| The seahorse is one of the most amazing creatures under the sea.
Seahorses are very popular with keepers of salt water aquariums because
they are such graceful and wonerful creatures. Also they are
fun and exiting to have in an aquarium and really is one of the fishes
that stands out in an aquarium. The thing about keeping a seahorse
is that it is never easy. The dwarf seahorse (Hippocampus
zosterae) is one of the easiest of all species to care for.
I happen to disagree with this theory for the reason of how you have
to feed this specie. You must feed the dwarf hatched from your
home, decapped brine cysts. Also H. zosterae is a popular
candidate because they will rapidly produce if kept in a healthy environment.
Over all I think the dwarf is one of the most enjoyable seahorses
to keep and i hope this article gives you more knowledge about this
wonderful species and helps you if you plan on keeping this species.
Tank Mates: Usually tank mates are
a bad idea to keep with the dwarf seahorse, but as i am a keeper
i do understand that the more hobbiests have to clean the happier
they are. In this case some companions are compatible with
the Hippocampus zosterae. Most of these tank mates are from
the catagory of "clean up crew". Some of these companions
include:
- Several types of small hermit crabs
- Small shrimp such as the Hawian Red Shrimp (Holocanthus rubra)
- Several types of small snails
These are some of the suitable tank mates for dwarf seahorses.
Having some of these creatures will help clean the tank and alos help
balance it for a much healthier tank.
Tank Size: The tank size for the Hippocampus
zosterae is preferably very small. The largest tank size
that you could go to is 10 gallons. This tank size is not
recomended for beginners as brine shrimp are very small for the
dwarfs to find it. You would have to have at least 8 dwarfs
in a 10 Gallon tank to balance everything. A great size for
a beginner is a 5 gallon tank. You could fit around 8-12 dwarfs
in this tank including babies but it is not nessasary to have that
many. The tank size is very important for your seahorses'
health so please be careful when choosing a tank.
Tank Decorations: Tank decorations
are very important to all species of seahorses in any tank.
Seahorses are very small and spend most of thier time hitched on
to some sort of plant, toy, coral, or stick. They call this
their hitching post. They will use this a lot. Almost
anything they can fit their tiny tails around is good. About
the thickness of a pencil is good. I have used everything
from dead coral, to live marine plants, to a fake plastic plant.
Any way you put it you will need a hitching post for your dwarfs
not to get stressed out and live a healthy life.
Substrate: Fortunately for me I had
gotten into this hobby after the sand-snicking rumor had started.
People had been saying that the seahorse would get to close to the
sand and would get it caught in their throat or digestive system.
Then the sand grain would suffocate the seahorse and kill it.
I know for a fact this is not true for any specie of seahorse.
The rumor does not indicate that wild caught seahorses live above
sand. Their natural habitat is with sand under thier tails.
This proves sand is a wonderful substrate to use in your tank.
I happen to use black, red, and blue sand in my dwarf tanks.
I think it brings wonderful color to your tank and also makes the
seahorses stand out a lot more. Another kind of substrate
you must be careful with is live sand and crushed coral. They
both may have small shrimp, "bugs" (ed. note: amphipods), hydroids,
etc. hiding within. I wouldn't recommend using these
products but I have heard they do work most of the time.
Tank Parameters: To have a cycled
tank is essential for any type of fish. You must of had the
tank running for at least 4 weeks to even have a chance of your
seahorses living. What you will eventually have to do after
you get tired of testing your water at you LFS is buy a home test
kit. They are not that expensive and they are very useful.
Another thing you need to have is a thermometer. Although
in the summer if your house temperature is normal (74-78 degrees)
you may not need it, you should always have one for backup.
Your temperature should be around 75 degrees but up to 78 is fine.
Another thing you will need is a hydrometer. This will accurately
measure your salinity. (Ed. note: You will also need a heater.
This piece of equipment is a must for regulating tank temperature.)
Here is a list of perfect tank parameters:
- Ammonia (NH3) - 0ppm
- Nitrite (NO2) - 0ppm
- Nitrate (NO3) - 0-10ppm
- pH - 8.4-8.6
- Specific Gravity - 1.020-1.026
One more thing you will have to do to keep these perfect parameters
is do a water change. A water change should be done every month.
The amount you should take is 25%. If you want a great tank
you can go the extra mile and do a 5% change every week. I prefer
doing this because i think it gives the water enough time adapt to
the tank if it is in smaller amounts. You can not just do this
with regular tap water. I use distilled bottle water.
Another thing you could do is use chlorine purifier but i would prefer
it. Use 1/2 cup for every gallon to refill the salt water.
Also make sure you have several pre mixed salt water for backup.
Another thing you need to do is fill evaporated water. Salt
doesent evaporate so what you should do is fill the water to the brine
or mark where you fill it. As the water goes down add fresh
water to the line and your tank will be balanced. Filteration:
I believe the best kind of filter to use when dealing with dwarfs
is a sponge filter. It is very wasy to use and all you need
to do is clean the sponge once a month. Bio wheele filters can
be used to if you fix them up a bit. You need to put a sponge
over the intake of the filter so that baby brine and dwarf fry do
not get sucked up. Another thing you may . This will make
the current slow down a bit. So in conclusion i think you should
use a sponge filter. No bio bags, no cleaning, and basically
its easier. Feeding: The way you need to feed dwarf is probably
the main reason people pass by the dwarf and move on to a different
seahorse. You need to deccap and hatch brine shrimp every day
to feed to your dwarfs. No they do not eat frozen brine.
What you first need to do is decapsulate the eggs. Basically
what this does in decrease the chances of hydroid infestation.
All you do is soak the eggs in tap water with bleach then you was
them untill the bleach smell is gone. Please look around for
instructions on how to decapsulated the eggs. Then to hatch
the eggs is very easy. I recently baught this little black box
that i am very pleased with! It has a contsainer that the brine swim
to when they hatch. This way you do not need to worry about
eggs. So basically anything is fine to use. You fill the
container with salt water. Then you add the decapsulated brine.
Then you add the air stone into the container for around 12 hours.
Then take it out and let them hatch! This is not a hard process and
is easy after a couple times. Breeding The Dwarf: How the dwarf
breeds is one of the biggest reasons people choose the dwarf.
It breeds very easily. Just buy 2 or 3 pairs and you should
see them getting friendly with eachother. Then you should see
them start courting (see below). What you could use that would
increase breeding and make your dwarfs happier would be to use trace
elements. You can buy these basically anywhere. You do
not need to use trace elements but it would help a lot. Courting:
The ritual or courting is one of those things that remindes you why
you love this hobby. It is one of the most amazing things ever.
It is just great to see it happen! Well this all starts when the male
horse approaches the female and usually turns a very light color.
The dwarf may change color alot. When it is unhappy it turns
darker when it is happy they turn lighter. They may also turn
colors to match thier favorate decoration, plants, or even the subsrate.
Then the male will start to move his head all around and swim about
his mate. Then the female will do the same thing. This
will continue anywhere from 5 hours to 3 days. After a little
while you will notice the pouch of the male filling up. If you
do not already know... the male has the babies. This is
very unusual, but at the same time pretty cool. Then he will
start moving and shaking and pumping. What he is doing is getting
his pouch ready for the eggs. After he is done comes the best
part. You will see the couple hold tails and swim about the
tank. It is really amazing to watch. This doesent last
long. After they are finished the female will deposit the eggs
into the males pouch. She will look very fat and chubby when
doing this. The eggs will hatch in 10-20 days, normally in the
middle, but i had one male go to 22. The babies didnt make it
most likely because the male waited so long. The babies come
out live and have a 50% chance of survival (see fry care below).
When the breeding is going on i would definitly turn the filter off
and also your air stone if one is present. This will prevent
bubbles getting into the males pouch and possibly infecting it.
Fry Care: Watching fry mature is one of the most amazing things to
watch. When they are born they will normally ahng out at the
bottom of the tank. Some will go right to a hitching post but
most will not. They look just like a regular seahorse just very
small (see picture below). You can keep them in the same tank
as thier parents but i would recomend it especially if your tank is
bigger then 5 gallons. The brine are very hard for the fry to
find and the parents may get to most of the fry before they do.
Thats why i recomend getting a small tank and hatching a bit more
brine then usual. Make sure your water quality is good and the
fry get plenty of food and you can watch them grow. 4 months
they will be mature and ready for breeding. Conclusion: Keeping
seahorses is one of the most enjoyable hobbies thier is. What
some people dont udnerstand is you dont get into seahorses because
they are cool, you do it because you can take the responsibility of
having a endangered animal under your care. If you feel you
dont think you can handle all the work or you think you will get bored
of the hobby then do not get into it. Seahorses bring great
joy to life and basically make you happy. They are very sociable
creatures and will try to interact with you. They all are different
and inique in thier own ways. Raising these beautiful creatures
is one of the most rewarding things you could ever do. Knowing
you are helping keep a specie alive. Year 2030....once apon
a time deep in the ocean lived seahorses...... Help this from
happening. |
