What to Expect with New Seahorse Arrivals

We are excited to get your new seahorses to you. All of our seahorses are shipped via UPS Priority Overnight service for quick arrival to you. It is important to make sure you are available the day of their arrival to get them acclimated to your aquarium right away. If you need a particular arrival day, reach out to us when placing your order so we can help arrange this with you. Orders ship out Monday-Thursday and Friday for Saturday arrival upon request (Additional Saturday delivery charge).  

Acclimation

Please follow our Seahorse Acclimation Guide which is included in your shipping scheduling email and a hard copy in the box. This information can also be found here: 

https://seahorsesavvy.com/blogs/news/acclimating-your-new-seahorse-to-your-aquarium

It is important to NOT drip acclimate your seahorses!!! Float the unopened bag for 30 minutes to temperature acclimate your seahorses with the aquarium lights off. After 30 minutes you can open the bag, pick the seahorses up with your hands (make sure to wash your hands before and after), and place them into the aquarium. Leave aquarium lights out for a few hours while your seahorses settle in. This helps reduce stress during acclimation. 

It is normal and expected for your new seahorses to be shy the first few days after arrival. It typically takes them a week or two, sometimes longer to really warm up in their new home. Seahorse color is not fixed and changes with mood, lighting and other factors. You will likely notice some color changes with your new arrivals these first few weeks or so.

Seahorse Feeding

Our larger seahorse species including H. erectus are all trained to eat frozen mysis shrimp. We are feeding our seahorses Hikari BioPure Mysis shrimp. This comes in a purple package with a seahorse on it. We prefer using the flats rather than the cubes. The flats tend to have more whole size Mysis shrimp which the seahorses tend to prefer. These are also more cost effective. A pair of seahorses can eat about a cube or half inch square (if using the flats) of Mysis shrimp per feeding. We recommend feeding your captive bred seahorses 2-3 times daily. You want them to finish up their food within 15 minutes. Extra food in the aquarium will spoil. You want to either remove this via siphoning or have clean up crew such as hermit crabs, Nassarius snails and other scavengers.

It is normal and expected for your new seahorses to be a bit shy with eating the first day or so after arrival. After a week or so they should begin to warm up with feeding. We recommend using the same brand of Mysis shrimp we are using if possible. This will really help while they are settling in. Other brands of frozen Mysis shrimp will also work. Their primary diet should be Mysis shrimp. Enriched brine shrimp, plankton, and amphipods can be used as snacks too.

Learn more about feeding your captive bred seahorses here:

"Feeding Your Captive Bred Seahorses"

https://seahorsesavvy.com/blogs/news/feeding-your-captive-bred-seahorses

Temperature-Very Important!

We are keeping our captive bred seahorses at 70-74 F. Keeping this temperature is very important with seahorses. Higher temperature can lead to stress, make your seahorses more susceptible to bacterial related issues and other problems. It is very important to make sure your aquarium is in this range, especially when they arrive. Quick jumps can cause stress which you want to avoid with your new arrivals. 

Water Parameters-Seahorses are Saltwater fish

 

IMPORTANT: Please make sure your saltwater aquarium is fully cycled before purchasing and adding your seahorses! If you have any questions about cycling your aquarium please contact us or click on the link bellow.

Learn more here:

"Setting Up and Cycling a Saltwater Aquarium for Seahorses and Fish" 

https://seahorsesavvy.com/blogs/news/cycling-a-saltwater-aquarium-for-seahorses

If you have any questions about cycling your aquarium please reach out. 

 

***It is important to keep a close eye on your water parameters. This is especially important with new aquariums as spikes in parameters can happen after you add your new arrivals and start feeding them in the aquarium. Ammonia and Nitrites are harmful to your seahorses and need to be avoided and undetectable.

 We recommend a minimum aquarium size of 30 gallons for a pair of our larger species of captive bred seahorses. An additional 15 gallons for every additional pair you wish to keep is recommend. A larger aquarium size such as a 45 gallon or larger is even better. Our H. erectus seahorses reach 4-8+ inches and need space to thrive.

Tank-mates

Seahorses are different than other fish. They do not handle aggression well and can be out competed for food. For these reasons you want to be careful with what tank-mates you keep with them. Browse our website for safe tank-mates with our larger seahorse species (not Dwarf seahorses). Small peaceful fish such as gobies and cardinals are generally fine to keep with your seahorses. Most soft corals are also considered safe with seahorses. 

Learn more here:

"Tank mates for Captive Bred Seahorses-Live Corals"

https://seahorsesavvy.com/blogs/news/tank-mates-for-captive-bred-seahorses

"Tank-mates for Seahorses-Fish"

https://seahorsesavvy.com/blogs/news/tank-mates-for-seahorses-fish

***Mixing seahorse species can cause issues. We do not recommend mixing seahorse species. This can lead to one or both species not doing well. All of our H. erectus seahorse varieties including our Dark Silver Saddled Erectus, Saddled Erectus, Northern Erectus, Erectus with cirri, can be kept together. Our captive bred Reidi and Reidi x Erectus Hybrids can be kept with our H. erectus seahorses. Other than these species, we do not recommend mixing others seahorse species in the same aquarium. Mixing species generally results in one or both speices not doing well.

Water Flow

We recommend moderate to slightly higher water flow. It is important to make sure your seahorses have plenty of "hitching posts" to hold onto with their prehensile tail and rest. Powerheads should be covered. Your seahorses can grab onto these and injure themselves. 

If you have any questions reach out. We are happy to help and want your new seahorses to do well for you. 

Contact:

 Email: Orders@seahorsesavvy.com

Phone: 410-618-3604