Reef Central Online Community - View Single Post - Why can you keep pipefish in warmer temperatures, but not seahorses?

rayjay · 12/06/2019, 11:51 AM

Actually, seahorse tanks should have great flow, with areas of high medium and low flow and hitching in each area so that they can chose just where to be at any given time. Normal recommendation is at least 10X tank volume but many of us long term keepers have flows of 20X and more.
Many seahorses come from waters that are higher in temperatures but their water is always changing. In our tanks, everything is captive including the bacteria beds that cause the seahorses so much trouble. Excessive cleaning and larger more frequent water changes help to alleviate the "dirty" water they create, but also we keep the temperatures cooler to lessen the grow of those bacteria. (68°-74°F)
Bacteria multiply EXPONENTIALLY with each rising degree, and it becomes much more problematic when temperature gets above 74°.

12/06/2019, 11:51 AM	#4
rayjay Registered Member Join Date: Oct 1999 Location: London, Ontario, Canada Posts: 3,969	Actually, seahorse tanks should have great flow, with areas of high medium and low flow and hitching in each area so that they can chose just where to be at any given time. Normal recommendation is at least 10X tank volume but many of us long term keepers have flows of 20X and more. Many seahorses come from waters that are higher in temperatures but their water is always changing. In our tanks, everything is captive including the bacteria beds that cause the seahorses so much trouble. Excessive cleaning and larger more frequent water changes help to alleviate the "dirty" water they create, but also we keep the temperatures cooler to lessen the grow of those bacteria. (68°-74°F) Bacteria multiply EXPONENTIALLY with each rising degree, and it becomes much more problematic when temperature gets above 74°. __________________ Seahorses. Culture nanno, rotifers and brine shrimp. Current Tank Info: Seahorses