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CARE AND ENVIRONMENT
While this may be true for some fish, for others it is not. And it is a fish to fish basis upon which we have found this. We can cycle a tank with some of our fish, while with others, we wouldn't want to think about letting any of the water perameters get out of control at all.
Of course, you should actually probably just follow the rule of thumb that you use for any of your fish (and yourself for that matter) - just keep their environment clean and you shouldn't have very many problems with them.
They have been kept at a wide range of temperatures, specific gravities, and in a wide range of environments - everything from a huge reef complete with rock, to a mostly bare tank with a few plants and a bare bottom.
Regardless of how you keep
your fish, it is recommended that you keep them in an environment that
keeps them happy, that is easy for you to maintain, and that is clean.
This will make your life easy, and your fish happy.
The tank for your seahorses can range anywhere from the simplest to the extreme. A simple setup consists of artificial hold fasts and a sponge or power filter with no substrate on the bottom. This design adds for easier tank maintenance and cleaning however isn't that appealing to the eye. The next step up would be something more along the lines of an undergravel filter.
Seahorses are fun and exciting to keep. They are very graceful and one of the most beautiful creatures of the sea. The Pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus Zostrae) are one of the smallest of all Seahorse Species, measuring at adulthood from 1 1/2 - 2 inches long. The Pygmy Seahorses are also, one of the easiest species to care for and can survive on a diet of newly hatched and adult Brine shrimp, enrichment of vitamins is recommended.
Companions: Companions for
the Pygmy are generally avoided as they are
easily out competed for food.
However, Tiny hermit type crabs, horseshoe
crabs and shrimp can be safely
kept with them. Snails on the other hand are
great with seahorses and helpful
for Algae control.
Housing: Seahorses spend most
of their day hitched to plants so they will
need plastic plants such as
seagrass or live Marine plants such as Caulerpa
to hold on to. Pygmies do
best in smaller tanks. You can happily house them
in anything from a fishbowl
with filtration all the way up to a 10 gal. The
use of the 10 gal is not recommended
for beginners due to feeding
concentrations. Newly hatched
Brine are very small !! The larger the tank
the more spread out the brine
are which makes it difficult for the pygmies
especially the babies to catch.
I find a 2 or a 5 gal to be the best size
and food concentration is
easier. A 2 gal tank can easily hold 5 pair
including any babies they
may have.
Substrate: I like crushed shell
over some crushed coral.Shell is softer
but, I feel that coral is
beneficial to water to, so that is why I use a thin
layer of coral and top it
off with mainly the shell. You may also use rock
fitted for salt water use.Try
to avoid live rock and sand as it may contain
critters that are unfriendly
for Pygmy's and sand may irritate gills and
get accidently sucked up while
the horses eat.
Filtration: Just like any tank
you need a filter. An underground or a
sponge filter is best. I do
not recommend bio wheel filters as they are strong and
will suck up the food and
fry. Seahorses do not like strong currents. Simple
is best.
Feeding: Feed your seahorses
daily with live Brine. You can hatch your own
in a small clear separate
container in salt water. (I use a juice container
with the spout and sprinkle
some eggs into it. A cut off 2 L pepsi bottle
works great as well.If you
need larger quantities of brine) A little goes a
long way. Just for example
here, one end of a flat toothpick will hatch
hundreds of brine! You can
also buy or raise adult brine however, they seem
to enjoy the smaller ones
most of all. Brine takes about 18-32 hours to hatch. You will see shells
floating to the top of the water and the eggs will fall to the bottom (
this is where it is great with the spout however alot more brine is needed
for this system to be efficient). These are not digestible by seahorses,
only the live brine are. You can collect the brine with a turkey baster
or oral syringe and just squirt into the tank. You can also run the brine
through a brine shrimp net and enrich
with vitamins. This is recommended
as the brine do not contain enough fatty
acids and nourishment. I typically
feed several times a day as brine get
depleted. However 1 or 2 feedings
a day is all that is needed. Do not over
feed, as the brine die off
they can pollute your water with deadly ammonia.
If you will be away for a
few days you can use a flat ended tooth pick and
measure some eggs into their
tank. 1 measure is all you need for a few
horses. Although you can feed
solely this way I do not recommend this as
shells and eggs are not consumed
by the seahorses so they just collect and
can dirty up your tank and
they are a pain to clean. I learned this the
hard way. For adult Brine
Try this: take any size clean container fill with salt
water keep outside under a
covered area and drop some eggs in. 4 weeks later
presto you have adult brine.
No need to feed them as the pollen and fallen leaves and algae will feed
them however, you can throw a few pieces of flake food in there. Do not
do water changes on the brine as it seems to kill them off. but, add
fresh water as needed to maintain
proper salinity.
Tank care: As with any tank
whether fresh or salt water. Monthly water
changes are essential. This
is because debris and waste get collected and
accumulate over a period of
time creating an increase in nitrates which may
harm any fish thus a 10-25%
monthly water change must be done. I do them
weekly but, I have a higher
concentration of seahorses and tend to feed
alot.I recommend bottled water
or R/O for water changes and to mix your
salt water 24 hours prior
to water change. I use Instant Ocean and although they
say you can use this mixture
right away I feel that mixing ahead of time
allows for better oxygenation
and settlement of essential trace minerals. I
have also heard freshly mixed
synthetic salt water contains a small amount
of ammonia. For this reason
I usually keep a couple gallons of premixed
salt water which I also use
for hatching my brine. On top of monthly water
changes, fresh water needs
to be replaced as evaporation occurs. To watch
this I mark my tank at the
top of the water line with a grease pencil or eyeliner and as water evaporates
I add in fresh water.( Do not use water straight from your tap) Salt does
NOT evaporate so do not add extra salt. I usually keep my
specific gravity at about
1.19 and basically the ratio of 1/2 cup of synthetic sea
salt to one full gallon of
water will meet this standard. You will most likely have to use a little
less then a gallon of water to accommodate jug space so a little less then
a half cup is better. Really, don't get alarmed by this, it is not difficult
and a little more or less will not affect these hardly little guys and
gals. Took me a little while to figure this out myself but, then again
I did not have the luxury of a little booklet. You can purchase a hydrometer
which is essential in proper salt water
maintanence.This will measure
the correct SG/salinity
Breeding: Breeding is very
common with pygmies, Just get a couple pair and
watch them court. They typically
will only breed in groups of at least 4
but not always the rule. I
recommend using trace elements, although not
necessary and supplied in
good synthetic sea salt they seem to be happier
with trace elements. I use
sealab# 28, 1/2 LB jar in small blocks. One pack
will last a VERY long time.
I get it from www.petwhse.com.However again
this is not necessary and
if you use trace elements you can get it at most
Marine fish stores.
Courting: Courting rituals
are very fascinating indeed !! It begins by the
male approaching the female
and turning a very light color (Seahorses will
often change outfits many
times to match their environment or favorite
plant. I have seen them go
from a dark brown to a pale yellow or white to a
peagreen and very light pink
!) He will then start to shake and rise his
head over her's as she will
return his courting by doing the same. Courting
may take from a few hours
to several days. You will notice at this time the
pouch of the male will balloon
up and fill with water.YES !! The males get
pregnant. Mamma will usually
look plump as she prepares her eggs for the
male. It only takes a female
a few hours to do this and you will notice the
happy couple hold tails and
dance their way to the top of the tank and down
a few times. She will then
deposit her eggs into the pouch of the male.
Gestation is typically from
10-14 days, although I had a male wait 16 days!
Fry are born alive and are
totally independent at birth. Normal birth rate
is from 3-30. Fry success
rate is 90% or more depending on water quality and good care and plenty
of food. Just like with any fish fry. The male will be ready to mate again
in 3- 4 days. It is recommended during breeding to carefully monitor bubbles
from the filter as they can enter into the male pouch and cause complications.
I usually face the bubbles towards the glass or just don't run the filter
during this time.
Seahorse Fry Care. If you have
pygmies you will most likely have babies.
When they are born they are
a very tiny exact miniature of their parents
and are totally independent
and will eat right away. Most will hitch right away
and some will seem to hang
down at the gravel. You can keep them in the
same tank with the parents
or move them to there own separate tank where
competition for food is less.
Provide them with plenty of newly hatched brine less then 18 hours old
for the first few days. With proper care you can enjoy them and watch them
have babies as well. Maturation for them is 3 months old.
Caution:
Avoid sudden temperature changes.
Do not keep your tank near the window or heat source. Do not use soap or
other detergents remember what is on your hand as well, If needed, highly
diluted bleach to clean supplies can be safely used but, must be rinsed
off thoroughly until there is no odor of bleach. Do not use beach sand
and avoid colored gravel Do not use metal objects in tank as salt corrodes
metals leaving behind toxins.
Please feel free to contact Alisa at seawhorse@mail.com