Seahorse Information

Undoubtedly one of the most amazing fish species inhabiting the vast oceans, seahorses are named so owing to their unique appearance. There are as many as 30 identified species of this fish, spread across the shallow tropical and temperate oceans on the planet. An equally amazing aspect is the etymology of the scientific name of this species. The scientific name of this genus is hippocampus, which is derived from a combination of the ancient Greek words hippos, meaning horse, and kampos, meaning a sea monster.

Seahorse Facts

As we mentioned earlier, these creatures are named so owing to their distinct appearance. Their upper torso resembles a horse to a significant extent, while the lower torso is typically characterized by a curly multipurpose tail. Though they are categorized as bony fish, they do not sport scales like most of the other species in this category do. In fact, the bony plates in this species are arranged in the form of rings throughout their body, and this arrangement of rings on their body differs from one species to another. Similarly, seahorses also have a small crown like structure on their head, which is different in each individual, quite like fingerprints in humans and stripes in zebras. Among the other amazing aspects of seahorse appearance, their long snouts, which they use to suck food, and amazing eyes, which move independently, cannot be ignored.

Habitat: Seahorses prefer shallow areas, typically characterized by seagrass beds, mangroves or coral reefs. Being poor swimmers, you are more likely to find this species resting in such sheltered areas. When resting, they need to coil their tail around some stationary object to avoid being swept away by the currents, and thus a habitat characterized by mangroves or seagrass beds is ideal for them. Their murky brown and gray patterns also help them in camouflaging, and evading the possible predators. Among the 30 seahorse subspecies found in various oceans of the world, 4 subspecies (including the dwarf seahorse and the Pacific seahorse) are found off the Pacific coast.

Dietary Habits: Other than being poor swimmers, seahorses are also slow in terms of feeding. Their diet primarily consists of small shrimp, tiny fish and plankton. They also prefer small crustaceans which float on the surface of the water or crawl on the sea floor. At times, they are also seen feeding on various invertebrates and larval fish that they come across. Their excellent camouflage helps them to ambush prey within the striking range, thus making hunting a relatively easy task.

Seahorses as Pets

Owing to their distinct nature, seahorses require a specialized environment in the captivity. If you intend to keep them as pets, a normal marine aquarium will not suffice. Ideally, the seahorse habitat in captivity has to be characterized by ample space, with sufficient resting places for it. While preparing such an habitat, one has to take into consideration the fact that they need to hold on to something with their tails when resting. They don't mind sharing the tank with other marine animal species, as long as they are slow feeding like the seahorses themselves. As far as choosing a pet seahorse is concerned, you can either opt for captive bred species or tank raised species. Although some pet shops do catch and sell wild seahorses, they are highly disease prone and prefer to eat only live food. On the other hand, the species bred in captivity tend to feed on a range of frozen foods, with frozen mysis shrimp being their favorite.

Incessant hunting of seahorses by humans, especially for their use in traditional medicine, has brought about a severe decline in their population. It is estimated that approximately 20 million seahorses are caught and sold in the international market every year. Other than overfishing, marine biologists also blame human-induced habitat destruction to be responsible for the decline in seahorse population. If this trend continues, it won't take much time for this species to feature in the list of extinct animals.