8 gal. Seahorse tank

[tiberus]

I recently purchased an 8gal biocube to keep a small seahorse in. Right now I just have the tank and haven't purchased rocks or sand yet, so I still have the option of returning it and getting the 14 gal. tank.
My plan for this tank was to keep 1 small seahorse (2-3 inch max size) and 1 mandarinfish as well as 1 or 2 small corals. Possibly add 1 or 2 turbo snails and 1 emerald crab. I do have somewhat of a concern that even with live brine shrimp and small amounts of frozen mysis shrimp that the dragonet won't have enough food or swimming space.
I spoke with the owner of the shop I use (who has 25+ years of saltwater reefing behind him) and he explained that the reason he recommended the 8 instead of the 14 was because the 8 has a much gentler flowrate and will be easier on the seahorse. While I follow the logic and it makes sense to me, I am still somewhat uneasy about this setup and was wondering if anyone had any experience keeping a seahorse (or mandarinfish) in this small a tank.

[aquasalt]

Since when is flowrate in a tank determined by the gallons? I don't know much about seahorses in particular, but would default to the general argument that it is hard enough as it is to regulate water parameters in a nano, so go larger whenever possible.

[chrischris]

with seahorses being so touch and the size of the tank you need to watch your water params really closely testing them at least once a week but if you do that you should be fine

[Gilraen Took]

I dunno if the mandarin would be alright in there. There's 1 in 1,000 that will EVER eat already dead food, so you'd either need a really large tank to culture food for it or to keep buying live food for it as long as you own it. I don't know anything about sea horses or how to feed them, though.

[OneDummHikk]

Originally Posted by aquasalt

Since when is flowrate in a tank determined by the gallons? I don't know much about seahorses in particular, but would default to the general argument that it is hard enough as it is to regulate water parameters in a nano, so go larger whenever possible.

The larger the tank, the more flow you need to maintain the same movement of the water. 50gph flow in a 10G tank is a lot different than 50gph in a 90 gallon tank. So yes, tank size plays a big part in flow rate.

What is probably happening in the 8 vs 14 is the pumps that are in them are rated the same versus the tank. The 8 may have a 64gph (just a number) whereas the 14 may have a 160gph pump in it. The flowrate in the 14 would be higher turnover.

Personally, I think temperature is a bigger concern in the 8. The smaller the volume of water, the quicker it will fluctuate the temperature (less water to change the temperature of). It makes it easier to cool it to the temp you want but makes it harder to maintain the temperature accurately.

[Loverotties]

Welcome to TRT! A seahorse and a Mandarin is not a good Ideal.The Mandarin will eat all the food and the horse will die.Seahorses are VERY SLOW eaters.

[tiberus]

Originally Posted by Loverotties

Welcome to TRT! A seahorse and a Mandarin is not a good Ideal.The Mandarin will eat all the food and the horse will die.Seahorses are VERY SLOW eaters.

Yeah; I was somewhat uncertain about keeping the mandarinfish, but everything I've read about it, it seems like it is also a slow eater, but probably not as slow as a seahorse. I think my biggest concern with the small tank is that the mandarin wouldn't have enough naturally occurring food to survive. But I would kind of like to keep a fish in this tank as well, and with it being primarily for a seahorse, I thought a goby/blenny would be an ideal mate.

Water quality isn't really a big issue for me, as I currently test my 24gal. tank weekly, and have an excel spreadsheet built to keep track of trends and water changes. Also, with the tank being so small, water changes would really be quite simple: fill a quart measuring cup up a few times with tank water, and replace via the reverse method.

[YLChik]

The only seahorses reccomended to be kept in a tank that size would be dwarfs - and they require live food.

all other captive breed seahorses would require a much larger tank 30 gallon being a min. height of tank is thekey element you would need to look at for horses. as well as water temp. Keeping the tank at 74 or under depending what species you ended up with.

seahorse.org is a wonderful site if you want more info on pony keeping.... I HIHGLY encourage you to read a lot before undertaking seahorses. They are beautiful wonderful creatures, but have their own sets of rules in our glass boxes

[Siberman]

Not to discourage you but please read up here:

http://seahorse.org

before attempting ponies. The tank you have is acceptable for several dwarf or a few young / juvenile members of some of the larger species. I would recommend captive bred horses as they are more likely (except for the dwarf) to take frozen foods.

I wouldn't put a mandarin in this size tank even if it was one of the rare ones who do accept prepared foods.

If you're willing to raise all the live food cultures though, please disregard all the above.

[tiberus]

Well, after reading the posts here and doing some digging around on seahorse.org (very informative site; thanks for sharing), I've decided to wait a little. I somewhat jumped the gun on this without gathering enough info.

What I think I'll do is return the tank I purchased and use the 24gal Aquapod I have setup as a seahorse tank (not with current livestock, of course. My maroon clown would eat them alive). That way I am limited to dwarf seahorses and there is the possibility of keeping 2. I also think with a larger tank I wouldn't have worries about keeping a mandarin either. And as I'd be doing this after I moved the current stock in that tank to my 75 gal upon setting it up, all the live rock and sand would already be cultured.

I do appreciate the feedback and advice. When it comes time to setup my larger tank, I already have an idea of the fish I want in there, but I'm still trying to decide on corals, so I'll come back and solicite ideas for that, when the time comes. =D

[Seahorse Mommy]

I've never raised dwarfs. I have raised Kelloggi (sp?) Anyway, I started mine in a 10 gallon with an Aquaclear 110 and a sponge put over the intake. They are slow growers. Once they were at least three inches I moved them to a larger tank.

As for "flow". God made these creatures to survive (and quite well) in the open ocean. "Flow" isn't your problem. It's creating that flow in a small environment. To have flow you have vacuum. If the flow is high then your seahorse can get stuck . As long as your seahorse is strong enough to remove itself from the vacuum or intake then I wouldn't worry about it.

Just a hint though. They love to hunt. The do go "bugging" as I call it. Keep some chaeto in there for the buggies. Once you've got seahorses on frozen food I don't recommend offering live. As the song goes "Ain't nothing like the real thing baby..." Don't want them turning their little snouts up at your mysis.

I'd feed two to three times a day for babies.

If you want a long term home for them I'd buy a larger tank. If you think you'll use that 8 gal. later for something else then I'd say use it for raising your babies until they've grown some.

[tiberus]

Originally Posted by Seahorse Mommy

If you want a long term home for them I'd buy a larger tank. If you think you'll use that 8 gal. later for something else then I'd say use it for raising your babies until they've grown some.

That's the thing though; I can't think of what to keep in the 8gal (or where i'd set it up). I originally got it to keep it in the corner of my bedroom with seahorses. My 24gal. i have in my office and the 75 will get set up once i move out of my apartment and into a house later this year. But with keeping the seahorses in a larger tank (the 24), i'll move the 24 into my bedroom once i move, get a 40-45 for the office to keep some peaceful fish (flasher/fairy wrasse, brownbarred goby, swissguard basslet, etc.), and same plan for the 75.

[OneDummHikk]

tiberus, since you already have the tank, use it for babies and then keep it as a QT tank for the future.

[aquawolf]

I have also seen some very nice 8 gallon bio cube setups with many different zoanthids and some small, yet very colorful gobies in them. I have often thought about getting a tank like that just for the tiny gobies that stay 1 inch or less, as they would get lost or worse in my other systems.

Best of luck with whatever you deide to do.

[tiberus]

Couple good ideas; not sure what I'm going to do. I do know when I get a digital camera sometime soon I'll take pictures of my 24 to share so i can get some suggestions for improvements.

Thanks to all for the feedback and helping me not rush into a hastily planned scheme.