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Seahorse care
Thank you for purchasing captive-bred seahorses. Seahorse populations around the world are under threat from over-collection for the traditional Chinese medicine market and the aquarium trade. By purchasing these tank-bred seahorses, you can enjoy the experience of keeping these remarkable creatures in your own home without contributing to their exploitation in the sea.
Most of our seahorses are around 6-8 months old, when sold (which makes them the seahorse equivalent of human teenagers!) but with proper care all will grow to a maximum height of around 15cm (from the top of the head to the tip of the tail) and live for about five years.
Your seahorses have an armour-plated body, which makes them very easy to handle. Simply grasp them gentle between finger and thumb anywhere between the head and the tail. This is preferable to using a net as they easily become tangled in the mesh. You can lift them out of the water to move them but don't leave them out too long. As your seahorses get used to you, they will wrap their tails around your submerged finger during feeding. They have a strong grip so take care when disengaging them.
Temperature
In the ocean your seahorse is found in tropical waters that are typically around 26ºC. In captivity, your seahorses should be kept at temperatures between 24 and 30ºC. Prolonged temperatures outside this range, as well as any sudden change in temperature, should be avoided. Rapid changes in temperature in a short time is one of the major causes of poor health in seahorses.
Tanks and tank mates
Your seahorses will thrive in any system that provides fair to excellent water quality without excessive water currents. Regular water changes (at least 10% every week to two weeks) and water testing are necessary for these systems. Water currents are excessive if the seahorses can't catch their food as it swirls past.
The tank should contain something for the seahorses to attach to, preferably something they can wrap their tails right around, such as thin rope, fake (or real) vegetation, small driftwood branches or thin branching corals. Most seahorses will also use the edges of rocks and larger corals as attachment sites. Your seahorses will certainly appreciate tank decorations that give them the opportunity to hide whenever they are feeling a little shy.
Tank mates
These include the closely related pipefish, which are colourful and constantly active, peppermint shrimp, which perform an important task in eating excess food and so help to keep your seahorse tank clean and the Banggai cardinal fish. However, if you wish to keep them with other marine fishes, there are some that must be avoided. Aggressive fishes, such as damsels and clownfish, will stress your seahorses by beating them to their food or even attacking them. Almost all anemones, including Aiptasia, will sting your seahorses causing sores and/or death. Large nocturnal crustaceans, such as crabs, will catch and eat smaller seahorses while they rest at night.
Feeding
Your tank-bred seahorses have been reared on a mixture of frozen mysis shrimp and brine shrimp. It is very important that you feed your seahorses a combination of mysis shrimp and brine shrimp. With this diet, your seahorses will stay healthy and grow quickly.
Feeding your seahorses can be very entertaining as you watch them wrestle each other with their prehensile tails to reach the food as it floats past. Your seahorses will snap up their food as it sinks in the water. They will clean up the food that sinks to the bottom however, do not allow large quantities of food to sit on the bottom as it will quickly decompose and affect water quality or the health of any seahorse who returns to it later for a snack. By adding the food slowly, you will ensure that most of the food is eaten while it sinks. By counting how many shrimp your seahorse eats at each meal you can adjust your feeding rate accordingly.
Seahorses have no true stomach and so do not digest their food very well, so ideally you should feed your seahorses small quantities of food throughout the day. However, this is not always possible so we recommend that they are fed at least twice per day, once in the morning and again in the afternoon/evening.
If you are careful to always add the food at the same place, your seahorses will soon learn to be at that spot when the food arrives.
In addition to the frozen food, your seahorses will appreciate some live brine shrimp every so often. This will provide them with some excitement and extra nutrition. It is probably not a good idea to feed them consistently over a long period of time on live brine shrimp as they may be reluctant to return to frozen foods and without enrichment, live brine shrimp will not contain all the essential nutrients for your seahorses.
Colour
As a general rule, in poorly lit tanks, they will go dark in colour (even black if the tank is very dim) so well lit tanks are recommended. It is also recommended to have some brightly coloured tank ornaments to encourage the seahorses to try and blend in. We use either bright yellow or bright orange rope weighted down with rock to help our seahorses achieve a bright colour, and would advise you to try the same trick.
Sex
Your seahorses have some unusual sexual habits. Unlike most other creatures, it is the male who becomes pregnant! The female gives her eggs to the male who collects them in his pouch, fertilises and nurtures them, and finally gives birth to them. The males are easily distinguished from the females by their pouch and the more prominent keel on their abdomen.
Health
The key to seahorse health is keeping them well fed and in a stable environment. Regular feeds and water changes are vital. Even with the best care, your seahorses may show symptoms of disease during their life. One of the more common ailments of seahorses is known as gas-bubble disease in which gas bubbles form in the males' brood pouch or under the skin of the tail in either sex
We hope that this information answers most of you questions. In addition there are plenty of websites devoted to seahorses and their care.
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