Pete Giwojna
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Best artificial corals & hitching posts? - 2009/04/17 05:57
Fellow Seahorse Wranglers:
I have been getting a lot of messages from hobbyists asking about the best hitching posts and aquarium decorations for their new seahorse tanks, and where to obtain the superior artificial corals and gorgonians I recommend. The following information should make everything clear in that regard:
Aquarium Decor
When aquascaping a seahorse tank, the idea is to create a complex, natural environment for the seahorses with lots of shelter, well-shaded retreats, and convenient hitching posts. Seahorses prefer a fairly elaborate setup with lots of microhabitats that offers them plenty of cover and sight barriers so that they don't feel vulnerable and exposed.
At the same time, however, your seahorse setup should not be too cluttered. (Your ponies will also appreciate swimming space and some open areas for promenading and performing their dancelike courtship displays.)
The plants and decorations can be real or synthetic, or a mixture of both. You can combine live plants with synthetic plants and live corals with artificial corals as you please in order to provide colorful, natural surroundings for your seahorses and create an aesthetically pleasing aquascape that will make your seahorses feel right at home.
A certain amount of complexity is desirable in a seahorse setup. For example, a tank with too few attachment sites and hitching posts is a stressful environment for seahorses, as is a sparsely decorated aquarium that leaves these secretive animals feeling vulnerable and exposed. Such sterile environments are commonplace when seahorses are being maintained under laboratory conditions. A Spartan setup facilitates feeding, water changes and maintenance, in general, but it can adversely affect the behavior of the inhabitants and may even prevent captive seahorses from breeding.
Hippocampus relies on camouflage and remaining hidden for its very survival. Seahorses can thus become distressed and agitated if their tank is too barren to provide adequate cover. This is particularly true during courtship and mating when the increased activity level and heightened coloration make them highly conspicuous and vulnerable, and breeding may be severely inhibited under these conditions.
A recent research project that studied the behavior of captive Cape seahorses (Hippocampus capensis) recently confirmed the need for a certain level of complexity in any setup for seahorses (Topps, 1999). The study found that seahorses display more "natural" behavior when they are provided with an elaborate, structured environment that includes a number of different microhabitats (Topps, 1999). These findings are another indication that a sparse setup with inadequate shelter can inhibit the behavior of captive seahorses.
As we've been discussing, your seahorse setup should therefore include plenty of hiding places and sight barriers such as live rock, real or artificial branching corals, and living or synthetic marine plants. It should be well planted and have lots of convenient hitching posts. This is what I usually advise hobbyists with regard to hitching posts:
Hitching Posts
When it comes to hitching posts and decorations, seahorses in general tend to prefer perches that are bigger in diameter over skinnier ones that are a bit more difficult to get a good grip on with their tails, but other than that, it's very difficult to predict what they'll go for. I have noticed that tree sponges and tube sponges -- both the real thing (which are difficult to keep healthy) and the lifelike artificial versions (a better choice for most tanks) -- almost always seem to be particular favorites. Very often such sponges are bright red or yellow or brilliant orange in coloration, but I think it is the structure and texture of the sponges that attracts the seahorses more than the color.
Tree sponges in particular are veritable seahorse magnets and the ponies really do love them. They are usually brightly colored (red and orange shades are common) and their shape and texture seem to make them irresistible to seahorses as hitching posts. Very often, all the seahorses in the tank can be found clinging to the same tree sponge together, eschewing other nearby holdfasts that appear every bit as comfy and attractive to human eyes.
So selecting a colorful tree sponge or two may be an excellent way to stimulate color changes in your seahorses. Collectors will often find bright red or vivid orange seahorses living in beds of colorful sponges in the wild.
However, hobbyists need to be aware that live sponges do contain toxins and incorporate glassy spicules into their fibrous bodies in order to deter fish predators. (Many marine angelfish love to graze on sponges, and in some species sponges comprise the bulk of their diet.) But, as a rule, this never causes any problems in a seahorse tank because it's entirely a passive defense mechanism -- the sponges have to be attacked and torn open in order to release the toxins and that just never happens under normal aquarium conditions.
I can see how it might become a problem, however, if a sponge died undetected in the aquarium and began to break down or decompose, releasing its toxins in the process. As with many sessile life forms, it can sometimes be difficult to tell if a sponge is healthy and thriving or if it's doing poorly and should be removed as a precaution. Live sponges do best in well-established reef tanks and often have difficulty getting enough to eat in a conventional community aquarium or seahorse tank, but usually the sponge colony will simply shrink in size as a result. If they become fungused or smothered under algae growth, it's best to remove them as soon as possible. (Don't try to scrape off the algae growth from a sponge or scrub it clean or cut away the affected portions of the sponge -- all of those procedures could release the toxins into your aquarium with deadly results!) So when you keep live sponges, place them in areas with low light levels where they will receive moderate water flow to discourage algae grow. Or better yet, use a colorful lifelike tree sponge instead of the real thing, such as the ones offered by Nature’s Image.
Seahorses often tend to gravitate towards gorgonians as well, and the big purple gorgonians that are large in diameter are also usually very popular with seahorses. Otherwise, they seem to like genuine corals and synthetic corals about equally well. The colorful artificial sea rods and gorgonians provided by Living Color, in particular, are real seahorse magnets -- every bit as popular with our ponies as tree sponges.
Pay special attention to the hitching posts you select for your seahorse tank. Strive for bright reds, oranges, and yellows -- even shades of pink or purple -- in anything your seahorses may adopt as a holdfast. These aquatic equines -- especially the stallions -- will often choose one particular hitching post as their home base and spend much of there time perched right there (think of your Dad hunkered down in his favorite easy chair in the den). Once they adopt a favorite base of operations like this, they will sometimes proceed to change coloration to match their preferred resting spot. So you want to encourage them to adopt one of the more vivid pieces as a favorite holdfast.
Mildred Bellomy provides a perfect example of how this works in the Encyclopedia of Seahorses:
<Open quote>
Elizabeth Goetz of Miami, Florida has kept one or more seahorse stables in her home for many years. She wrote the following anecdote about one of her seahorses that "turned red with envy."
"About five or six years ago, it was just about this time of year, [Christmas], we began our holiday decorating. Our own is not the simplest place to decorate for special occasions in that we have so many aquariums -- approximately 35 at the time. Fourteen of these tanks were the homes of seahorses (Hippocampus hudsonius). [Editor's note: Hippocampus hudsonius is an outdated synonym for Hippocampus erectus.]
"After completing the superficial home decorating, we decided it would be a grand idea to really go all-out with the holiday scheme and include the aquariums. On checking through our collection of assorted Christmas bric-a-brac, we found a number of ceramic items suitable for display in sea water. There were Christmas trees in north-woods green, gaily ornamental angels lovely enough to have stepped from the very gates of Heaven, winged carolers, haloed mermaids, etc., and lo and behold! -- one, red-robed, sitting Santa Claus, with the most adorable facial expression one could imagine. Here, then, was ample material to decorate to one's heart's content.
"The walls of the dining room are lined with 10- and 15-gallon aquariums so we chose the most prominent 15-gallon tank for this pixie-like Santa. This was the home of five seahorses and they, too, seemed really happy with the decorating idea. We will not argue the point that any other smooth ceramic piece would have pleased them equally, but it is more satisfying to believe that the seahorses joined in with the holiday spirit. Nevertheless, almost as soon as their former hitching posts were removed and a Christmas item put in its place, the seahorses wrapped their respective tails around the new items and were completely at home again. Though scientists may adamantly disagree, we firmly believe fish do have varied personalities, even within their own species. Ask any hobbyist. We have had friendly seahorses, unfriendly ones, and downright cussed critters; the timid, placid, bold, and boisterous, and all of these and more personality traits were observed in H. hudsonius alone.
"All of the foregoing is merely to set the stage for our tale of the seahorse that turned red with envy.
"Our little seahorse star of this story was the most calm and timid of the five in our Santa aquarium. He would cruise calmly from his hitching post for exercise and return to his own station a short distance from the Santa, never trying to usurp the throne of another of his tankmates. The others did claim Santa as a resting place. Seldom was the time when Santa didn't have the tail of a seahorse wrapped gently around an arm that rested on his pack, or around the tipped-up tassel of his toboggan. Our calm but "envious one" would stare in Santa's direction almost constantly, while resting. It might be well, at this point, to emphasize that Santa was the only red-colored object or part of this aquarium. This previously dark (brownish) seahorse -- originally colored the same as the other four -- turned bright red. His change occurred gradually, over a period of about a week and it is quite true, he became a most beautiful red for the holidays."
Now we are well aware of color changes in nature, assumedly for protective measures, and being mindful of the fact that this timid little fellow did not cling to red-robed Santa, but remained some distance away, what then could the whimsical-minded, season-inspired person presume other than that the most peace-loving seahorse in the aquarium bathed himself in the reflected glory of the mythical man-of-the-hour, the one and only Santa Claus. <Close quote>
Notice that the seahorse reverted to its usual dark brown coloration when the scarlet-clad Claus figurine was removed from the aquarium after the holidays.
The moral of this story is that you can never tell what might catch your seahorse's eye and trigger a corresponding color change in response to a change in its immediate environment. With that in mind, some hobbyists have experimented with brightly colored aquarium backgrounds and achieved surprising results. For instance, I have received reports that a bright orange aquarium backing can stimulate vivid color changes in some seahorses, although the result is often not what you would expect. (One wonders if Hippocampus perceives all colors the same way we do.) Don't hesitate to experiment until you find the right combination that works well for both you and your seahorses.
Transitory color changes can be achieved rapidly, in a matter of moments, but long lasting transformations occur gradually, and may take days to complete. This is often the case when a seahorse adopts a favorite hitching post and makes it his home base or center of operations. When that happens, the seahorse will often assume a color that closely matches its chosen resting spot so it blends in with its background when hanging out at headquarters. This is akin to the situation with the ceramic Santa; the color matching occurs slowly and, once the transformation is complete, the seahorse intends to keep its new coloration indefinitely.
![]() 
Hippocampus barbouri blending in with its background. Photo by Leslie Leddo
Hitching posts for your seahorses can thus be either live or artificial marine sea grasses, algae and corals. If you decide to try an assortment of colorful artificial corals, seahorses often prefer red or orange pieces, and bright yellow, pink, and purple corals are also popular with the ponies. Many hobbyists report good results using artificial tree sponges, gorgonians and sea rods, staghorn coral, octopus coral and pillar coral in the appropriate colors to keep their seahorses looking their brightest. They look entirely natural and lifelike, with lots of branching projections that make great hitching posts for seahorses. Oh, and cup coral often makes a great ready-made feeding station! Nature's Image, Living Color and perhaps the Signature Coral Corporation are the best sources for artificial corals, in my opinion.
For lifelike artificial hitching posts, you simply can't beat the colorful, realistic Nature's Image (http://www.naturesimageonline.com/) and Living Color corals (http://www.livingcolor.com/coral.cfm). Nature's Image, for example, has mastered the art of replicating living corals with their polyps fully expanded, which makes many of their artificial corals even more lifelike and attractive.
For example, take a look at their gorgeous artificial Carnation Coral (Dendronephthya) shown below. It measures 6.75"L x 4"W x 3.5"H and is available in red-and-white as well as pink-N.-white.
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NI -135A -- Nature's Image Carnation Coral (Dendronephthya)
Equally impressive are the Nature's Image Sun Polyps (Tubastrea) shown below:
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NI -47A -- Nature's Image Sun Polyps (Tubastrea) 6.5"L x 6.25"W x 4.25"H
Of course, their Branching Sun Polyps formation seen below is even more impressive and would make a wonderful home base for any Hippocampus.
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Item# 20601 Branching Tubastrea Sun Polyps from Nature's Image (8"L x 8"W x 6.5"H).
Both seahorses and their keepers will find the Green Branching Galaxia polyps to be equally attractive in the aquarium:
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Item # 21402 Green Branching Galaxia from Nature's Image (11"L x 7"W x 14.5").
Needless to say, bright red and orange branching sponges are especially popular perches for our ponies. Although the living sponges are difficult to keep alive, artificial sponges like the one from Nature’s Image shown below are just as attractive to seahorses and would be perfect for an aquarium with Fire Reds or the red-orange color morphs of Hippocampus reidi or H. erectus:
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Item # 90161 Red Sponge from Nature’s Image (10"L x 6"W x 13"H).
The brilliant yellow and green zoanthids from Nature’s Image allow hobbyists to add colorful Zooanthus colonies to their seahorse tanks without any risk from the toxic slime that is inevitable when handling the real thing:
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Item # 21403 Atomic Yellow Zooanthids from Nature’s Image (7”L x 3”W x 7”H)
Hobbyists find that branching coral formations such as the aptly named Octopus Coral shown below, with its many outstretched "tentacles," make excellent holdfasts for their seahorses:
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NI -12B rose Octopus Coral (Tubastrea mircantha) from Nature's Image (13"L x 4"W x 10"H).
More examples of lifelike, colorful artificial corals that would be an asset in any marine aquarium and would encourage your seahorses to look their best and brightest are shown below:
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NI -72B bright red Acropora humilis from Nature's Image (5.75"L x 5.75"W x 4.25"H)
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NI -25C pink Branching Acropora (Acropora florida) from Nature's Image (6"L x 4"W x 6"H).
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NI -22A purple Fan Coral (Acropora tutielensis) from Nature's Image (6"L x 5.5"W x 5.5"H).
As for Living Color, I have found the various artificial gorgonia they offer to be unsurpassed. They offer an assortment of harp gorgonians, seafans, sea whips, and sea rods in various colors that all make outstanding hitching posts for seahorses. They come in a variety of colors (red, burnt orange, yellow-gold, and purple) and are very realistic in shape, color, and texture. These types of gorgonia normally grow attached to rocky reefs in the ocean, so they would look perfectly natural amidst your live rock.
The following Living Color items all make terrific colorful hitching posts for seahorses:
Harp Gorgonian (Ctenocella pectinata), Item number 483 RD (21"L x 2"W x 14"H)
Sea Rod (Pseudoplexaura sp.), item number 485 BTOR (4.5"L x 1"W x 21"H)
Sea Whip (Pseudoplexaura sp.), item number 108 RD or PL (9.5"L x 1.5"W x 15"H)
The red harp gorgonian is a magnificent aquarium specimen with numerous thin branches that rise vertically from its arms like the strings of a harp, as if to offer perfect perches for our ponies. It is large, ornate, and colorful -- a great centerpiece for a seahorse tank!
The sea rods are tall, brightly colored and majestic, with just the right circumference and texture for seahorses to wrap their prehensile tails around. They are one artificial coral that rivals the ability of living tree sponges to attract all the seahorses in the vicinity. Many times you will find most all of your ponies clinging to the branches of the same red or orange or yellow sea rod, transforming the gorgonian into a veritable seahorse tree adorned with animated ornaments.
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"Seahorse Magnets: the artificial sea rods and gorgonians from Living Color shown in the photo above are popular perches that our pampered ponies find irresistible." Photo by Dr. Randy Morgan.
The Living Color sea whips are shaped like elegant candelabras and are also large, showy, seahorse magnets.
And one of the Velvet Stone Corals they offer, in particular, makes an absolutely superb natural-looking feeding station for seahorses! The inner whorls of the colorful coral form a deep bowl to contain the frozen Mysis and protect it from being swept away by water currents, whereas the outer whorls provide convenient places for several seahorses to perch while they wait to eat:
Item number 360 DPK Velvet Stone Coral (Montipora sp.) from Living Color (11"L x 8"W x 7.5"H)
I also like the following branching tube sponges offered by Living Color:
Tube Sponge (Callyspongia vaginalis), item number 187 DPK.
As much as the shape, natural appearance, and coloration of the Living Color corals and gorgonians attracts seahorses, I believe it is the texture or consistency of these decorations that appeals to the seahorses as much as anything else. The Living Color corals are made of a material that is soft and pliant to the touch, and I suspect it is this spongy texture that makes them such favorites with the seahorses, just as they are naturally drawn to living tree sponges.
Nature's Image artificial corals are made of similar material, and this gives them a number of other advantages besides appealing to the seahorses. For one thing, it makes these decorations very durable and easy to clean and maintain. They are flexible and yielding rather than brittle, which makes them largely unbreakable. Hobbyists with acrylic tanks will like the fact that these artificial corals will not scratch their aquariums the way real coral skeletons can do. And they are light in weight, which saves on the shipping costs.
Nature's Image and Living Color artificial corals are also colorfast. They are not dyed or painted -- their pigments are part of the material they are composed of, so their coloration is solid from top to bottom, all the way through. They are UV resistant and will retain their bright colors indefinitely.
So you needn't be an accomplished reef keeper or an expert at culturing live corals to create a lush undersea garden for your seahorses. You can provide your ponies with their own personal playground and little patch of paradise using nothing but artificial corals, faux gorgonians and synthetic plants, and the seahorses will feel like they never left the reef.
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"Seahorse Heaven: Randy Morgan's 70-gallon seahorse tank is decorated entirely with artificial corals from Nature's Image and Living Color and is teeming with natural beauty and color." Photo by Dr. Randy Morgan.
However, Nature's Image and Living Color are strictly wholesale businesses, so you can't order your artificial coral directly from those companies. You will need to find a local pet store, retailer, or dealer in your area that carries their products so that you can purchase the corals from them instead.
If you plan to decorate your seahorse tank primarily with artificial corals and gorgonians, but you're still uncertain how to proceed with the aquascaping, feel free to contact me via e-mail (PeteGiwojna@aol.com) with some details regarding your aquarium, and I will be happy to help you design your synthetic seahorse reef. I will start by recommending some artificial hitching posts that I know are especially popular perches with our ponies and that would work well in your particular tank. However, in order to select colorful lifelike corals that are just the right size and shape for your seahorse setup, I will need to know the following information:
1) The dimensions of your seahorse tank (length, width, and height).
2) How deep the substrate in your aquarium is in inches.
3) Whether or not your seahorse tank will include live rock or other rockwork, and if so, approximately how much.
4) How much you are willing to spend for the artificial corals, gorgonians, and other decorations.
Armed with this information, I will be happy to help you custom design an attractive arrangement of artificial corals and hitching posts for your particular aquarium that will make the seahorses feel right at home and help keep them looking their best and brightest. I will send you photographs of all the corals I recommend, along with their exact dimensions, so you can see exactly what they are like before you proceed.
If you include a digital photograph of your aquarium, I will also indicate exactly where in the photograph I would place the particular coral formations and decorations for the best effect and the most pleasing aquascape.
I have access to dealers for Nature's Image and Living Color, so I can also work with these outlets to make sure you obtain the exact pieces that I recommend at retail prices. If you wish, I will personally handpick the corals for you, and have them delivered directly to your doorstep if you have any difficulty obtaining them locally.
Best of luck aquascaping your seahorse tanks!
Happy Trails!
Pete Giwojna
Post edited by: Pete Giwojna, at: 2009/04/19 21:38
Post edited by: Pete Giwojna, at: 2009/04/22 21:37
Post edited by: Pete Giwojna, at: 2009/06/07 01:45
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Post edited by: Pete Giwojna, at: 2009/06/14 22:54
Post edited by: Pete Giwojna, at: 2009/06/14 22:56
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