10 Gallon Dwarf Seahorse

Hello, I am new to the world of saltwater. I have kept various tropical freshwater tanks (as of right now, I have 110g African Cichlid tank that I made a post about it a year ago). This fall, I'm off to college (of course my mother happily agreed to take care of my cichlids) and looking to bring a 10 gallon tank I have sitting in my garage. As I was looking for what kind of fish to put in it, I stumbled across the idea of Dwarf Seahorses. There are a ton of questions I have. I have been doing a ton of reading on nano saltwater tanks and more specifically, seahorse tanks and there seems to be no special equipment besides a filter and heater. I also know you have to feed them live brine shrimp and they don't need live coral or live sand to thrive.

So here are my questions:
Do I need other equipment? If so, what would I need? I planned on getting a sponge filter. Would that be enough?
I understand that water changes must be very often. How often? I read someplace that it's every day and another place said once a week.
This also can't be the most expensive tank in the world. I am a college student and I don't have a lot of money. I understand that saltwater is all around more expensive but I can't drop $200 on this tank. So if that's the case, stop me now.
That being said, how expensive will buying live brine shrimp be? How often will I have to buy some?
Lastly, I will be at college and will have to come home a couple times a year. Will the car ride stress them out to no end? Is that just not an option?

I'm new to saltwater but have a good understanding that there is maintenance that MUST be done and I'm willing to put in a substantial amount of effort to keep these adorable little creatures happy.

I love fish and would absolutely love an aquarium in my dorm and have it be my distraction from school (healthy distraction of course). If seahorses are a bad idea but another kind of saltwater species would work, I'm open to suggestions.

 

I'm not sure they can survive on just brine shrimp, i've seen them eat guppies. I pay $2 for a coffee cup size of live brine shrimp. If you can get them on frozen brine it would work better, the live brine don't last long. Need a refridge w/freezer. Keep in mind water changes cost $ because of the salt involved. If you go home on holidays who takes care of the tank? If you share a dorm others can give you a hard time about the tank [filter noise, light ]. Also you may be very busy adjusting to collage life, may want to hold off on tank until your sure you can handle it. Seahorses are expensive, aren't they?

 

seahorses aren't terribly expensive. I did find prices for that. I talked to my roommate and he thinks it would be really cool to have a tank in the room so that's all good. My concern is the food. I don't think I can hatch brine shrimp multiple times a week. I don't have enough space to have all the stuff needed to do that and I keep reading everywhere that you can't count on feeding dwarfs frozen food. Almost all of them will refuse to eat it. As I think about it, dwarf seahorses are probably not a great idea.

If you have any ideas on what I can put in my 10 gallon, I'd love to hear it. I wouldn't mind doing saltwater as long as I don't have to buy a ton of equipment for the small little tank. I know that nano saltwater tanks are not uncommon and I'd LOVE to get into saltwater.

So please, save me from having to resort to doing a boring freshwater betta tank.

 

Would you consider a community freshwater tank of nano fish like a school of celestial pearl danio with a lot of plants and maybe another type of small nano fish and maybe some variety of cherry shrimp in what ever color you like to also add interest and color. My guess is you will be the only one on campus with that combo and would be a lot easier to maintain and bring the fish back and forth , and save the saltwater till you're done with college? Just an easier suggestion. Alison

 

I honestly wouldn't do seahorses they are pretty sensitive, and can be difficult to keep alive much less to thrive in a home aquarium. They are one of my favorite salt water fish, so I've done research on them myself and decided against the ideal of ever owning them as a pet.

I'm not sure what salt water fish can live in a ten gallon.

edit: As far as lots of equipment goes you would need to buy many different kinds of equipment no matter if it's salt water or freshwater tank.

 

I understand freshwater fish very well. My question with equipment is things like protein skimmers and other things that are needed for saltwater and not freshwater. I will be getting the basic filter, heater, airpump, etc. regardless of what type of tank it is. I have ideas for a freshwater tank but I think it would be really cool to do saltwater. I have experience with fish and water parameters. I'm no stranger to water changes as I change 10-20 gallons on my cichlid tank weekly. I'm willing I put in the extra work and money for a saltwater tank, I would just need some direction.

 

I'm not a salt water expert or anything. I keep only freshwater fish but have done some research into salt water. Really what you need for the salt water setup kind of depends on the fish, and enviroment.

You can do full on salt water with live corals, and live rock, which takes a lot of time and patience to setup. You could do brackish water too kind of in-between freshwater and saltwater.

As I said before though, I am unsure what salt water fish would work in a ten gallon. I know seahorses don't. I would recommend these forums for some research:

 

you have a cichlid tank in your dorm?

as far as a 10 gallon nano tank, you need to decide FOWLR, reef, etc etc etc first. then you need to find fish that stay super small. and you will only be able to do 1 maybe 2 in a tank that size. do you have the time to test water, feed multiple times a day, live seafood or raw? you will need a place to keep these things cold and fresh.

 

Cherry shrimp would do nicely. Sponge filter, heater, and live plants, fake if you'd like. They breed alot, so its worth how expensive they can be

 

So here are my questions:
Do I need other equipment? If so, what would I need?
You should have a protein skimmer if you are planning on sea horses, unless you want to do large water changes often. Also, I wouldn't risk trying to keep sea horses in a tank that small. Stability is really hard to maintain in a tank that size.

You also should use RO/DI water for your salt mix. Is there an easy location for you to source this?

I planned on getting a sponge filter. Would that be enough?
Most likely no. Not unless you are only planning on keeping some corals and a handful of small inverts OR you are planning on doing lots of large water changes to remove dissolved organics.

I understand that water changes must be very often. How often? I read someplace that it's every day and another place said once a week.
It 100% depends on what you are keeping and what equipment you are using. Heavily stocked tanks and tanks without protein skimmers require lots more water changes more frequently. Also heavily fed tanks need more water changes. If you are keeping corals, are you using additives? That will determine how often you need water changes too.

This also can't be the most expensive tank in the world. I am a college student and I don't have a lot of money. I understand that saltwater is all around more expensive but I can't drop $200 on this tank. So if that's the case, stop me now.
You are probably going to spend that much JUST getting two seahorses. And dwarf sea horses only live a year to boot.

That being said, how expensive will buying live brine shrimp be? How often will I have to buy some?
You will have to check your LFS as prices can vary widely. Sea horses should be fed daily and more than once a day is best. Also, just brine shrimp is not a good diet. Another consideration is that in my area there were months where the LFS were out of brine shrimp... Read over this to give you idea of what sea horses need.

Lastly, I will be at college and will have to come home a couple times a year. Will the car ride stress them out to no end? Is that just not an option?
IMHO, sea horses are not a good idea for a first salt tank especially one this small.

I love fish and would absolutely love an aquarium in my dorm and have it be my distraction from school (healthy distraction of course). If seahorses are a bad idea but another kind of saltwater species would work, I'm open to suggestions.
You could keep one firefish and a clown or orange spotted goby in your tank along with a cleaner shrimp (as long as you can keep the nitrates under control). All those are are fun to watch.

An aside, are there temperature control problems in the dorm? If so, you will need to take heating/cooling into considerationl

 

Ok, let me apologize ahead of time if my "mom" comes out in this post. A tank for college is a great idea and will help quell the loneliness, homesickness, & feeling of isolation. Yes, you will go through that and no it's not easy but yes you will live through and come out a stronger person on the other side. Ok, that all being said saltwater at this stage isn't the best choice. Stick with the familiar (i.e. Freshwater) until after college. Salt tanks like to be set up and maintained but not moved. In my experience if you move a salt tank it's like starting over with a new tank each time you move it b/c you have to do a total breakdown and move the fish in a container that meets their requirements during transport. Freshwater fish are much more forgiving in that respect and are usually fine moving in a plastic bag. The reason you should never just lower the water level and move the tank fish & all is that whatever waste/sediment is in the substrate will get very stirred up in the process of moving and could stress the fish past their tolerance. So bagging them up is your best choice and feshies will do much better and the mobile lifestyle of a college student than salties. I like the suggestion aliray gave of a planted nano community tank. That sounds like your best bet.