We began keeping four H. whitei in April 2003 in a 12.5 gallon tank. In June 2003, we upgraded to a 28 gallon bowfront which currently houses six females and two males. One of the males is pregnant with his third brood of fry, which we are attempting to rear in specially designed goldfish bowls coupled with an extensive brine shrimp hatchery. H. whitei are considered sub-tropical with a temperature range of 72 to 77 F. We keep our whitei aquarium at the lower end of the range, usually at 73 to 74 F. During the hot summer months, we use air conditioning to keep the whitei aquarium within their temperature range. Tankmates include one small bright orange starfish, several astrea and cerith snails, a few bristleworms and several small brittlestars.

The 28 gallon tank contains 34 lbs of various types of live rock and a 3" aragonite sandbed. Two types of unidentified macroalgae as well as some halimeda provide hitching and hunting places throughout the aquarium. Lighting the 28 gallon tank are two light fixtures - one of which is an Eclipse Natural Daylight P15T8 18" fluorescent tube in a Perfecto Fixture, and the other is two 15 watt Envirolite bulbs in a Hagen twin incandescent fixture. The two lighting systems emit enough light for great macroalgae growth, so much so that the macroalgae must be pruned back every other week. Two powerheads provide aeration and filtration. One Hagen 301 with Quickfilter filled with foam is located at the left back of the aquarium. Its nozzle is pointed across the back to the tank toward the right, providing strong surface agitation. Another smaller Hagen 101 powerhead, set on low flow, is located near the bottom of the right side and is pointed toward the front of the aquarium, providing water movement in the lower regions of the tank. The water movement in the 28 gallon aquarium is significantly greater than it had been in the original 12.5 gallon aquarium and, surprisingly, the seahorses move around the tank more in the stronger current.