Pete Giwojna
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Re:Refugium "feeding" - 2008/09/10 19:05
Dear Simon:
Yes, sir, if the refugium is well-established ahead of time with a bountiful pod population and is properly designed so that it delivers copepods, amphipods, and larval shrimp and crustaceans to the main tank continuously, it may be possible to provide a single pair of seahorses with enough feeding opportunities to sustain them in much the same way as you would design an aquarium to create ideal conditions for a Mandarin Dragonet.
It's also possible to keep Gammarus amphipods and various species of copepods in the main tank with seahorses, providing the tank has sufficient live rock, macroalgae, and other hiding places for the pods to conceal themselves. Although the seahorses will greedily gobble up the amphipods and copepods as quickly as they find them, enough of them will usually survive in the inaccessible nooks and crannies in the aquarium to maintain a breeding population.
However, it's generally not possible to create a self-sustaining ecosystem in a seahorse tank in which the natural reproduction of copepods and amphipods is enough to sustain these seahorses without the aid of one or more well-stocked refugia. Our galloping gourmets will usually deplete the pod population faster than it can replenish itself. If you have a large enough aquarium with lots of live rock and a well-established, heavy population of copepods and amphipods and other microfauna -- the type of setup that would be good for Mandarin dragonets, for example -- you might be able to keep a pair of seahorses in such a tank and just provide them with occasional supplemental feedings of frozen Mysis. It's generally more practical to keep just enough copepods and amphipods in the tank to provide your seahorses with an opportunity to graze on live foods between meals and then to provide them with regular feedings of frozen Mysis as the bulk of their diet.
It's a better idea to set up the Gammarus amphipods, copepods, feeder shrimp, and other live foods species in a refugium that's connected to the seahorse tank, as you are planning, Simon. That way the Gammarus and copepods and other small crustaceans can build up a very large population well they are safely protected within the refuge, and some of them will be released into the seahorse tank to provide tasty treats for the ponies.
A refugium is simply a self-contained protected area, isolated from the main tank but sharing the same water supply, which provides many of the same benefits as a sump. A refugium can help newly added fish or invertebrates easily acclimate to a new tank. It can provide a safe haven for injured fish or corals to regenerate damaged tissue without the need for a separate quarantine tank. But perhaps its main benefit for the seahorse keeper is provide a protected area where macroalgae can be grown and small live prey items (copepods, amphipods, Caprellids, etc.) that will eventually become a food source for the inhabitants of the main portion of the tank can be cultured safely, allowing their population to build up undisturbed.
For instance, Charles Delbeek likes to use glass shrimp and cleaner shrimp that are too large to be eaten in the refugium for his seahorse tank, where the regular reproduction of these hermaphroditic crustaceans will provide a continuous supply of nutritious nauplii for his ponies: "There is a method that can be used to offer an occasional supply of live food for your sea horses. By setting up a separate system housing several species of shrimp such as the common cleaner shrimp (Lysmata amboinensis), peppermint shrimp (Lysmata amboinensis), or Rhynchocinetes uritai or R. durbanensis, you can get a fairly regular supply of live shrimp larvae. These species are best to use since they can live in large groups and spawn on a regular basis. Such a system is commonly called a refugium. A refugium is a small (10-20 gallon) aquarium that contains live sand, live rock and/or macroalgae such as Caulerpa or Gracilaria. It is plumbed such that water from your main system is pumped to the refugium and then returns via an overflow to the main tank. Some of the pods and larval crustaceans will then be carried from the refugium into the sea horse tank in the water that overflows from the refuge. For this type of arrangement to work, the refugium must be slightly higher than the main tank. Shrimp are added to the refugium and within a few months they should start spawning and hatching eggs every few weeks. The larvae are then carried back to the main tank by the overflow, where they become a food source for your sea horses. Of course other life will also thrive in the refugium and it is not unusual for copepods, mysis and crab larvae to also be produced on a regular basis. The key to the refugium is to keep predators out of the system so that the smaller micro-crustacean population can thrive. You would need a fairly large and productive refugium to produce enough food to maintain even a pair of sea horses, so at best, a typical refugium can provide a nice source of supplemental live food; the basic daily diet still needs to be provided by you in the form of the frozen foods mentioned above." (Delbeek, November 2001, "Horse Forum," FAMA magazine)
Aside from the one Delbeek favors, refugia are available in a number of different designs. For example, there are easy-to-install external hang-on refugia and in-tank refugia as well as sump-style refugia that are mounted beneath the main. Here are a couple of online sites where you can look up more information on refugia, including articles explaining how to set up and install a refugium of your own:
Click here: Refugium Setups Information - From About Saltwater Aquariums
http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/refugiumsetups/
Click here: Refugiums
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/refugium.htm
In short, Simon, the system you have in mind is certainly worth experimenting with to see if the abundant microfauna in a well stocked refuge or two can provide one pair of seahorses with all of the live feed they need to remain fat and happy. But it will take time for an adequate pod population to build up and careful planning to devise a way of continually delivering them to the main tank from the refugia. Just keep an eye on the seahorses to make sure they are not becoming emaciated or developing pinched in abdomens, and offer them supplemental feedings with frozen Mysis as necessary.
Best wishes with all your fishes, sir!
Happy Trails!
Pete Giwojna
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