Marine World – Simply Seahorses article                                                                                      10.09.08

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Horse sense!

It was in January 2007 that Nigel Christie and Helen Gill decided that it was time to follow their dream, convert their garage, and establish Simply Seahorses, and although the business is primarily a marine fish retailer, unquestionably at the heart of the venture is Nigel and Helen’s love of seahorses.

Since then the company has launched its website: www.simplyseahorses.co.uk and has also moved to larger premises in Northwich, Cheshire, where they have set up a specialist marine warehouse supplying a wide range of marine fish, plants, corals and invertebrates, together with hardware stock, food and medications to a growing list of customers including ten national aquariums.

More importantly though, this move has enabled the couple to establish their own seahorse breeding programme, with specialist nursery tanks for the seahorse fry and cultivation facilities for the necessary live phyto-plankton and live rotifers which form the foodchain.

At the moment, Simply Seahorses is able to offer ten different varieties of captive bred seahorses from their own breeding programme and they also deal with carefully selected overseas suppliers.  Nigel and Helen confide that there are more species currently in the pipeline, and by collaborating with other seahorse aquaculture farms, who are not in a position to export, they are now establishing an ‘Exchange Market’ in order to provide captive bred seahorses that they currently do not have.

Full details of all the current stock can be found and ordered on the regularly updated website, which also includes a ‘forum’ via which people can seek advice and swap ideas.

Currently all the imported seahorses arrive at London Heathrow, but Nigel and Helen are so passionate regarding their well-being that they personally travel down there to collect them from the DEFRA quarantine Unit.  The seahorses are then acclimatised in their own tanks for a minimum of two weeks to ensure they are healthy and eating well before they are made available for sale.

Sales deliveries are equally considerate and the company only uses the most trusted couriers who will guarantee to deliver before noon.  Follow-up checks are always made to ensure the seahorses have settled into their new homes.

Nigel Christie and Helen Gill are, by their own admission, seahorse fanatics.  They are constantly adding new varieties to their collection and they are happy to offer expert to anyone who requires it.

If you’re interested in seahorses, you really do need to make contact with Simply Seahorses.  It’s as simple as that!