Anyone have seahorses ?

k.o.d

charlies_mum wrote: »

Is it possible to get an automatic feeder for marine fish so that they would be OK to leave for two weeks, or is keeping fish totally out if you need someone to feed them for you if you are away

We have left for 2.5 weeks and not even bothered feeding our stingrays and arowana as they will happily tolerate that length of time without food.
You can buy automatic feeders for timed doses of food, but sometimes they have been known to clog as the dried flakes get damp.
Would still consider a timer though and seahorses are still not an option.

Paparika

what about sea dragons, first time i saw then was on bbc1 life the other day, they look so beautiful and to me look similar to seahorses

http://wongablog.co.uk/2009/10/29/sea-dragons/

suki1964

Paparika wrote: »

what about sea dragons, first time i saw then was on bbc1 life the other day, they look so beautiful and to me look similar to seahorses

http://wongablog.co.uk/2009/10/29/sea-dragons/

They are a protected species and so can not be kept in captivity as they have not yet been successfully bred in captivity

They are also extremely delicate - more so then the seahorses so are not for aquariums

Paparika

ahhh didn't know that, but they do look cute

Whitewillow_2

suki1964 wrote: »

They are a protected species and so can not be kept in captivity as they have not yet been successfully bred in captivity

They are also extremely delicate - more so then the seahorses so are not for aquariums

You can keep them in captivity, but need a special license, with a minumum tank capacity (dont remember exact size but its massive). You also need a great deal of experience. So your every-day joe cannot keep them no.

OP we keep marines, and despite what many say here, if you get the right breed of seahorse they are not that hard to keep if you research them well. Tank bred are more hardy than wild caught, they are also cheaper, and are more tolerant to changes in water temp and also your water parameters. They do not need any special lighting unlike other marine creatures, they also are very submissive so are best kept alone in a pair.

They do need hand feeding live food approx 3-4 times a day, but if youre happy to do that then you can be sucessful. I am getting seahorses for xmas after a lot of research and keeping a marine tank for almost 12 months.

I am by no means an expert but please, if its something you would like to do, and are aware that they need work, they wont just be there to look pretty than i will be more than happy to give yo ulinks to some good websites, as well as breeders of tank bred seahorses, and comunities where you can learn what you need to in order to keep these beautiful creatures.
HTH

suki1964

"[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Conservation Status[/SIZE][/FONT]

The Leafy Sea Dragon is listed as a totally protected species by the Western Australia Department of Fisheries. The South Australian Fisheries Act 1982, Section 42 prohibits taking a protected species such as the Leafy Sea Dragon from Australian waters."

http://www.earlham.edu/~warreem/seadragons.htm

Whitewillow_2

You cant keep them as pets, thats what i meant by average joe, but there are sea dragons being kept in captivity, and being bred, and are in many aquariums over the world.

http://www.seahorse.com/index.php?Itemid=218&catid=2&func=view&id=1047&option=com_joomlaboard&view=flat

suki1964

Whitewillow wrote: »

You cant keep them as pets, thats what i meant by average joe, but there are sea dragons being kept in captivity, and being bred, and are in many aquariums over the world.

http://www.seahorse.com/index.php?Itemid=218&catid=2&func=view&id=1047&option=com_joomlaboard&view=flat

As this thread was asking how to keep sea horses at home in an aquarium and paprika suggested Sea dragons, your response to my post made it sound as if the OP could indeed keep sea dragons as a pet.


Sea dragons can not be kept as pets at home

As for captivity bred dragons, they still can not breed successfully hence the protected species status. The only ones bred in captivity are ones that come from wild males carrying eggs. Once the eggs are released the male is also released back to the wild. There are still no "second generation " captivity bred sea dragons

Whitewillow_2

suki1964 wrote: »

As this thread was asking how to keep sea horses at home in an aquarium and paprika suggested Sea dragons, your response to my post made it sound as if the OP could indeed keep sea dragons as a pet.


Sea dragons can not be kept as pets at home

As for captivity bred dragons, they still can not breed successfully hence the protected species status. The only ones bred in captivity are ones that come from wild males carrying eggs. Once the eggs are released the male is also released back to the wild. There are still no "second generation " captivity bred sea dragons

I didnt mean that they could be kept as pets no, maybe i should have made that clearer, I thought 'average joe' would suffice, sorry. Wasnt trying to say you were wrong at all, maybe I should have made it clearer, but i was just stating that they are being kept in capitivity, but need expert care due to how fragile they are.
Didnt mean to make it sound offensive, I apologise, im not here to stir at all, ill make sure im clearer in what i post next time!

suki1964

Whitewillow wrote: »

I didnt mean that they could be kept as pets no, maybe i should have made that clearer, I thought 'average joe' would suffice, sorry. Wasnt trying to say you were wrong at all, maybe I should have made it clearer, but i was just stating that they are being kept in capitivity, but need expert care due to how fragile they are.
Didnt mean to make it sound offensive, I apologise, im not here to stir at all, ill make sure im clearer in what i post next time!

I never took offence

Sure we all write posts where we think we are clear and then someone else reads it through mud :rotfl:


No harm done and we are now all clear that sea dragons dont make pets

xxxx