Seahorses

[puddle_inc]

adding hang on refugium to list.

 

[puddle_inc]

here are pics of my stuff i got from the ocean.

http/s48.photobucket.com/albums/f219/Tec...%20live%20rock/

i'm gonna ask a few questions for certain pics. first off, the tree like coral, at the end of the second pic there is a piece of hard coral growing. is it growing a whole new piece of live rock or hard coral? and what is the worm like this with the antena things?

and the rock with the barnacles and hard sand like sutff, doesn't it look like a fossil?



ok, well, is there anything i should do to this stuff before i put it in the 50-55 gal when i get it?

can i safely add it in the tub that my live rock will be in? (when i buy it)

 

[dixaisy930]

It's much easier to just buy frozen. Mysis are canabilistic, and it takes lots of food to keep them from eating each other.

Captive BRED horses will eat frozen with no problem, so there's no need for live. It's just a nice treat for them.

Add neomycin and triple sulpha to your list of meds. There's also a med you need incase they get any open wounds (it goes directly on the horse). Can't think of the name off the top of my head.

Get a pouch evac kit, and supplies if you need to tube feed.

You shouldn't have to do a FW dip on CB horses. You shouldn't be stressing these horses more than necessary.

What will you be using for QT?

 

[andywg]

And yet, despite all the advice and all your "reading everything on google", you still have a horseshoe crab on your shopping list.

Another creature from the ocean killed because people refuse to learn the lessons of others

 

[puddle_inc]

And yet, despite all the advice and all your "reading everything on google", you still have a horseshoe crab on your shopping list.

Another creature from the ocean killed because people refuse to learn the lessons of others

oh..
my...
god.....

like i said, i'm going to read up on them too. and i'm putting off the horseshoe crab until i can buy another longer and wider tank thats not as high as the 50g for the seahorses.


the 20 gallon will be fore the fry if anyone was wondering. i was wondering myself, i heard the males can be a little jumpy and anti-social, possibly even scary to other fish because of it's actions when it is approached. anyway, should i keep the male in the 20g or just transfer the fry once there born?

how much of the tank should be planted and how much should it beb just sland?

 

[andywg]

oh..
my...
god.....

like i said, i'm going to read up on them too. and i'm putting off the horseshoe crab until i can buy another longer and wider tank thats not as high as the 50g for the seahorses.

Forgive me if I am wrong, but are you actually going to have a seperate tank with a huge chiller, or multiples thereof?

You still haven't actually stated that the crab and the donkies will be kept seperate which is what has to happen to be able to start to keep the two species correctly.

I hope I am wrong and have just missed that you are setting up an entirely seperate system for the crab.

 

[dixaisy930]

how much of the tank should be planted and how much should it beb just sland?

Which tank are you talking about?

 

[rhysiboy]

jesus christ this is the most retarded thread ever. * did have a nasty comment but didnt think it would benefit anyone

puddle it a brilliant idea and i ope you do well just do it the right way the first time

everyone i know no one is trying to flame him but since hes gone all defensive try to walk on eggshells

christ reminds me of conversations with my dad

 

[puddle_inc]

andy you must have skipped a page or something. i'm getting seahorses and a 50g and a 20g for them. then after that is running smoothly and i have some extra money i will get another tank that is wider and logner and less high for the horseshoe crab. (with a chiller or course)

i don't know if i said it already but i'm getting a refugium to add to the 50 gal also

and i'm not going all defensive. i just thought of what falmingon said in a wrong way.



so what does everyone think of the coral and barnacle/shells i got? do i need to do anything to them before i add them to the 50 gal when i get it?

 

[Mr Miagi]

anyone know other sites that would be good to read? i'm also reading salt water aquariums for dummies.

Reefcentral.com and the breeding forum. Its terrific site for free information, and to watch and learn how others are breeding anything, it all relates back to you and your venture, and you can learn form others mistakes. This is VERY important. See what works for others, rather than have to figure it out for yourself.

salt - $30+ (not sure how much it will take to make 50 gallons of saltwater)

Salt is a re-occuring cost. Its not going to be a one off purchase, and you need ALOT of saltwater on hand to do frequent water changes almost daily, scooping out dead fry and un-eaten food, so you need to replace that water. 50gallons + 20gallons remember.

filter - $35

A filter for what? Live rock should be your main site of de-nitrification, so why a filter.

emergency book (i made it, it has most common diseases and there treatments)

Nice idea. I like things "in print" rather than having to scroll through web page after web page too.

snails (what type should i get? turbo? nassarius? cowry?)

Depends on what job you want them to do, but id go a mix. Turbos do a fine job IME.

so what does everyone think of the coral and barnacle/shells i got?

Personally, I dont like them. They appear to be very muddy/covered in something, and the chance your risking adding it into a set-up where you try and keep things as sterile as possible. I dont things like this:

or

will pose any benefit to your breeding SH's. I think this:

on the other hand might be beneficial for your SH's to grasp, if you clean it very thouroughly. But other alternatives are available, and are safer.



Ive made a mental list of a couple of things I think your missing.

- Filtration? What are you going to use? LR?
- Cycling? how do you plan to prepare your tanks, especially the parent housing tank, for cycling?
- Have you made a list for general upkeep. IE Monthly expenses, and a budget. I think you mentioned 300-400, if that was the case, MANY people would be breeding, but the fact is, your unlikely to make a profit, and $400 is no where near enough for SW SH's. Even my Salt example above will go way over $400 FAST.
- Grow out. How long does it take for SH's to grow to a size where you can sell them? Waiting means your 20g is taken up, and probably way to small for a small brood of growing SH's, so what are you going to do with baby SH's when your parents continue to breed? Are you going to have periods where you just raise one batch? (Again, this means no frequent income, just one pay day every so often, which wont be enough).

 

[puddle_inc]

the 50 and the 20 is just for the beginning. i'll be getting more things for fry if i have more then one batch at once. and as soon as the fry are a little bigger they will probably go into the 50 gallon so they have more room to really grow out more.

the 20g is just for the first little while at the beginning of the broods lives. just checking if any of them look sick. anyone is deformed (i hope not) and stuff like that.

i may not get a filter if you don't think i needone with the live rock. i was just wanting the water to be as good as posible.

the cycling, i will have live rock in there and i bought some live sand also. i'm going to make my own refugium instead of buying out. i will put most of the live sand in the refugium so it can be cycled through the tank good.

the salt, i don't really know why i put a price. i think i was just saying the first amount to fill up the 50g. i'm thinking of getting the deluxe 55 that comes with a hood, light, and i think a filter and so on.

the stuff i got from the beach has been cleaning thoroughly many times. the dirt looking stuff on the first picture you had there is some type of small plant thats growing. i'm gonna let the plant grow and find out what it is and then see if it is safe to put in there. the sand looking stuff on the fossil looking rock is like hard sand thats on it. it's like the sand turned to rock and connected to the fossil like rock.

i'm going to be making a design of the 50-55 gallon tank today and i'll see what you guys think of it.

 

[puddle_inc]

crappy picture i know. would that trickle pipe be a waste of time? i wasn't sure if i should have it or not.

and should the water from the filter (if i get a filter) drop into the refugium for extra biological filtration or should the refugium be somewhere else?

the dark green blobs are plants.

 

[puddle_inc]

adding a queen conch to the list to add once the seahorses are accumulated. it's just a small one, so it won't take up much room at all until he grows. also going to get turbo snails and bumble bee snails. i have nassarius snails comming with live sand already.

do i want to have a small reef like area for the seahorses? like with the snails and blue leg hermit crabs? i will have ghost shrimp in there for them as a snack.

so does everyone like the tank plans? it will have plants scattered through the tank in the empty area and then a corner with a little bit of live rock rubble and then the other corner with live rock and hopefully small corals/featherdusters. it will have room to swim around and stuff and also good areas to hang out (litterally).

 

[rhysiboy]

you could go with like a reef type thing or you could go sorta more kelp and seaweed domiated and stuff

 

[SkiFletch]

I would ditch the air curtain unless there is a functional need for it. You'll be battling salt creep a lot if you keep it, and that gets really really messy