Sea Horses / Dragons

[artsapart]

Hi there, my Mrs is mad keen on sea horses and those really colorful ones that I think are called dragons, do people keep these in domestic tanks or are they only in commercial aquariums?

 

[jeej]

Hi there, my Mrs is mad keen on sea horses and those really colorful ones that I think are called dragons, do people keep these in domestic tanks or are they only in commercial aquariums?

You can keep them domestically, but they are bloody hard to look after.

 

[Straydum]

wrong section, this should be in the marine area. anyway, seahorses are really really delicate and are NOT for beginners. they require much more than the basics from what i heard though its not impossible to keep them. you might want to do some research and ask around before attempting.

if you're looking at sea dragons, those that make your eyes pop eg. leafy sea dragons, you might wanna forget about them. they are a totally protected species and its illegal to keep them in a home aquarium as they face the risk of extinction

 

[Luketendo]

Yeah Sea dragons are pretty much a no-no.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

to be a little more specific, the reason that sea horses aren't good beginner fish is that they are often difficult to feed and should be pretty much kept in a species-specific tank. they need lots and lots of very small (preferably live) food and generally are fairly slow eaters.

if you want to give it a shot, then there are a number of very informative posts in the Marine section. but it will be a completely different experience from keeping shop-standard tropical fish.