Cross Breeds

Are sea horses allowed to be kept in aquariums and how many gallons do they need?

What about starfish?

Public Comments

1. http://www.petco.com/product/101802/Captive-Bred-Reidi-Seahorse.aspx?CoreCat=OnSiteSearch 30 gallons=]
2. Several species are available to the "saltwater" hobbyist.... so yes they are legal,and available. http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/aquarium-fish-supplies.cfm?c=15+40 http://aquaticzone.co.uk/store/product_info.php?cPath=24_63&products_id=145 ... if in UK. Size tank depends on species ... Dwarf Seahorses can be kept in 10g (although saltwater "nano-tanks" are hard to keep balanced).The other species available go up from there. The hardest part of keeping Seahorses is their feeding requirements ... they prefer live foods that stay up in the water column.
3. Seahorses are legal. Seahorses are more difficult to keep than most fish. They should be kept in a species only tank (only seahorses and pipefish) with nothing else to compete with them for food. Most people in the saltwater aquarium hobby would never consider keeping seahorses (or starfish either) in their tank. As I said, unless you have the room to keep a species only tank, the money to maintain them properly and most importantly, the knowledge to keep them healthy for years to come, then I would not recommend them for you either. There are some great resources to learn about saltwater fish both online and in books. I've included a link below, to one of the best books ever written about keeping a saltwater fish tank. I would get yourself a copy of this book and read it, at least once, maybe two or three times. It's a great reference book after you're done reading it. Best of luck, swimmer FYI, a great source for saltwater equipment is Saltwater Critters.