How to Take Care of Seahorses as Pets
You probably never considered that you might be able to have seahorse as pets. These unusual creatures are fascinating and make for wonderful objects of meditation in your own personal aquarium. But before your run out to get some, you will want to consider what you will need in order to successfully manage seahorses as pets. Caring for seahorse is not a low maintenance activity.
Seahorse Stable
You should begin by looking into an aquarium—your seahorse stable, if you will--. Seahorses don’t need a lot of space but they do need salt water, so you will need a salt-water aquarium with a saltwater filter.
You will need to carefully monitor the level of what is called “gravity” in the aquarium to make sure that it remains in a healthy range for your seahorse and you will need to keep the temperature in the aquarium between the range of 70 and 75 for most seahorses. You will need both a hydrometer (to measure the gravity and level of salt in the water) and a thermometer and water heater.
You don’t need a big space since seahorses don’t particularly need to, or like to, swim a great deal, but you will need make sure they have the proper accessories, such as live rocks.
In addition, very few fish thrive in the exact same conditions as seahorses, so you will probably want to make seahorses the only fish in your seahorse stable.
Lighting
Because seahorse are a deep-sea species, they actually prefer the darkness. However, if you intend to have algae growth or to maintain corals in your aquarium as a way of increasing the healthy chemical levels in your tank naturally, you will need lights to help aide in this process.
You should avoid, however, getting any light that is overly bright since you may drive your seahorses into hiding where they will sometimes starve rather than venture out into the dangers of the brightness.
Food Requirements
The main staple of the seahorse diet is brine shrimp. You can buy these live or get them frozen and thaw them out. Seahorse aficionados swear by live brine shrimp and this is certainly preferable since it is closer to their natural feeding habits. I’ve seen no evidence however, for the claim that seahorses will not consistently eat thawed dead shrimp.
If you do decide to feed them live shrimp, you can save money in the long run if you set up a separate aquarium to raise your own rather than depending on the pet store.
Ideally, you should feed your seahorses small meals about 4-8 times a day. If you have a very busy schedule and are often out of town, you might want to reconsider getting seahorses as pets. There is no reliable way of mechanically feeding your seahorse while you are away. So consider this when making your decision on whether to get seahorses.
Health Considerations for Seahorses as Pets
You will want to carefully monitor your seahorses and know them well enough so that you will notice if they start to develop any sorts of discolorations. Two such discoloration that are sign of disease in seahorses are discolorations of the fins and discolorations of the body.
On the fin, a white discoloration is usually the sign of fin rot. This should be treated immediately.
On the body, it is likely to be ich. You can chemically treat ich with store bought products. Always treat your seahorses quickly to avoid losing the whole stable to a rapidly spreading epidemic.
Seahorses make for great pets if you are willing to put in the necessary work. Owners of seahorse stables often find themselves being soothed by the peaceful nature of these wonderful and unique creatures. If you are ready to put in the work, our little community of seahorse lovers welcomes you.