarfs.

Are you saying a 10 gallon is too small for most seahorses but actually too big for dwarfs?

Definitely a 10 is too small for standard seahorses, and a 20 is too small also, UNLESS you know by experience, the level of husbandry and water changes needed to support them and can do it for years on end. Some people can, but being human, many will down the road, occasionally skip a cleaning/water change for whatever reason and the accumulation of these "skips" mean bacteria outbreaks will probably result over time.
I have one of my seahorse tanks overloaded, but I have also had enough experience (learning the hard way, loosing seahorses) to know what I have to do to be successful, but also that I know I can keep it up permanently for the life of the seahorses involved in that tank. Life expectancy of standard seahorses runs 5-10 years when looked after.

How many would need to be in a 5 gallon to avoid the issue with the feeding?

I would keep 40-50 in a 5g tank. Again, I don't recommend against a large tank with few dwarfs in it because it can't be done, but rather it's not practical given the amount of food density required so that you need to feed the same amount of enriched nauplii to a given tank whether or not it has say for a 5g, 4 dwarfs or 50 dwarfs in it.
If all goes well, dwarfs will live 1.5-2 years on average.
The suggestion that you first start hatching and enriching artemia nauplii is a good one. It will give you an idea of the workload you will be faced with keeping dwarfs.
Most dwarf keepers will quit once they eventually get tired of doing what is needed to be successful with them.
Artemia cysts should be either sterilized or decapped first before hatching, followed by ongrowing for a day to evolve to the Instar II stage where they complete their digestive system and can start feeding. At this point, you can enrich them for a twelve hours with new water and enrichment (high DHA) and they will be considered GUT loaded. If then you place them in new water again, with new enrichment for another 12 hours, the enrichment will by then begin to be assimilated into the flesh, making them even more nutritious. Before feeding them to the seahorses though, I treat them with a hydrogen peroxide treatment to lessen the chance of passing nasty bacteria to the dwarf tank.

 

[rayjay]

So there are no seahorses that I can keep in a 10 or 20 gallon?

Not that I can recommend to you when the smaller standards haven't been available for years now.

Are dwarfs the way to go do you think?

Many find dwarfs more work than keeping standards, me included

And if I were able to get a 30 gallon set up what is the hardiest seahorse for a first time seahorse caregiver?

I don't think there is a big difference from one species to another as far as care for, EXCEPT if you want to raise the fry.
Seahorses like H. erectus produce benthic fry, a bit larger and they hitch at birth, accepting artemia nauplii from the start.
Seahorses like H. reidi produce pelagic fry that are smaller, don't hitch at birth, and require smaller foods to start like rotifers and appropriately sized copepods.

 

[rayjay]

Hoping to find seahorses that are captive bred

You shouldn't have any problem with that.
I highly recommend though, buying from a recognized breeder or another hobbyist that is raising their fry.
Many stores sell imported tank raised that while are trained to eat frozen mysis, are at greater risk of failure, especially when placed in a store tank that is part of a system that contains other fish. The exposure to pathogens they haven't grown up with can many times lead to deaths at a point after you buy them.
At the moment, the only breeder I know raising dwarfs is Alyssa's Seahorse Savvy in Florida.
For standards, I can recommend both Alyssa AND especially Dan Underwood at seahorsesource.com.

 

[vlangel]

I second everything that Ray said. That would be my opinion and recommendations as well.

 

[Seajellyy]

Okay thanks so much, sounds great. I am also hoping to figure out a way to get RODI water because I live out in the middle of nowhere. So I think I'll start by setting up the shrimp hatchery just to try it out and research RODI and seahorse breeders in the mean time. I want to get the equipment to make RODI water myself because my other tanks would benefit from it as well but I dont knkw much about it.

 

[rayjay]

I'd suggest talking with the tech's at SpectraPure.com, as living out in the middle of nowhere, you are probably on a well and depending on the water quality you may experience specific needs for using RODI on that water system.
As for seahorse breeders, you won't FIND a more recommended source than Dan Underwood of seahorsesource.com

 

[Seajellyy]

Thanks so much. I've been looking into an RODI unit for a day or two and it is so confusing. I think this will be my biggest hurdle understanding the unit.. I will def check out seahorse source website once I get water quality under control and hatchery all set up.

 

[Seahorsekelly69]

So good to see Ray and vlangel hitting home runs! @Seajellyy , did you set up? I'd love to see what you ended up doing!