- Hi guys and girls!
I'm Reef Man, and today I wanted to talk about
the one kind of fish that I've always thought
that I'm going to set up a tank for
but I've never actually done it.
The Seahorses.
Seahorses are all members of the genus Hippocampus.
There are 45 different species,
but only a handful are kept in our aquariums.
One really nice thing about seahorses
is that they're available as captive-bred specimens.
There's no need to catch them from the wild
for our aquariums.
Seahorses can make a great animal to keep
in a species-specific tank.
They do well in groups.
They have interesting social interactions
and many species are widely available
as captive-bred specimens, as I've mentioned.
They are also really easy to breed,
unlike most aquarium fish.
As I mentioned, there are several species of seahorse
that are available from captive breeders.
For example, Seahorse Source in Florida
is a great source.
But beginners will have most luck with Hippocampus erectus,
as it's a large hardy species that's also easy to breed
if you would choose to do so.
Other good species to start with
are things like Hippocampus reidi
or Hippocampus comes.
They also make good seahorses to start with,
but you should remember to do research
on what you're actually buying before you buy it,
just like any fish that you would want.
Seahorses don't have scales.
Because of this, they're particularly susceptible
to damage from crabs,
other sharp or pointed objects in their tank.
Cuts and abrasions lead to infections,
which is never easy to treat in a reef tank.
Seahorses don't have stomachs like you or I do,
and so they need to be fed more than just once a day.
Like Antheas, they will appreciate
several small feedings throughout the day.
Thawed, frozen Mysis shrimp
is a great food source for seahorses.
They are also messy, picky eaters,
and this combined with the multiple feedings
that you'll have to do every day
is a recipe for poor water quality.
You'll need to target-feed your seahorses
so make sure you have a turkey baster
or rigid airline tubing or something like that
that you can use to do so.
Seahorses will do best away from busy,
high-traffic areas in your home.
They appreciate calm tanks with turbulent
but not overly strong flow,
because they're not super-good swimmers.
Be absolutely certain though,
that you protect any pumps that you use
in your seahorse tank as they can easily get stuck
to the pump input, or even worse,
they can get their tail cut off
when trying to hitch onto the grate around a pump.
You do need to have enough flow
for other plants or animals
that you want to keep in the tank,
and you should also have enough flow
to keep food suspended in the water
when you feed your seahorses.
At the very least, you need to set up the pumps
around the tank to prevent dead spots in the water
where food is going to gather and decompose.
The rule of thumb for tank size for seahorses
is about 30 gallons of water per pair of seahorses.
A 60 gallon cube would be perfect
for a small group of seahorses.
It meets the minimum size requirement,
and it also has a large surface area,
and that allows for lots of oxygen exchange
into the water.
Seahorses don't have traditional gills
like a tang or clown fish does.
Instead of being arranged in layers like in other fish,
their gills grow more like just a tuft.
And because of this, their gills are less efficient
at oxygen uptake, and therefore a small vertical tank
is not going to be well suited for them,
because of the lack of the surface area
unless you take extra precautions to ensure
the high level of dissolved oxygen that they require.
Common seahorses like Hippocampus erectus
will do best with water temperatures in the low 70s,
lower than most of our reef tanks will be.
This requirement is made easier
if you consider that seahorse tanks often don't need
a strong light source.
You only need a light sufficient for the other things
that you put into the tank.
Remember fish don't care about the light.
The lower temperatures provide two advantages.
One, it matches the wild environment of the animal,
which is super important,
and two, it discourages bacteria from growing
and slows the decomposition of uneaten food.
Remember you're feeding a lot and they're messy eaters.
Tanks can be aquascaped with live rock,
gorgonians, macroalgae and other soft corals.
Seahorses will particularly appreciate
algae and soft corals that are branching,
so that they can hitch amongst the branches.
If you've ever wanted to try a bare bottom tank,
a bare bottom tank with seahorses would be a great place
to try it out.
Macroalgae in the display
is particularly helpful for seahorse tanks,
because it both provides a hitching location
and also absorbs nutrients from leftover food as it grows.
You can also make use
of artificial decorations in your tank.
Things like plastic chains, artificial coral or plants
are much easier to take care of
and some seahorses can actually change color
to match the thing that they're hitching on
so that they blend in, which allows you to perhaps
coax your seahorses into being more colorful.
Some of the video that I've been showing
which was all recorded at The Aquarium of the Pacific
in Longbeach, California, shows a closely related animal,
the Seadragon.
Seadragons do not make good aquarium animals
for people like you and I, at least.
They are not available as captive-bred animals
and it is illegal to own or transport them in some cases
unless you're a zoo or aquarium,
because the wild population is endangered
for some species.
They are also much harder to maintain
because they require a much lower water temperature
and for that reason, you should really enjoy them
in a public aquarium, like the Aquarium of the Pacific,
rather than attempting them yourself at home.
That's it this week, folks.
I hope you enjoyed learning about seahorses.
I found it really interesting to research this video
and of course, it's always fun to visit a public aquarium.
Thanks for watching!
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Give me a thumbs down if you didn't.
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Bye!