taken from Seahorse.org
Each species of seahorse has a definite comfortable minimum tank size. The tank temperature also depends on the species. The following information is pulled from the care guide:
1) Tropical species - kept at 74-78 degrees F (24-26 degrees C)
zosterae, recommended 5 gallons (20 liters)
kuda, minimum size 15 gallons (60 liters)
barbouri, minimum size 15 gallons (60 liters)
erectus, minimum size 15 gallons (60 liters)
reidi minimum size 15 gallons (60 liters)
fuscus minimum size 10 gallons (40 liters)
comes minimum size 15 gallons (60 liters)
procerus minimum size 15 gallons (60 liters)
2) Subtropical species - kept at 70-74 degrees F (22-25 degrees C)
whitei, minimum size 15 gallons (60 liters)
ingens minimum size 45 gallons (180 liters)
tuberculatus, minimum size 15 gallons (60 liters)
3) Temperate species - kept at 66-72 degrees F (19-22 degrees C)
abdominalis, minimum size 60 gallons (240 liters)
capensis minimum size 10 gallons (40 liters)
breviceps, minimum size 10 gallons (40 liters)
Please do your research on the horses you would like to keep before purchasing them. They are able to be kept, but require a bit more reading and research than other saltwater creatures. Hope some of this helps you!
| I keep hearing I should buy Captive Bred seahorses and not Wild Caught seahorses. What does that mean and why should I care? |
| As silly as it seems, those terms mean exactly what they say. Captive Bred means that the seahorses parents bred in captivity to bare that seahorse. Wild Caught means the seahorse was captured from the wild. There is a third type which you don't hear much with seahorses, which is Tank Raised. It means, literially, raised in a tank. Sometimes it means bred in captivity, sometimes it means the father was carrying eggs when captured. In some fish, it also means the larval stage of the fish was captured in the wild, but raised in captivity. This latter definition doesn't apply to seahorses since there is no true larval stage. The reason its important is that Captive Bred seahorses are well adjusted to the captive environment, eat frozen food, and are disease free. On the other hand, wild caught seahorses are usually stressed and do not accept frozen foods, and often harbor parasites and disease. Most often, local fish stores carry Wild Caught seahorses, but Captive Bred are available through the internet and more and more local stores are able to special order them. They cost more than Wild Caught seahorses, but Wild Caught seahorses do not fair well in captivity, while Captive Bred seahorses are healthy, long lived animals who's care isn't much different than that of other saltwater fish. |
