FusedJaw: Seahorses, Pipefish & Seadragons

Pipefish can make very interesting and unique seahorse tankmates, although they pose some of the same problems as wild-caught seahorses.

Let’s be honest, there are very few seahorse keepers who truly wish to keep their seahorses in a species-specific aquarium. Although there are some keepers who insist that no species of fish, coral, or invertebrate should ever be kept with seahorses under any circumstances, there are quite a lot of animals that will do exceptionally well with seahorses while still allowing the seahorses themselves to thrive. To guide seahorse keepers in stocking their seahorse tanks with non-seahorse inhabitants, I have compiled a list of species that are appropriate for keeping with seahorses. This list should be used as a guide only and not a definitive reference.

The species are categorized as either a 0, 1, 2, or 3. The 0’s are the most docile species around– they’re even safe with seahorse fry! The 1’s are completely safe all the time with small to large horses, almost no exceptions. The 2’s are, aside from the occasional rowdy specimen, safe. The 3’s are a bit of a gamble, but work in some cases; watch them with care and be prepared to relocate them if they become a threat to your seahorses. Species marked with an asterisk (*) are suitable tankmates for seahorses (based on their numbers– 0, 1, 2, or 3), but often fail to thrive in captivity for various reasons. These species are not generally recommended for any tank, but they should be referenced anyway. Anything not on the list may not be safe for seahorses ever, but they may just have been overlooked (or in some cases may be a newly-described species). If you have any questions about unlisted species, feel free to e-mail the author or to visit our Tankmates discussion forum. By the way, the list so far only includes species safe for regular-sized, tropical horses. And please, please, please do not hesitate to ask about any one of the listed or unlisted species you may have a question about! Now on to the list…

Fish
Common Name	Latin Name	Rating	Notes
Curious Wormfish	Gunnelichthys curiosus	0
Neon Goby	Gobiosoma oceanops	0
Sharknose Goby	Gobiosoma evelynae	0
Yellow Clown Goby	Gobiodon okinawae	0
All Shrimp/Prawn Gobies	Amblyeleotris spp.	1
Blackfinned Watchman Goby	Cryptocentrus pavoninoides	1
Blackray Shrimp Goby	Stonogobiops nematodes	1
Blue Assessor	Assessor macneilli	1
Blue-green Chromis	Chromis viridis	1
Jawfish of the genus Opistognathus can make beautiful seahorse tankmates. Although they may look mean, they have a very peaceful and timid disposition.
Bluespotted Jawfish	Opistognathus rosenblatti	1
Clown Shrimp Goby	Stonogobiops sp.	1
Convict Blenny	Pholidichthys leucotaenia	1
Dusky Jawfish	Opistognathus whitehurstii	1
Firefish	Nemateleotris magnifica	1
Green Mandarinfish	Synchiropus splendidus	1	†
Purple Firefish	Nemateleotris decora	1
Rainford’s Goby	Amblygobius rainfordi	1
Red Scooter Dragonet	Synchiropus stellatus	1	†
Scissortail Goby	Ptereleotris evides	1
Scooter Dragonet	Synchiropus ocellatus	1	†
Scorpion Dragonet	Synchiropus marmoratus	1	†
Yellow Assessor	Assessor flavissimus	1
Yellow Eel Goby	Dinematichthys riukiuensis	1	*
Yellowhead Jawfish	Opistognathus aurifrons	1
Bar Goby	Ptereleortis zebra	2
Bicolor Blenny	Ecsenius bicolor	2
Cleaner Wrasse	Labroides dimidiatus	2
False Percula Clownfish	Amphiprion ocellaris	2	†
Clownfish like this Amphiprion ocellaris can make good seahorse tankmates when small, but as they grow, aggression towards seahorses can become a problem.
Fourline Wrasse	Pseufocheilinus tetrataenia	2
Leaf Fish	Taenionotus triacanthus	2
Most Cardinalfishes	Apogon spp.	2
Redspotted Blenny	Istiblennius chrysospilos	2
Royal Gramma	Gramma loreto	2
Sixline Wrasse	Pseudocheilinus hexataenia	2
Spotted Mandarinfish	Synchiropus picturatus	2	†
Sunrise Dottyback	Pseudochromis flavivertex	2
Clark’s Clownfish	Amphiprion clarkii	3
Filamented Flasher Wrasse	Paracheilinus filamentosus	3
Longfin Anthias	Pseudanthias ventralis	3
Longnose Filefish	Oxymonacanthus lonirostris	3	†
Percula Clownfish	Amphiprion percula	3
Pink Skunk Clownfish	Amphiprion perideraion	3
Redlip Blenny	Ophioblennius atlanticus	3
Saddled Filefish	Paraluteres prionurus	3
Seaweed Blenny	Parablennius marmoreus	3
Tasseled Filefish	Chaetoderma pencilligera	3
Yellowtail Damselfish	Chrysipter parasema	3
Invertebrates
Lysmata shrimp can work wonders in seahorse aquariums, not only by cleaning the seahorses themselves, but by cleaning up any leftover mysis shrimp.
Astraea Snail	Lithopoma [Astraea] spp.	0
Blue Linckia Starfish	Linckia laevigata	0	†
Cerith Snail	Family Cerithiidae	0
Dotted Fromia Starfish	Fromia milleporella	0	†
Fanworms including Feather Dusters	Phylum Annelida	0
Fighting Conch	Strombus alatus	0
Lettuce Sea Slug	Elysia crispata	0	†
Marbled Fromia Starfish	Fromia monilis	0	†
Although many sea stars are exceptionally beautiful and will generally not bother seahorses, their feeding needs usually are unsustainable in the home aquarium.
Nassarius Snail	Nassarius vibex	0
Nerite Snail	Nerita spp.	0
Purple “Linckia” Starfish	Echinaster luzonicus	0	†
Trochus Snail	Trochus niloticus	0
Turbo Snail	Turbo spp.	0
Blue-legged Hermit Crab	Clibanarius tricolor	1
Grass Shrimp	Palaemonetes vulgaris	1
Peppermint Shrimp	Lysmata wurdemanni	1
Porcelain Crab	Porcelain Crab	1	†
Rockpool Shrimp	Palaemon elegans	1
Scarlet / Blood Shrimp	Lysmata debelius	1
Skunk Cleaner Shrimp	Lysmata amboinensis	1
All Sponges	Phylum Porifera	2	‡
Banded Serpent Star	Ophiolepis superba	2
Emerald Crab	Mithrax sp.	2
Mexican Red-legged Hermit Crab	Clibanarius digueti	2
Red Reef Hermit Crab	Paguristes cadenati	2
Arrow Crab	Stenorhynchus seticornis	3
Horseshoe Crab	Limulus polyphemus	3
Queen Conch	Strombus gigas	3	‡
Tridacnid Clams	Tridacna spp.	3
Corals
Acropora can survive in seahorse aquariums, although they prefer more flow and will thrive in systems set up specifically for them.
Clove Polyps	Clavularia spp.	0
Finger Leather	Cladiella spp.	0
Kenya Tree Coral	Capnella spp.	0
Leather Coral	Sinularia spp.	0
Photosynthetic Gorgonians	Eunicea spp. and others	0
Pulse Coral	Xenia spp.	0
Button Polyps	Zoanthus spp.	1
Colorful Sea Rod	Diodogorgia nodulifera	1	†
Green Star Polyps	Pachyclavularia spp.	1
Ivory Coral	Oculina spp.	1
Mushroom Corals	Actinodiscus = Discosoma spp.	1
Nonphotosynthetic Gorgonians	Acalycigorgia spp. and others	1	†
Pagoda Cup Coral	Turbinaria frondens	1
Raspberry Coral	Blastomussa merleti	1
Toadstool Leather	Sarcophyton spp.	1
Waving-hand Coral	Anthelia spp.	1
Caribbean Ricordea	Ricordea florida	2
Carnation Coral	Dendronephthya spp.	2	†
Disk Coral	Fungia spp.	2
Indo-Pacific Ricordea	Ricordea yuma	2
Lobed Brain Coral	Lobophyllia spp.	2
Open Brain Coral	Trachyphyllia geoffroyi	2
Orange Cup Coral	Tubastrea sp.	2
Pipe Organ Coral	Tubipora musica	2
Purple Sea Blade	Pterogorgia sp.	2
Sea Mat	Palythoa spp.	2
Sea Pens	Family Veretillidae	2	†
Yellow Polyps	Parazoanthus spp.	2
Hairy Mushroom	Rhodactis spp.	3
Hermatypic Corals	Acropora spp., Montipora spp., and many others	3
Moon Brain Coral	Favia spp.	3
Pineapple Coral	Favites spp.	3

Large Palythoa can potentially sting seahorses, although specimens will not achieve a large enough size to do considerable damage.

* very timid species that usually will not thrive
† usually will not accept prepared food or cannot get enough food without excessive target feeding
‡ most tank setups are unsuitable

**Scientific names provided by Scott W. Michael’s Marine Fishes, Bob Fenner’s The Conscientious Marine Aquarist, and Eric Borneman’s Aquarium Corals.

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This entry was posted on Friday, June 25th, 2004 at 1:22 pm and is filed under Aquarium Care. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.