Anyone have seahorses ?

k.o.d

Whitewillow wrote: »

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

Glad you keep marines, what actually do you have in your tank?
There is a huge difference between reading up and doing your homework and successfully keeping the fish you have read about, you should do your homework about every species of animal you keep.

~Chameleon~

charlies_mum wrote: »

I would love to keep seahorses, but would appreciate some advice regarding them. We don't currently have any fish, but have kept tropical fish in the past.

Does anyone have them ?

You would need to be prepared to also breed and raise baby brine shrimp with which to feed them. This isn't an easy task either and we used to have to make regular trips to Anglesey to harvest fresh brine shrimp for breeding purposes.

Seahorses are highly specialised species and should not be undertaken lightly or by novice and hobbyist aquarists.

Please leave it to the pros

PS read this before even contemplating anything else ...

http://www.glaucus.org.uk/Mysids1.htm

charlies_mum

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

Please leave it to the pros

I have already said that I won't be getting any seahorses. From the information kindly supplied in this thread, it is clear that I don't have the time or experience.

~Chameleon~

charlies_mum wrote: »

I have already said that I won't be getting any seahorses. From the information kindly supplied in this thread, it is clear that I don't have the time or experience.

Oh I'm sorry, I must have missed that. The last post I noticed was enquiring about automatic feeders when you go on holiday

Well, the information I gave still stands to anyone else considering keeping them should they come across this thread in the future

I'm pleased you have made such a sensible decision :T

charlies_mum

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

Oh I'm sorry, I must have missed that. The last post I noticed was enquiring about automatic feeders when you go on holiday

I did ask whether I could use an automatic feeder for tropical / marine fish, but if this wasn't possible, then I would have to discount keeping any kind of fish as we don't have anyone who could feed them for us when we are on holiday.

charlies_mum

k.o.d

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.
QUOTE]

I am so envious, I would like stingray even more than seahorses, but can't even imagine how big your tank is :eek:

k.o.d

Lots of automatic feeders available, just depends on your budget

k.o.d

charlies_mum wrote: »

k.o.d

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.
QUOTE]

I am so envious, I would like stingray even more than seahorses, but can't even imagine how big your tank is :eek:

Its big The stingrays are freshwater species, not the marine ones, they are just as difficult to keep as seahorses

charlies_mum

k.o.d wrote: »

charlies_mum wrote: »

k.o.d


Its big The stingrays are freshwater species, not the marine ones, they are just as difficult to keep as seahorses

Think I had better stick to goldfish, I seem to love all the really hard to keep ones. Do you have any photos of your tank ?

Gingham_Ribbon

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

I agree that seahorses are for very experienced fishkeepers.

Yes, you can get automatic feeders for when you're on holiday but most fish need regular water changes and a fortnight without them will kill many delicate species.

However, some will manage fine for 2 weeks as long as you do a large water change when you get back and watch the quality of your water. For example, zebra danios are very hardy, pretty, lively fish or white cloud mountain minnows or guppies.

Another option, if you only have room for a smaller tank, is a betta splendens. They're stunning, fairly hardy and interesting. You can't keep more than one male in a tank though or they'll kill each other.



If you'd like to keep fish , have a look here:

http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/277264-beginners-resource-center/

These threads will take you through how to prepare your filter so the water is safe for the fish and the bacteria in it can cope with the ammonia the fish produce.

I recommend getting a good test kit to test for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Depending on what fish you want to keep, it's a good idea to find out what the pH, GH and KH of your local water is as some fish need hard, alkaline water and others need soft, acidic water to do well. Your local fish shop would probably test it for free for you.

It's a great hobby. I love it.