Seahorses

[bvega789]

what do you think????

i want to buy some seahorses to add to my reef tank that im building,

right now i have in my 65 gallon aquarium :

Lots of LR
some LS
4 Maroon clownfish
4 anemones - 2 Long tentacle, 1 Haitian, and a purple tip sabae
1 hippo tang
1 shark cat
1 cleaner shrimp
10 mussels
2 fiddler crabs
1 strawberry crab
Some Zoas
2 mandarins

 

[JonnyJ]

Sea horses with high flow - not good

Sea horses with reef temperature - not good (unless you get the tolerant species)

Sea horses with anemones - not good - especially 4. They are weak swimmers and will ultimately meet there death.

Sea horses with aggressive fish or aggressive eaters - not good.


Overall a horrible addition to your reef ! Glad you asked though! Better off in a species tank.

 

[duromega]

if you want to keep seahorses you have to setup a tank just for them

"maybe" a clown gobi as tankmate

 

[Jenna X]

I agree with the above response, species only tank is preferred. You need to consider compatible tank mates i.e. non-aggressive fishes because they are slow swimmers. Mandarins are compatible while clown fish are not. There's a whole compatibility cheat sheet online. IF the sea horse is captive bred you will need to feed 2x a day enriched food. A chiller is a must (I've learned this the hard way).
Summation: they are a lot of work.

 

[beerfish]

You really might want to slow down and do some research. Forget about seahorses in that tank. They wouldn't live for a week. Here's the breakdown on the rest of your tank:

4 Maroon clownfish

These will get aggressive in this sized tank. One mated pair is about all you're going to be able to keep in that tank.

4 anemones - 2 Long tentacle, 1 Haitian, and a purple tip sabae

This severely limits what you can keep in the tank. Most stony corals and delicate fish are out. Additionally, if these aren't happy, they will move and can end up in a powerhead.

1 hippo tang

Shouldn't be in a 65g. End of story.

1 shark cat

Unless we're thinking about a different fish, this is a brakish water fish, not a marine fish.

1 cleaner shrimp

This is ok.

10 mussels

Most mussels don't last long and will foul your water when they die.

2 fiddler crabs

Also brakish water, and should be provided with land as well.

1 strawberry crab

Ok with monitoring. Can be aggressive.

Some Zoas

Ok.

2 mandarins

Unless the tank has been established for a long time, you probably shouldn't even have 1 mandarin in there. 2 means that they will both likely starve to death.

 

[KathyC]

+1 on everything he said. Happy I didn't have to write that all out

You really might want to slow down and do some research. Forget about seahorses in that tank. They wouldn't live for a week. Here's the breakdown on the rest of your tank:

4 Maroon clownfish

These will get aggressive in this sized tank. One mated pair is about all you're going to be able to keep in that tank.

4 anemones - 2 Long tentacle, 1 Haitian, and a purple tip sabae

This severely limits what you can keep in the tank. Most stony corals and delicate fish are out. Additionally, if these aren't happy, they will move and can end up in a powerhead.

1 hippo tang

Shouldn't be in a 65g. End of story.

1 shark cat

Unless we're thinking about a different fish, this is a brakish water fish, not a marine fish.

1 cleaner shrimp

This is ok.

10 mussels

Most mussels don't last long and will foul your water when they die.

2 fiddler crabs

Also brakish water, and should be provided with land as well.

1 strawberry crab

Ok with monitoring. Can be aggressive.

Some Zoas

Ok.

2 mandarins

Unless the tank has been established for a long time, you probably shouldn't even have 1 mandarin in there. 2 means that they will both likely starve to death.

 

[gvanwhy]

No shark egg... come on you have the room

 

[bvega789]

You really might want to slow down and do some research. Forget about seahorses in that tank. They wouldn't live for a week. Here's the breakdown on the rest of your tank:

4 Maroon clownfish

These will get aggressive in this sized tank. One mated pair is about all you're going to be able to keep in that tank.

4 anemones - 2 Long tentacle, 1 Haitian, and a purple tip sabae

This severely limits what you can keep in the tank. Most stony corals and delicate fish are out. Additionally, if these aren't happy, they will move and can end up in a powerhead.

1 hippo tang

Shouldn't be in a 65g. End of story.

1 shark cat

Unless we're thinking about a different fish, this is a brakish water fish, not a marine fish.

1 cleaner shrimp

This is ok.

10 mussels

Most mussels don't last long and will foul your water when they die.

2 fiddler crabs

Also brakish water, and should be provided with land as well.

1 strawberry crab

Ok with monitoring. Can be aggressive.

Some Zoas

Ok.

2 mandarins

Unless the tank has been established for a long time, you probably shouldn't even have 1 mandarin in there. 2 means that they will both likely starve to death.

thanks for the insight

 

[bvega789]

No shark egg... come on you have the room

its not reef safe

 

[bvega789]

4 anemones - 2 Long tentacle, 1 Haitian, and a purple tip sabae

This severely limits what you can keep in the tank. Most stony corals and delicate fish are out. Additionally, if these aren't happy, they will move and can end up in a powerhead.


as far as what kind of fish??

 

[troywalkerphoto]

I would think the system is maxed out with that many fish depending on the size of the fish.

 

[bvega789]

theyre all little none really above 2" inches

 

[beerfish]

It's not about what kind of fish as much as the stocking levels. If a fish gets bullied by another fish because of overstocking and accidentally runs into an anemone, they can get injured or killed by it. SPS corals and many LPS can also be killed by anemones. In that size tank, 4 anemones is a lot unless you're keeping your fish list small.

 

[beerfish]

theyre all little none really above 2" inches

When you get a fish, you need to think about it's fully grown size, not the current size. I've seen tangs the size of dinner plates. While they don't normally get that big in captivity, they will quickly outgrow a 65g.

Additionally, your bioload will skyrocket as your fish get larger, making it hard to keep the water clean.

 

[bvega789]

When you get a fish, you need to think about it's fully grown size, not the current size. I've seen tangs the size of dinner plates. While they don't normally get that big in captivity, they will quickly outgrow a 65g.

Additionally, your bioload will skyrocket as your fish get larger, making it hard to keep the water clean.

thanks man

 

[skene]

Also.. you want to stay away from keeping multiple species of anemone together.
While it puts a small strain on the bioload of the tank, many cannot deal with the releases of others, and becomes chemical warfare in the tank.

 

[gpscuba]

Thanks for the info I was thinking about getting a seahorse