# Sea horses



## Yannick (Apr 26, 2013)

HI
I am looking on getting a sea horse(s) from the pet store I have got a 40 liter tank is that ok and do they need special water treatments and conditions and are they impossible to take care off also are they compatible with shrimp like a white striped cleaner shrimp or not??
Any advice would be fab

cheers

yann


----------



## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

They can be housed with shrimp and very calm fish(mandarins).You're best off getting capative bred or at least tank raised as they will usaully eat mysis shrimp.If they are wild caught then feeding can be an issue leading to their death.Pipe fish also do well with them,but no other fast moving fish should be kept with them.
They are LAZY and need to have time to get their food,The smaller the tank the better(your about perfect size) as they will not always actively hunt for food.Having a good stock of pods already present in tank will be helpful.


----------



## Yannick (Apr 26, 2013)

Hi

Would a Rena Nexx filter be good for the tank alone with live rock and is a protein skimmer neededor will the nexx do a good job for a 40 liter
Any advice would be alsome


----------



## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Seahorses prefer very slow(little )current.A protien skimmer is not necessary as long as you change water to control nutrients.
You can have NO bubbles in water as this may cause gas problems with horses.
The live rock is a good idea as it will be the best filter of your tanks water and possibly help with stocking pods.
Next you'll need some sort of "hitching post" for them to wrap their tales on and hang out.I used plastic sticks(made by penn plax along time ago),but long stemmed plastic plants may work well or dead coral that has branches.
Make sure you see them eat before you purchase ,since this truly is the biggest issue with horses.
What kind of horses does the pet store have(kuba,erectus..)?


----------



## Yannick (Apr 26, 2013)

Thanks that is a big help
Not sure what breed the sea horse is all i know is it is black.
What filter o you have in your tank???


----------



## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

I run sumps(wet dry) but kept my horses in a 29g with less than 250 gph.Mine lasted just over a year and then got some form of bacteria or gas infection.They were pretty cool,but seriously lazy and not the most active things to watch.The cleaner shrimp are good tankmates for them.
I got captive bred erectus(the largest horse) and fed them mysis shrimp which they readily ate.I also supplemented the frozen shrimp weekly with SELCON a HUFA vitamin enrichment for saltwater fish and such.The selcon is good stuff.


----------



## rtmaston (Jul 14, 2012)

sea horses are very nice. i think you will really enjoy thems


----------



## roafamily (Jul 30, 2012)

sea horses are nice but they need to be hand fed (tube), well at least mines did, he also needed a small tree to "lasso" themselves too. they are COOL!


----------

