Thanks Billy
Yes I'm a seahorse geek. I have just one at home right now, he's 4 1/2 months old, I adopted him at birth LOL!
First off, seahorses have their own set of needs and issues, but even in the last 12 months or so the choices in captive raised horses here in the US have expanded, and most if not all are already eating prepared foods so that's half the battle. You can get H. kuda, H. barbouri, H. procerus (newly discovered species). Your LFS should be able to get these in for you through some of the major wholesalers -- PM me if you need more info on this for your LFS.
Seahorse.org is an awesome source of info. There are some good books out there too, I've got a couple on my Christmas list too, Rudy Kuiter's book and Tracy Warland's books are the ones I want. I've got Peter Giwojna's book, it's out of print but I found mine on eBay and Seahorses: Conservation and Care by Neil Garrick-Maidment is still in print. Both are a bit "dated" but have a lot of useful information. Neil still swears by undergravel filters -- but ya know...There's a really good one by Frank Indiviglio simply called "Seahorses", it's inexpensive (under $10) and has lots of good "general saltwater aquarium" info as well as specific info about seahorses.
I have 2 types of setups I use for the greater horses: I have a 37 Oceanic at home, reef-ready with 10 g sump refugium. At the shop I have an All-Glass 20 X-High I believe it's 20 x 24 x 12, fits the footprint of a standard 10 g but twice the height -- horses like a tall tank versus a long tank, especially if you want them to breed, they need the up and down space to court and display, as well as to mate. I filter it with an Eclipse system and a Prizm skimmer. I've also got a powerhead in there for a bit more flow (yes, surprisingly they like current)... I keep the current faster at the top of the tank so they can "play" and quieter at the bottom so they can hitch and rest. That seems to work well. I have been known to shut off powerheads at the top of the tank when the fish are doing their breeding dance, as they tend to get blown off course :funny: Then I fire it up again when the male lights his cigarette afterwards! :dance:
If you wish to keep dwarf seahorses, they are both easier and harder to keep -- easier because you need a smaller tank -- a 6 gallon eclipse could easily house 12-20 of them or more. They seem to do better in herds of 6 or more, especially if you want them to breed. I've lost fry to bristleworms though, this is about the only instance where I'll recommend no LR or bristleworms in a system because I literally watched a worm come and snatch a baby right off its perch.
They are easy in that they reproduce like rabbits, and the babies can be kept in with the parents. The hard part is that they eat baby brine nauplii so you have to keep brine hatching constantly. If you're willing to do that, the dwarves are a cute option. As far as I know only wild-caught dwarves are available commercially but I would think you might be able to find a hobbyist with a surplus of babies if he/she has a successful herd of dwarves. (H. zostrae).
Hope this is helpful, drop me an email or a PM if you would like more info.
Seahorse addict,
Jenn
