URGENT:Need help with JBJ Nano tomorrow in Arvada then back to Fort Collins (Laporte)
- Thread starter emilyolivia
- Start date
How old is she? I think a teenage could easily do it if they have time to commit to the feedings and extra water changes a seahorse tank will need. They need to be feed a minimum of twice a day. If you train them to eat from a feeder, and they are very smart you can teach them if you take the time, it is very simple.
But theses are not fish to be left to fend for themselves! They require commitment, and she has to be able to do those things. Making sure you take care of them should come first, not stuff like shopping at the mall with friends.
But theses are not fish to be left to fend for themselves! They require commitment, and she has to be able to do those things. Making sure you take care of them should come first, not stuff like shopping at the mall with friends.
She's 8 i believe is what she told me today...
Take it from experience, seahorses wont do very well in that tank. I used to raise seashorses (Dwarf, Reidi, and Erectus and dabbled in Barbouri...) and the most success i had was with 55 gallon or larger tanks. Seahorses are social animals and like to be in groups. They will get easily depressed if you have just one or a few and one doesnt get along with another. And when they get depressed they will starve themselves to death... I've had horses that will come right up to my hand and eat frozen food right off my finger, but i've also had horses that wont eat anything but live brine shrimp and mysis shrimp and the occasional snack or cyclopedes. You cant keep any live coral with them as the coral can sting them. I actually had an acan frag that killed a Reidi on me once... It can be very hard and expensive to keep horses. I would steer clear of seahorses at the moment.
If you really want to do seahorses i would set-up a 10 gallon tank and raise a few dwarf seahorses, but once again these guys are very time consuming!!! You have to feed them live baby brine shrimp, which means you have to hatch a new batch every 2-3 days... And that can take up a good amount of space. And they need to be spot feed about 4-5 times a day. But they are much cheaper than a Reidi, Erectus or Barbouri. A reidi usally runs about $80 each, and an Erectus runs about $50 each, and a Barbouri runs about $70 each (or did when i was into them).... But you can pickup 6 dwarf seahorses for about $30-40 plus shipping.
Thats my .02 worth of advice on seahorses...
As far as suggestions on what to stock the tank wth, i would add some plants like caulerpa, sea brushes, macro algea, maybe a Gorgonian (like the blueberry gorgonian in my avatar), etc. And i would stock it with a Mandarin Goby a few cardinal fish, and maybe a small puffer. then i would maybe add a black and white clown fish and a small rose bubble tip annemone. As far as shrimp and snails i would add a peppermint shrimp, and a good healthy dose of blue and red hermits, and quite a few various snails. And i would add some bright and colorful acan frags!
Thats just my opinion on an ideal 28 gallon cube like your. We all have different visions and tastes so if i were you i would only do something that you really want after all your the one that has to look at the tank on a daily basis! Good luck and keep us posted on what you decide to add to the new tank!
Take it from experience, seahorses wont do very well in that tank. I used to raise seashorses (Dwarf, Reidi, and Erectus and dabbled in Barbouri...) and the most success i had was with 55 gallon or larger tanks. Seahorses are social animals and like to be in groups. They will get easily depressed if you have just one or a few and one doesnt get along with another. And when they get depressed they will starve themselves to death... I've had horses that will come right up to my hand and eat frozen food right off my finger, but i've also had horses that wont eat anything but live brine shrimp and mysis shrimp and the occasional snack or cyclopedes. You cant keep any live coral with them as the coral can sting them. I actually had an acan frag that killed a Reidi on me once... It can be very hard and expensive to keep horses. I would steer clear of seahorses at the moment.
If you really want to do seahorses i would set-up a 10 gallon tank and raise a few dwarf seahorses, but once again these guys are very time consuming!!! You have to feed them live baby brine shrimp, which means you have to hatch a new batch every 2-3 days... And that can take up a good amount of space. And they need to be spot feed about 4-5 times a day. But they are much cheaper than a Reidi, Erectus or Barbouri. A reidi usally runs about $80 each, and an Erectus runs about $50 each, and a Barbouri runs about $70 each (or did when i was into them).... But you can pickup 6 dwarf seahorses for about $30-40 plus shipping.
Thats my .02 worth of advice on seahorses...
As far as suggestions on what to stock the tank wth, i would add some plants like caulerpa, sea brushes, macro algea, maybe a Gorgonian (like the blueberry gorgonian in my avatar), etc. And i would stock it with a Mandarin Goby a few cardinal fish, and maybe a small puffer. then i would maybe add a black and white clown fish and a small rose bubble tip annemone. As far as shrimp and snails i would add a peppermint shrimp, and a good healthy dose of blue and red hermits, and quite a few various snails. And i would add some bright and colorful acan frags!
Thats just my opinion on an ideal 28 gallon cube like your. We all have different visions and tastes so if i were you i would only do something that you really want after all your the one that has to look at the tank on a daily basis! Good luck and keep us posted on what you decide to add to the new tank!
Ya, i wouldnt recommend an 8 year old have seahorses. Stick with prolawn-cares advice at the end.
And i do agree with much of what you said about the seahorses, but i would never recommend dwarf seahorses to them. Just because they are cheap to buy means their lives are cheap. Many people cant keep a dwarf alive longer than 3 months because of their feeding requirements. They cant be fed just bbs, they need to be feed enrich adult shrimp at least once a day because the bbs are lacking many nutrients for long time care. Most people dont have the time for their proper care.
Also, have you had success keeping the blueberry long term? I would love to get one but havent because everything i have read has given them a terrible survival record in captivity.
And i do agree with much of what you said about the seahorses, but i would never recommend dwarf seahorses to them. Just because they are cheap to buy means their lives are cheap. Many people cant keep a dwarf alive longer than 3 months because of their feeding requirements. They cant be fed just bbs, they need to be feed enrich adult shrimp at least once a day because the bbs are lacking many nutrients for long time care. Most people dont have the time for their proper care.
Also, have you had success keeping the blueberry long term? I would love to get one but havent because everything i have read has given them a terrible survival record in captivity.
I agree, dwarf seahorses are very time consuming, and hard to feed, but i had a system down when i had them and my longest living dwarf was about 2 years old. At one point i had 128 of them, and they breed like guppies! But feeding is the hardest by far on the dwarfs. I feed them live copeods as well, but those got expensive fast... Like i said i would avoid seahorses all together unless you have the time, dedication, and a good reliable back up plan if your food sources crash or are for some reason not available.
As far as the blueberry, their are very touchy... I have mine in it's own corner of the tank, but it does well. I bought it from a fish store that had it in their display tank (and i paid a pretty penny for it) but it is an AWESOME specimen! I have had it for about 4 years now. I bought 2 more since then from 2 different online suppliers and neither one have made it longer than 3 or 4 months... I think i just got lucky with this one and it was already acclimated to a normal tank and not ripped out of the deep dark ocean in 78 degree water with a PH of about 8 and thrown in a tank within a few days with a temp of about 82 degrees, ph of 8.4, a bright metal hallide light set-up... Just saying if i were to ever buy one again, it would have to be captive raised and established in that tank for months. But i love it!!!
As far as the blueberry, their are very touchy... I have mine in it's own corner of the tank, but it does well. I bought it from a fish store that had it in their display tank (and i paid a pretty penny for it) but it is an AWESOME specimen! I have had it for about 4 years now. I bought 2 more since then from 2 different online suppliers and neither one have made it longer than 3 or 4 months... I think i just got lucky with this one and it was already acclimated to a normal tank and not ripped out of the deep dark ocean in 78 degree water with a PH of about 8 and thrown in a tank within a few days with a temp of about 82 degrees, ph of 8.4, a bright metal hallide light set-up... Just saying if i were to ever buy one again, it would have to be captive raised and established in that tank for months. But i love it!!!