Picasso
Seahorse Whisperer
I'm thinking about scrapping my nano and putting everything into my 55 gallon. I could really use the space. Hmmmmmmmmmm............
C
C
Contest Team SEAHORSE: Catherine
- Thread starter Picasso
- Start date
- Status
coolhandgoose
Reef enthusiast
Don't throw in the towel! You'll never hear the end of it.
Besides, yours is probably going to be one of the front runners.
Besides, yours is probably going to be one of the front runners.
dcantucson
Reef pro
Catherine no one likes a quitter. :mrgreen:
Picasso
Seahorse Whisperer
I wouldn't be quitting, it would be a "relocation of the tank to a bigger vessel"
I think I found a good spot for it. Hope it works.
C
Picasso
Seahorse Whisperer
Team Seahorse has just been dealt a serious blow. I finally called ORA to see if they were going to have any dwarfs ready because I've had my order in since October. They are not carrying them any more. She directed me to a site Seahorse Source, the ultimate place for captive bred seahorses.. I talked to the person there for quite a while and I felt very good about their products and the manner they breed them. Unfortunately, they do NOT get their dwarfs onto frozen food. That means I really should have a much bigger tank for these guys and I need to hatch mysis and brine shrimp daily. The hatched food needs to be gut loaded. After having so much trouble feeding my little Calypso, I don't know if I can deal with that. I talked to the seahorsesource people about Calypso and they seemed to think there was something wrong with her because it is very unusual to have that much trouble getting a horse to eat. I found a great thread about dwarfs and I'll do the research. Is it fate that on the day I was reconsidering my nano tank that I find I can't keep dwarfs in there? Time for research.
Does anyone know of an all-in-one or a build thread dedicated to keeping live mysis shrimps?
Catherine
Does anyone know of an all-in-one or a build thread dedicated to keeping live mysis shrimps?
Catherine
Picasso
Seahorse Whisperer
I don't know if this post is appropriate for this forum. I'm going to go with the philosophy presented by the great philosopher Leslie Gore in his "one hit wonder" song.... "It's My Party And I'll Cry If I Want To" (substitute "build thread" instead of the word party) Those of you who know my posts know I tend to be wordy so I'll sum it up in the last paragraph for those who don't have the time to read a novelette.
When I first got into this, I was thrilled to create a little bit of the sea I grew up with as a child and young adult here in my snowy new home of Wisconsin. Saltwater tanks are so, so beautiful. As is my usual style, I jumped first and looked later. I ended up with a million nano tanks and a wide variety of "themed" tanks. Unfortunately, I was very, very, very sick this past summer. My illness affected my quality of life starting in May and I didn't begin to resemble a "normal" life again until early September. Most of that time I was in bed barely able to move or even think. Now it's December. I'm starting to finally move my stuff into my 55 gallon with dreams of a 155 coming soon. Two of my original nano's, my 15 gallon and one 10 gallon are gone. I've got one 20 gallon to dis-assemble (waiting for my peps to finish off the aiptasia) and I've got to figure out what to do with my 26 gallon because I just love that tank. None of my tanks have "proper" plumbing. I only use HOB filters, no skimmer, no sump/fuge... So far, I have gotten away with this by seriously building a strong sand community, adding beneficial bacterias and filling my tanks with tons of macro algae. I don't test my water like I should but my water is clean, I don't have algae problems and my corals and animals show no signs of stress. Quite the contrary, they are thriving. Still, it bugs me that I don't have the right plumbing and I'm not moving forward with anything until I get my 55 plumbed properly. So why am I putting this here? What's up with my contest nano aka: Team Seahorse. The past week or so as I've moved a few things into the 55 I keep looking at the Team Seahorse tank and wishing I could scavenge some of the stuff in there. I started thinking that I would go ahead and scrap the tank in order to "simplify". I put up a post to "try out" the decision. Meanwhile, I've had my order in for frozen fed dwarf seahorses forever so I decided to call ORA even though they don't deal with the general public to find out their delivery timeline. I was told they don't raise them anymore. ORA was the only place I found that had frozen fed dwarfs. I'm very nervous about committing to anything that demands live feed after my experience with Calypso, my little erectus that wouldn't eat anything but pods. I worked month after month trying in vain to get that little girl to eat. The folks at ORA gave me the name of another seahorse place and I spent almost an hour talking to the person there about feeding horses. She was convinced that there was something wrong with Calypso because they have been breeding them for years and the only ones that wouldn't eat frozen were malformed "runts". Erectus are pigs, feeding them shouldn't be a problem. Calypso never grew so she might be right. The way the seahorse person was talking about feeding dwarfs it's like you're married to making brine shrimp every day. If you go on vacation you've got to have someone do it for you and you never get a day off. That's a serious commitment. I asked her about filling the tank with mysis and she said they keep them in the same tank and the dwarfs eat the babies but not the breeders (they're too big). You still need to feed gut-loaded brine daily though because they can't live on mysis. This is a huge commitment. I keep thinking I should be able to set up some sort of tank system for brine. I'm starting that research. I'll keep my Team Seahorse tank until I've exhausted the possibilities of brine breeding tanks. I just don't see myself setting up brine eggs to hatch each night, that's too much.
Second thing on my mind is live rock. It's starting to piss me off. I love the natural look but there are too many problems for the seahorse keeper. Three biggest issues for me? Pulling them out of the ocean for my tank, hitchikers, deep crevices for bristleworms. I'm going to pull all the LR out of my Team Seahorse tank and fill it with human made. That way I can make sure I know what's in there.
Ok, let's sum it up. My tanks are scattered, I need simplicity. If I stay on the track I'm on, I'll end up with 5 tanks. That's not simple. I need to keep reducing. Next, I need a serious plan to plumb my 55 and my Team Seahorse properly. I keep hitting dead ends and it's frustrating. Also, get a good sized order from Florida Aquaculture of their dead rock so I can get that curing. On the ordering note, need to get bacteria and a wide variety of snails (getting rid of my crabs). Call Leroy for that. Research brine/ mysis tanks to see if feeding dwarfs is feasible. Try to find frozen fed too. Keep my 26 gallon tank and turn it into a fuscus farm (just thought about that). Need a new stand for it though.... hmmmmm getting complicated again....
My two biggest walls right now are plumbing and my inability to scrap 2 of my tanks. Plumbing is intellectual the other is emotional.
Well, I got a couple things worked out..... This thread should be called "Tank Planning for the ADD Brain"
C
When I first got into this, I was thrilled to create a little bit of the sea I grew up with as a child and young adult here in my snowy new home of Wisconsin. Saltwater tanks are so, so beautiful. As is my usual style, I jumped first and looked later. I ended up with a million nano tanks and a wide variety of "themed" tanks. Unfortunately, I was very, very, very sick this past summer. My illness affected my quality of life starting in May and I didn't begin to resemble a "normal" life again until early September. Most of that time I was in bed barely able to move or even think. Now it's December. I'm starting to finally move my stuff into my 55 gallon with dreams of a 155 coming soon. Two of my original nano's, my 15 gallon and one 10 gallon are gone. I've got one 20 gallon to dis-assemble (waiting for my peps to finish off the aiptasia) and I've got to figure out what to do with my 26 gallon because I just love that tank. None of my tanks have "proper" plumbing. I only use HOB filters, no skimmer, no sump/fuge... So far, I have gotten away with this by seriously building a strong sand community, adding beneficial bacterias and filling my tanks with tons of macro algae. I don't test my water like I should but my water is clean, I don't have algae problems and my corals and animals show no signs of stress. Quite the contrary, they are thriving. Still, it bugs me that I don't have the right plumbing and I'm not moving forward with anything until I get my 55 plumbed properly. So why am I putting this here? What's up with my contest nano aka: Team Seahorse. The past week or so as I've moved a few things into the 55 I keep looking at the Team Seahorse tank and wishing I could scavenge some of the stuff in there. I started thinking that I would go ahead and scrap the tank in order to "simplify". I put up a post to "try out" the decision. Meanwhile, I've had my order in for frozen fed dwarf seahorses forever so I decided to call ORA even though they don't deal with the general public to find out their delivery timeline. I was told they don't raise them anymore. ORA was the only place I found that had frozen fed dwarfs. I'm very nervous about committing to anything that demands live feed after my experience with Calypso, my little erectus that wouldn't eat anything but pods. I worked month after month trying in vain to get that little girl to eat. The folks at ORA gave me the name of another seahorse place and I spent almost an hour talking to the person there about feeding horses. She was convinced that there was something wrong with Calypso because they have been breeding them for years and the only ones that wouldn't eat frozen were malformed "runts". Erectus are pigs, feeding them shouldn't be a problem. Calypso never grew so she might be right. The way the seahorse person was talking about feeding dwarfs it's like you're married to making brine shrimp every day. If you go on vacation you've got to have someone do it for you and you never get a day off. That's a serious commitment. I asked her about filling the tank with mysis and she said they keep them in the same tank and the dwarfs eat the babies but not the breeders (they're too big). You still need to feed gut-loaded brine daily though because they can't live on mysis. This is a huge commitment. I keep thinking I should be able to set up some sort of tank system for brine. I'm starting that research. I'll keep my Team Seahorse tank until I've exhausted the possibilities of brine breeding tanks. I just don't see myself setting up brine eggs to hatch each night, that's too much.
Second thing on my mind is live rock. It's starting to piss me off. I love the natural look but there are too many problems for the seahorse keeper. Three biggest issues for me? Pulling them out of the ocean for my tank, hitchikers, deep crevices for bristleworms. I'm going to pull all the LR out of my Team Seahorse tank and fill it with human made. That way I can make sure I know what's in there.
Ok, let's sum it up. My tanks are scattered, I need simplicity. If I stay on the track I'm on, I'll end up with 5 tanks. That's not simple. I need to keep reducing. Next, I need a serious plan to plumb my 55 and my Team Seahorse properly. I keep hitting dead ends and it's frustrating. Also, get a good sized order from Florida Aquaculture of their dead rock so I can get that curing. On the ordering note, need to get bacteria and a wide variety of snails (getting rid of my crabs). Call Leroy for that. Research brine/ mysis tanks to see if feeding dwarfs is feasible. Try to find frozen fed too. Keep my 26 gallon tank and turn it into a fuscus farm (just thought about that). Need a new stand for it though.... hmmmmm getting complicated again....
My two biggest walls right now are plumbing and my inability to scrap 2 of my tanks. Plumbing is intellectual the other is emotional.
Well, I got a couple things worked out..... This thread should be called "Tank Planning for the ADD Brain"
C
dcantucson
Reef pro
Catherine it sounds like your plate is full right now. "I need simplicity." I certainly understand that. Once you reach an overwhelming point it's seems just like another job and is no fun anymore. You will find it again. Good luck with everything.
Picasso
Seahorse Whisperer
Oh, gosh, I didn't mean for this to come across as a rant. I guess I work through problems best when I can 'see' it. This is fun for me but I really don't want to spend my time with a bunch of nano tanks. I know that good planning is the key to good tanks and I want to get a vision in m my head so I can make good plans. I was just rambling about making a vision. Thanks for the good luck wish but I'm not stressed, just thinking.....
C
C
Bifferwine
I am a girl
Have you considered trying to keep some pipefish instead of seahorses? Maybe that can be an acceptable substitute.
Rcpilot
Reef pro
I know what you mean Catherine. Not too long ago I had 3 nanos. A 30H, a 10g and a 29g frag tank. I got rid of the 10g tank and now just have my 30H display and the 29g frag. Taking care of 3 tanks was killing me.
Do what you need to do. It's a hobby and if it ain't fun then it's not a hobby anymore.
Do what you need to do. It's a hobby and if it ain't fun then it's not a hobby anymore.
Picasso
Seahorse Whisperer
Thanks, RC, I'm so glad someone else understands!
Biff, Thank you for the suggestion. As I'm continuing the research, I think I'll have the same issues with pipes that I would have with dwarfs. I'll send you a pm, it's very extensive....
The main reason I posted my thoughts was to help other's with their decision making in their tanks. You look at someone's beautiful tank and wonder how and why it looks great (or bad too I guess). I like knowing the thoughts that went into other's tanks.
Yesterday I talked to Leroy and he's helping me put together an all-snail clean-up crew. I'm getting rid of all my hermits. The order will be sent Monday!
Also yesterday, I spoke at LENGTH with my new favorite vendor in the world Seahorse Source, the ultimate place for captive bred seahorses.. It was refreshing to talk to someone else that's really into horses. They directed me to an online seahorse discussion group: Seahorse Organisation. Keeping and Breeding Seahorses in the home aquarium. and we discussed the life and times of pods. This is an amazingly complex subject! I know I keep dwelling on it and I kind of thought I was crazy since no-one else seems overly concerned and now I've found a gazillion other seahorse keepers that are as obsessed as I am. Comes with the territory I guess. Luckily, it's interesting to me! The variety and sophistication of the pod world is amazing! WooT! Anyway, I'm NOT scrapping my nano but I'm not sure it will be a dwarf corral either.
So, this weekend will be all about plumbing and pods. Very cool. :)
Catherine
Biff, Thank you for the suggestion. As I'm continuing the research, I think I'll have the same issues with pipes that I would have with dwarfs. I'll send you a pm, it's very extensive....
The main reason I posted my thoughts was to help other's with their decision making in their tanks. You look at someone's beautiful tank and wonder how and why it looks great (or bad too I guess). I like knowing the thoughts that went into other's tanks.
Yesterday I talked to Leroy and he's helping me put together an all-snail clean-up crew. I'm getting rid of all my hermits. The order will be sent Monday!
Also yesterday, I spoke at LENGTH with my new favorite vendor in the world Seahorse Source, the ultimate place for captive bred seahorses.. It was refreshing to talk to someone else that's really into horses. They directed me to an online seahorse discussion group: Seahorse Organisation. Keeping and Breeding Seahorses in the home aquarium. and we discussed the life and times of pods. This is an amazingly complex subject! I know I keep dwelling on it and I kind of thought I was crazy since no-one else seems overly concerned and now I've found a gazillion other seahorse keepers that are as obsessed as I am. Comes with the territory I guess. Luckily, it's interesting to me! The variety and sophistication of the pod world is amazing! WooT! Anyway, I'm NOT scrapping my nano but I'm not sure it will be a dwarf corral either.
So, this weekend will be all about plumbing and pods. Very cool. :)
Catherine
Picasso
Seahorse Whisperer
Ohhhh, I just found the coolest continuous feeder build. I might be able to work this out! I'm thinking that I could use a continuous feeder which is designed for gorgonians for the dwarfs. Working on it and need to check a few things. This would be so coooool!
C
C
Picasso
Seahorse Whisperer
couple shots of the Nano: It's got the "browns"
I think this shroom is splitting. I hope it's splitting:
I think this shroom is splitting. I hope it's splitting:
mng777777
Shark Wrangler Wannabe
how are things going here? I like your build concept and I hope to see more.
Picasso
Seahorse Whisperer
Well, I lost interest once I found out I couldn't get frozen fed dwarfs so I'm out. Yesterday, I broke apart my nano and moved all the coals to my 26 gallon. Oboe, my goby, is in my pony tank. I'm making my nano into an amphipod tank.
Thanks, it's been fun.
Catherine
Thanks, it's been fun.
Catherine
mng777777
Shark Wrangler Wannabe
Sorry it didnt work out Catherine. I was excited for the direction you were going with your tank. If anyone else drops out Biff is going to win simply on technicality...
Ted
Living one day at a time
no she wont......
dcantucson
Reef pro
:bounce: Smack talk!
Ted
Living one day at a time
I might not win but I am not giving up. Was the only point I was making. I can understand how people are having other issues and have to throw in the towel however unless my tank busts or the house burns down I am not going anywhere.
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