My Dwarf Seahorses!

[esquirette2007]

When are you getting your horses?

Hi Willie, Thanks again for the great info. I live in the San Jose area of California, so temps are rarely an extreme, so I bet my heater won't come on much, either. I'm going to keep them in my bedroom where I have an air conditioner if the summer gets too hot. If it turns out I don't need a heater afterall, yay! More room in the tank.

I want to cycle the tank for a few weeks before I get any. Why, you want to part with some of those fry?

Karen

 

[Ron]

If I have a couple niced sized healthy ones by the time your done cycling, I'd have no problem sending you some.

 

[Barb82]

They are so cute

Why are they prohibited in the UK?

 

[lilfishie]

they are so adorable never knew there was a dwarf species of sea horse

 

[esquirette2007]

That'd be great, Willie!

My live rock & macroalgae & a clam and a nassarius snail arrive Thursday morning. I'll treat everything with Panacur (fenbendazole), then see how everything cycles & settles in.

I got the saltwater in the tank & the sponge filter set up & the heater yesterday. Even when the heater is on, it is not hot to the touch, so I'm not going to worry about the heater.

I'll let you know when I'm ready for some ponies & see if you've got any ready to travel to California. I'm happy to pay for them, of course.

Cheers!

Karen

 

[esquirette2007]

They are so cute

Why are they prohibited in the UK?

Hi Barb82 & everyone,

Actually, all seahorses are not prohibited in the UK. The UK & many other countries, including the US, have joined the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). These countries have agreed to only allow import or export of animal, plants, etc., including seahorses, from an importer/exporter/breeder who has a CITES certificate. You can learn more about it here: http/www.cites.org/

Here's the US government page regarding seahorse exports:

http/www.fws.gov/le/PubBulletins/PBSeaho...ropicalFish.htm

Cheers!

Karen

 

[Ron]

Yep, Barb, because some species of seahorse (such as the dwarf), are found only in the US's waters, conservation groups want to prevent the horrible things that I'm sure you've heard of when it comes to exotic species. As Karen stated, you can purchase many other species of seahorse in Europe, just not the dwarf.

Karen- what kind of clam and macroalgae are you buying? Sounds cool! Make sure you cure your rock if it isn't already. Don't want to introduce crazy animals into your tank. I learned that the hard way when I had my first 55 gal marine aquarium. Can you say mantis shrimp?!

 

[Amunet]

OMIGOSh they're so cute!!
Great great pictures! We need more though! heh

 

[esquirette2007]

Karen- what kind of clam and macroalgae are you buying? Sounds cool! Make sure you cure your rock if it isn't already. Don't want to introduce crazy animals into your tank. I learned that the hard way when I had my first 55 gal marine aquarium. Can you say mantis shrimp?!

Hi Willie & Barb, Actually, I think dwarf seahorses could be sold, too, as long as the exporter was CITES certified, but I didn't read everything on the site.

The macroalgae I'm getting are mostly all tiny frags: codium taylori; red feather caulerpa; red hand algae or Rhodymenia; red grape caulerpa; red branching codium; and a large bunch of caulerpa prolifera maxima. I'm supposed to get some mystery free macros, too. I'm hoping they'll grow like crazy, so I can sell frags, too. A fun experiment, anyway.

The snail is a nassarius vibex and the clam is a dwarf tropical cleaner clam.

I'm not getting any live rock, just live sand - my typo, woops. I'll treat everything with the Panacur that will take care of the hydroids & also cure a few weeks to be sure no other scary critters hitchhiked. I have a bucket full of rotifers culturing, too, so my little ponies can have a delectable feast when they arrive

I can't wait!

Cheers!

Karen

 

[Misfits204]

very cool how much were they, and how big do they get?

 

[Ron]

It was $80 for 12 adults. They get to be 1.5 minutes max, so very very small...

 

[Picoreefer4966]

Finally!!! someone who actually keeps dwarfs that I can talk to!!! I set up a 2.5 gal pico specifically to get dwarfs. I've been so "Warned" about how hard they are to keep that I did away with the idea. Is it really all that bad???
Yours seem to be doing great!

 

[Ron]

They aren't hard at all. Their care requirments are just like guppies- clean water and good food. Except their water is saltwater and their good food is freshly hatched baby brine shrimp twice a day. The only thing I do for them in spend about 20 minutes day hatching shrimp and cleaning the shrimp hatchery. I alos do a small water change each week. Very easy!

 

[esquirette2007]

Hi Willie, I'm still interested in your dwarfs if you're interested in selling. I left you a message, but I'm not sure if it worked.

By the way, the live sand was a bad idea afterall. There were fish lice or parasitic amphipods that covered my poor dwarf seahorses after awhile. They now live happily in a bare tank with a plastic plant after being treated. Live and learn. I may just keep them in the bare tank. They're happy & it's easy to clean! I learned they don't bother with the rotifers, so I think I'll culture some copepods. They're getting freshly hatched brine shrimp now. I'll add a photo soon.

Thanks,

Karen
P.S. my zip code is 95050 if you need it for shipping estimate

 

[Matty P]

They are pretty cool, congrats for the babies!