Interested in Seahorses

[steelyphil]

Can you keep seahorses with other fish? If I ever do start a tank I would probably wait like 4 or 5 months until its settled in and the put them in and probably would something that's cheaper and easier to maintain like the Reidi and Erectus. I would probably want some Clown Fish, blue/green Chromis, something else small. Are these compatible? For tank size, I was hoping to do something in the 40-55 range.

[Loverotties]

Pipefish! anything else will eat the food before they get some(very slow in eating

[steelyphil]

Originally Posted by Loverotties

Pipefish! anything else will eat the food before they get some(very slow in eating

So I guess it would be a better idea to have two tanks one bigger one for the main fish and a smaller for seahorses. Oh darn, I have to have a second tank, Lol. I still need to think things through before I buy anything.

[YLChik]

Actually it is not recommended to mix pipes and sea horses. You can mix them with passive fish like clown gobies, fire fish and a few others.

I would suggest doing a lot of reading on setting up a sea horse specific tank. Things you want to consider are :

the tanks tend to get dirtier due to the eating and pooping habits of the pony
lower flow than a regular reef tank
much lower temp than a regular reef tank 72-74 to keep illness at bay.
nothing in the tank that the ponies can hitch on that will hurt them - covering heaters or using a sump ect....

and you will need at the very least a 29 gallon ( not the self contained ones, unless you plan on a chiller - it's not unusual for these tank to run at 83 degrees) to house the ponies you listed.

seahorse.org has some excellent information on these wonderful creatures

[VWD]

I agree with Amy here, the first and most important thing is research and learn all you can before you commit to them, They are very nice and enjoyable to keep but take work and commitment

[steelyphil]

Yea, I still need to do more research. I think it would be a better idea to wait a while before I try seahorses because they seem like they need more attention than a normal reef tank.

[YLChik]

I am not so sure it is more attention, just different attention so things that work in a reef DON"T in a pony tank. and the mistakes people make seem to be the same ones. SO research is a must to try to avoid some of the common pitfalls....

BEAUTIFUL and wonderful creatures to keep though - I highly suggest them once the reading is done

[Loverotties]

Originally Posted by YLChik

Actually it is not recommended to mix pipes and sea horses. You can mix them with passive fish like clown gobies, fire fish and a few others.

Never new that,thanks!I had them together for 7 yrs with no problem.

[YLChik]

Rotties

It's not that it can't be done it is that is not recommended esp for a beginner.

[Mr.Nan0]

uhhh my YCG just killed my purple firefish so idk about YCG with an even more docile species like seahorses. my YCG even picks on my TPC once in a while. i understand that every fish is diff. but i still wouldnt take the chance.