March 15, 2009
What kind of aquarium do you need for sea horses?
Can you answer Tahini Raving Weirdo's question about aquariums?:
I just love those little fellas, they are my favorite, aquatic creature. Has anyone here tried keeping them in an aquarium? What's that like? Do they do well in captivity?
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Comments on What kind of aquarium do you need for sea horses? »
a well established saltwater tank of or more than 30 gallons
alot of people TRY and keep them and a few do quite well, they are rather hard to feed, and sometimes hard to get off live food. they are very meticulous feeders and are easily out competed for foodby more bold tankmates
A marine (saltwater) aquarium.
salt water tank and little water movement
The tank setup you will need will depend on the variety of seahorse you get. Some do best in as small as 3-5 gallons while others need larger depending on their size. You don't want too large, as it can become difficult for them to find food (although you can always spot-feed with a baster). A larger tank is easier to maintain their water quality, but it can be more difficult to see small seahorses in an oversized tank.
They aren't the easiest of animals to keep, particularly if you've never had a marine tank before. I would suggest starting with other marine fish to get about a year's experience before you try seahorses. And the seahorses will do better if kept in a species tank with just other seahorse (or pipefish) and slower-moving invertebrates (snails, hermit crabs) as faster animals tend to get to food before the seahorse do.
How well they do in captivity is a function of the source (captive bred have a much higher survival rate than wild caught, and the captive bred are typically already trained to accept frozen, rather than live foods - the pygmy seahorse is the exception here, you would need to maintain a supply of live brine shrimp which you enrich by feeding them a special food before feeding them to the seahorses).
Definitely do some research on these before you try to keep them. Some websites that can assist you:
And please buy captive bred seahorses from a reputable dealer if you decide to try them.
They are not for the novice keeper and they require a specialized environment to thrive in captivity. Rarely do they do well in a home marine aquarium. 20 gallons per seahorse is the absolute minimum for a pair of seahorses. 40 gallons per pair of the really large ones.
this is a good article of keeping sea horses.
I wouldn't do it. They are so cute and when they die due to wrong handling you will be mad about yourself. Find something else.
Franky