SEAHORSES!!!

[Jennifer Holbon]

I want to know what I need to know to start keeping Seahorses. Someone here said they are fussy feeders and if theyre too difficult to keep I wont keep them but has anyone got the best method for me. I would sooo lurve to have some.

 

[gixer]

IMO keeping sea horse is very cruel. they never do too well in aquariums and their life span is rapidly reduced. they are already at a great risk around the world due to people trying to keep them in aquariums.

its pretty sad.

although i'm sure some sea horse keeper will come along and tell you they are great.

not recommended.... just my opinion

 

[pendragon]

I'll second gixer's advice.

I am neither a salt water aquarist nor an expert on seahorses, but I read a detailed essay about seahorse-keeping a year or so ago. Seahorses are about as high on the difficulty scale as you can get. They are very, very delicate creatures that require high levels of special attention. In captivity they are sickness magnets, and typically when they do get sick or injured they must be euthanised, as their recovery ability is almost zero and they only suffer until they die. In captivity, they are also very prone to disorders like swim bladder problems. I do not think an aquarist of average skills could keep them capably. They just don't do well in captivity, period. Only for the most advanced and devoted aquarists, if even then.

Hope that helps.

pendragon!

 

[Jennifer Holbon]

Well, I only wanted the brown ones I see in many shops ans surely f theyre bred in captivity for people to look after this cannot be a bad thing! A friend of mine I knew a long time ago actualy had babies. But I dont know the first thing about them but I do see alot now and agin in some stores in the U.K.
Doesn't anyone keep them in here?

 

[pendragon]

Maybe it's different in Europe, but I've never seen them in any fish shop here in the U.S., nor do I know of anyone who keeps them. I think the majority opinion among experienced fishkeepers is that they aren't meant for aquariums. I know there are markets for them somewhere, and they are exploited for their "cute" factor. The overwhelming majority that are sold for aquarium use live short, miserable lives and die in the care of people who haven't anywhere near the knowledge or skill to care for them. Seahorses are not for the common aquarist, if they are for anyone at all.

I don't mean to sound cruel, but them's the facts.

pendragon!

Edit: If you are determined to keep them no matter what (which I personally advise against), at least please learn all you can about them first and do it right. It takes a lot of skill, time, and expense to keep them. Just getting a proper setup on the front end will be very expensive, unless you have a properly established marine environment already. Seahorse.Org looks like a credible site with lots of resources from experienced seahorse-keepers. Please do not go into it blindly and expect to learn it on the fly. If you must take ownership of such a delicate life, do it with responsibility and not recklessness.

 

[Dragonscales]

They sell seahorses in Australia too, I've always been interested in the idea of trying to keep them. As for "exploiting them for their cute factor", isn't that what most, if not all animals kept as pets are exploited for? I personally don't see the harm in keeping captivity bred seahorses if it means the reduction or end of wild ones being sold, as yes, they are getting rarer in the wild. The main reason I haven't actually gotten started in keeping seahorses yet is the fact that yes, they are hard to keep and I'd like to know the ins and outs of keeping these beautiful creatures before subjecting myself to heartbreak and the animal to a short term death sentence. Majority of mistakes people make with keeping seahorses is not providing them with a tall enough tank, as they prefer hight to ground space. Personally I'd keep them in a species only tank too, dunno if that helps them live more healthy, stress-free lives or not but sounds like a good start to me. If you are interested in keeping seahorses jennifer then yes, I agree with pendragon in regards to knowing all there is to know about them first, then get a proper setup for em and then get some. Happy researching!

 

[Adrinal]

 

[Adrinal]

hmm I should have read all the posts. I could have just bumped dragon scales

 

[BeautifulGoodbye]

I am also looking into getting some and have found this website that breeds them

http/www.oceanrider.com/

 

[fishdudein]

I too would like to try my hand at seahorses, research that I have done on them backs up what everyone here has said. Oceanrider appears to be a top-notch outfit, if I were to buy seahorses, it would be from them (please don't buy wild caught seahorses). That said, I have been keeping saltwater fish and inverts for 7 years, freshwater for 35...and I'm not ready to keep seahorses. You really are taking on the caretaking of a fragile life form with special needs. Who are you going to trust to take care of them when you take off on a family vacation, for example....

 

[Landlocked]

Do not get giant seahorses! If you have to get them, then get the dwarfs, not the giants!

 

[leanne]

Go on search as there is another thread about seahorses active at the moment - it has far more advice and less critiscism. Best of luck if you do get them but the warning is it wont be easy - and they may die...

 

[Adrinal]

Yes, there was no constructive advice here...

 

[nightlife20]

i dont see any critisism in any of the posts here... they are just pointing out that they are a hard fish(?) to look after like REALY HARD!!!

how can that be seen as critiscism? oh so tellin someone that they are realy hard, sensitive fish to look after is a form of critisim now then??... hmm...

 

[sumer_kay]

My lfs, (great store) keeps sea horses regularly with camel cows/cow fish, and a crab or two. They don't have anything really special in the tank, except things for them to hold on to. They seem to be doing fine. I was considering buying one for a community reef tank when I get it all ready and cycled. I would not buy one unless you had a really well established tank. I wouldn't buy them unless I could recreate there normal habitat. I would not buy one unless I could find it locally and talk directly with the people who care for them so that I knew what they ate, and any special care. But, I would buy one. I think that they are going to be sold anyway, and I would love to rescue it from some klutz who cannot care for it properly. I am living in cali, usa, so they do sell them here. They're probably 4 inches big at most (the ones I saw were 4 inches and less)