Adding A Seahorse To Your Saltwater Aquarium

The seahorse is one of the most spectacular specimens in the ocean, and when added to a saltwater aquarium, it immediately becomes one of the most spectacular specimens in the tank – drawing great praise from any who spend time with the tank. But there are a few things you need to make sure you know about the seahorse before you decide to add one of your own.

First off, the seahorse is actually just an upright fish, which means that your care for them will be similar to your care for other fish in your tank; at the same time, however, the seahorse is one of the more difficult fish to keep in captivity, as they often have a hard time adjusting to a new tank.

Because seahorse have a special bond with their mate – and in fact reinforce this bond every morning by doing a unique and elaborate “greeting dance” each morning – you can increase the chances of your seahorse adjusting well if you add both a male and a female at the same time. The difficulty in this, of course, is that seahorse are very loyal to their mate, and if they have been removed from another mate, they might never latch onto this new match you have tried to set them up with.

Before you add a seahorse to a tank, you need to make sure the tank is fully operational, with a thriving collection of fish who do not experience any consistent problems from the tank or the water. The healthier your tank is when you add a seahorse, the greater chance you have of this seahorse surviving.

When it comes to feeding, you need to provide your seahorse with live food - preferably ghost shrimp – at least twice per day; some people try to simply stock their aquarium with enough ghost shrimp to last several days, and others keep their ghost shrimp in a small, separate tank and add them to the big aquarium as needed.

If you buy a pair of seahorse, you will always be taking a chance on whether or not you will be able to help them thrive; if they do thrive, however, you will have a great addition to your tank – one that you and your guests are certain to enjoy!