Seahorses in a reef tank

[Rambo]

Would seahorses be compatible with a reef tank?

[Toni]

"Rambo" > wrote in message
...
> Would seahorses be compatible with a reef tank?



Nope.
Seahorses enjoy calm water while a reef tank needs serious circulation.
Also I believe many of the reef inhabitants would chomp/sting the horses.
Probably other reasons as well- temps??

Seahorses need a dedicated aquarium IMO.


--
Toni
http://www.cearbhaill.com/reef.htm

[John B]

They are reef compatable -- BUT most seahorses like low current environments
conflicting with reef inhabitants liking strong currents..

I'm checking out www.seahorse.org to see what else I can find.

As for compatibility with other fish, seahorses are likely to get "spooked"
so to say by the other fish. Most fish will leave the horses alone, but the
horse doesn't know this and gets frightened, of course leading to stress, so
on and so forth.

But anyways, have a look at www.seahorse.org I've been here for about an
hour now. Great site!

hth
John

"Rambo" > wrote in message
...
> Would seahorses be compatible with a reef tank?

[Phil O'Connor]

Everything I've heard about seahorses indicates they cant be kept with other
fish at all because they cant compete for food. They move way too slow, and
will starve.

John B wrote:

> They are reef compatable -- BUT most seahorses like low current environments
> conflicting with reef inhabitants liking strong currents..
>
> I'm checking out www.seahorse.org to see what else I can find.
>
> As for compatibility with other fish, seahorses are likely to get "spooked"
> so to say by the other fish. Most fish will leave the horses alone, but the
> horse doesn't know this and gets frightened, of course leading to stress, so
> on and so forth.
>
> But anyways, have a look at www.seahorse.org I've been here for about an
> hour now. Great site!
>
> hth
> John
>
> "Rambo" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Would seahorses be compatible with a reef tank?

[Dragon Slayer]

not to mention the fish will out compete the horses for food and they will
likely starve very quickly.

kc

"John B" > wrote in message
...
> They are reef compatable -- BUT most seahorses like low current
environments
> conflicting with reef inhabitants liking strong currents..
>
> I'm checking out www.seahorse.org to see what else I can find.
>
> As for compatibility with other fish, seahorses are likely to get
"spooked"
> so to say by the other fish. Most fish will leave the horses alone, but
the
> horse doesn't know this and gets frightened, of course leading to stress,
so
> on and so forth.
>
> But anyways, have a look at www.seahorse.org I've been here for about an
> hour now. Great site!
>
> hth
> John
>
> "Rambo" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Would seahorses be compatible with a reef tank?
>
>

[Acrylics]

The refugium however, would be an excellent place for them IMO. The amount of
available plankton, low current, and plantlife would make an ideal home IMHO.
The problem is that the seahorses will eat much of the zooplankton in the
refugium thereby semi-defeating part of the reason for having it in the first
place. You'd still get much of the nutrient export though.

James

[B]

tank raised Seahores are trained to eat frozen Mysis shrimp
as soon as they are large enough to do so. see :
www.oceanrider.com for tank raised Seahorses there are
some others
I agree put them in the refugium if yours is slow flowing or
a species tank...


"Rambo" > wrote in message
...
> Would seahorses be compatible with a reef tank?

[JCBlueEyes]

> Would seahorses be compatible with a
> reef tank?

Yes but with a qualifier. It all depends on what the other inhabitants are.
Seahorses are found on reefs and can handle strong currents fine, and can find
calmer areas if needed. Most reef tanks do not have strong currents everywhere.

Fish spooking seahorses?? Mmm ... how do they handle all those fish in the
wild?? ;-)

Yes more active fish can outcompete them for food but it all depends how many
fish you have and how much you feed. It is a simple matter to train your
seahorse to feed in a specific spot in the aquarium and to feed them using
tweezers if necessary.

Being stung by corals or anemones is a real problem and one needs to make sure
you do not keep the seahorses in tanks with strongly stinging animals,
especially if the tank is small.

The other problem comes when the seahorses clasp on to corals, fanworm tubes,
etc ... this can cause the corals to remain closed.

Also the Seahorse.org site is very informative.

From FAMA 2001 #24.

There has been a lot of interest lately in keeping seahorses in reef aquaria.
Although it is possible to do so, there are some things that need to be taken
into consideration before doing so. Most reef tanks that house corals also have
a great deal of water movement. When combined with overflows, it is not
uncommon for seahorses to be trapped against, or even go over, them. Powerheads
are also often used and can be death traps for seahorses if the intakes are not
properly screened off. To keep seahorses in reef tanks one really must foresee
all the possible ways that they could be injured and to take precautions
against this happening.

Many corals are powerful stingers, but these belong mainly to the stony coral
families. Most soft corals and gorgonians have very little stinging ability and
will not harm seahorses. However, since seahorses can grasp onto these corals
with their tails they can cause the coral to retract its polyps. This can be a
problem if the coral relies on its polyps to capture light to provide the
energy it requires to survive. Fortunately in most cases, the coral will
habituate to the constant irritation caused by the seahorse and will not
retract its polyps as frequently as in the beginning. The observant aquarist
should keep an eye on their soft corals and gorgonians to insure that they are
not remaining closed for long periods of time.

In the case of stony corals there are two main groupings to be considered. The
small polyped stony (SPS) corals consist of genera that have small polyps that
extend out of very small openings in the skeleton. These would include genera
such as Acropora, Montipora, Pocillipora, Porities, Seriatopora and Stylophora.
These SPS corals are generally considered to be weak stingers and should not
irritate seahorses very much. However, the same precaution I mentioned for soft
corals also applies to SPS corals. The second major grouping is the large
polyped stony (LPS) corals. These include genera such as Catalaphyllia,
Cynarina, Euphyllia, Plerogyra and Trachyphyllia that have large fleshy polyps,
often with tentacles that can have powerful stinging cells. Of these Euphyllia
and Catalaphyllia spp. are the strongest stingers, and any seahorses placed
into tanks with these corals should be carefully observed.

Despite what many people think, seahorses are quite effective swimmers and can
hold their own in strong currents. However, in the confines of an aquarium, it
is not impossible for them to come into contact with stinging corals if
suddenly caught in a very strong current. The aquarist needs to take this into
consideration when placing water returns and corals in the aquarium. People
have been keeping fish with corals for several years now and the instances
where fish have been taken by corals are few and far between, but it does
happen occasionally. Seahorses, like any other fish, have a natural ability to
avoid most powerful stinging corals, and the slightest touch is enough to
reinforce this natural avoidance behaviour.

Other invertebrates that seahorses should do well with include zoanthids,
corallimorpharians (mushroom anemones), sponges, sea cucumbers, shrimp and the
smaller detritus or algae feeding snails, worms and crabs. One notable
exception is the elephant ear mushroom anemone (Amplexidiscus fenestrafer).
This animal is an active feeder on small fish and will envelope them whole
within its mantle then slowly digest them by extruding its digestive filaments
into the space created. No small fish are safe with these animals in the tank.