Saltwater Fish
Black Seahorse.
A black seahorse is a slow, mesmerizing fish that anchors its tail to hitching posts and sips tiny foods all day. Seahorses need a calm, specialized species tank with gentle flow and frequent feedings — best for a dedicated keeper. Call or stop by to ask about current care details and what's in the tank this week.
In-store purchase only. Live fish, coral, and invertebrates are sold at our Erie store only. They cannot be bought online, and we do not ship live animals under any circumstances.
Live fish are priced per supplier batch — prices may vary. Call to confirm current pricing.
- Condition
- new
- Fulfillment
- Local pickup — Erie, PA
Live animals are sold in store only — we do not ship fish, coral, or invertebrates. Every animal is acclimated and health-checked in-house before it reaches the sales floor. This is a species we carry — it's most likely in the tanks around delivery days, but live stock changes daily. Please call (814) 456-9445 to confirm availability before you drive in.
Care at a glance
What to know before you take one home.
- Temperament
- Peaceful
- Adult size
- 7.5"
- Min tank size
- 30 gallons
- Diet
- Carnivore
- Scientific name
- Hippocampus sp.
Good tank mates
Seahorses are slow, gentle feeders best kept in a dedicated species tank or with very calm, slow tankmates, since faster fish outcompete them for food. Avoid clownfish, anemones, aggressive corals, crabs, and any quick or nippy fish that can stress or injure them. Because this is a general black seahorse listing, ask Sea Cave staff which species it is and what specific tankmates suit it before mixing anything in.
Good to know
Seahorses are among the only animals in which the male carries and gives birth to the young, brooding the eggs in a belly pouch until they hatch.
Stock and individual temperament vary — call (814) 456-9445 for pairing advice before you buy.
Good tankmates
Plays well with.
Species we’d keep in the same tank, with why each pairing works. Stock and individual temperament vary — call (814) 456-9445 to confirm before you buy.
New to stocking a tank? Read our guide on which fish live together.
Firefish Goby
Confirmed by seahorse-specific authorities as an excellent seahorse tankmate — a passive planktonivore that hovers near the substrate, does not out-compete seahorses at feeding time, and shows no fin-nipping tendency (fin-nipping warnings in the literature apply to filefish, not firefish). Feed other tankmates first, then target-feed the seahorses.
Banggai Cardinalfish
Slow, deliberate feeder whose calm water-column behavior matches the seahorse's pace. Confirmed compatible across multiple seahorse-specific guides; does not harass or outcompete slow-moving tankmates. Keep in groups of three or more (one male) to prevent intraspecific stress; minimum 30-gallon tank.
Royal Gramma
Seahorse.com, the primary seahorse keeper authority, states Royal Grammas 'do great with seahorses and utterly ignore them.' Territorial bluff-charges (mouth-gaping, darting) are directed at conspecifics or visually similar basslets, not at unrelated slow-moving fish. Keep only one per tank; provide ample caves so territories do not overlap with seahorse hitching spots. Best in tanks 50 gallons or larger.
- Y
Yellowhead Jawfish
Multiple seahorse compatibility lists confirm this species as safe — it anchors itself to a burrow in the sand bed, is non-aggressive toward unrelated fish, and does not compete meaningfully with seahorses in the water column. Requires a 3–5 inch mixed-grade sand bed for burrowing and a tight-fitting lid (known jumper), but poses no compatibility risk to the seahorse itself.
Visit the store
660 East 14th Street,
Erie, PA.
Mon–Fri 12–6 · Sat 11–4 · Sun closed. Call ahead on livestock — what's on the floor rotates.