According to Wikipedia, seahorse is the name given to 54 species of small marine fishes from the genus Hippocampus which comes from the Ancient Greek hippos meaning “horse” and kampos meaning “sea monster”. I guess that is because it sort of looks like a horse and a monster at the same time?
I love these creatures. They are so amazing looking and always make me smile. I was dreaming one day of having an aquarium of my own with a family of seahorse cruising around but figured that will never happen. They must be super expensive and hard to care for. Not so according to Seahorse.com which tells us that there are three types that are perhaps best-suited for beginners–Pixies, Zulu-lulus and Mustangs. They said Pixies are the smallest of all seahorse available to hobbyists. They are no bigger than your thumbnail and are the easiest seahorses to breed and raise. They are inexpensive (if you consider $250 for a pair inexpensive), hardy, breed like crazy, and a whole herd of this seahorse family will live happily in a simple 5-10 gallon setup.
The seahorse is mainly found in shallow tropical and temperate waters throughout the world and live in sheltered areas such as seagrass beds, estuaries, coral reefs, or mangroves. You should be able to simulate this in a tank. Seahorses range in size from 1.5 to 35.5 cm (0.6 to 14.0 in) and swim very poorly, rapidly fluttering a dorsal fin up to 35 times per second and using pectoral fins which are located behind their eyes to steer. In this way they sort of remind me of the hummingbird and a little like the sea monkey.
AllTheSea.com describes the seahorse as: They have the head of a horse with the snout of an aardvark, spines like a puffer fish, a pouch of a kangaroo, eyes like a lizards, the tail of a monkey, an armor plated body like Stegosaurus, the ability to change colors like a chameleon and to wrap their tails around things. I think that sums it up pretty well don’t you?
The Chinese use the seahorse for medicinal purpose primarily for the treatment of impotence, wheezing, nocturnal enuresis, and pain, as well as to promote labor.
According to National Geographic the male seahorse is equipped with a brood pouch on their front-facing side, or ventral. While mating, the female deposits her eggs, up to 1,500 of them, into his pouch, and the male fertilizes them internally. He then carries the eggs in this pouch until they hatch, then he releases fully formed and miniature seahorses into the water. Pretty cool.
The seahorse anchors itself with its’ prehensile tail to sea grasses and corals, using an elongated snout to suck in plankton and small crustaceans that drift by. They are voracious eaters and will graze continually consuming 3,000 or more brine shrimp per day! This is why many baby seahorse do not survive after birth. They are too small to be distinguished between babies and plankton by the adults.
If you ever see the seahorse in the wild or in a tank somewhere, stop and watch them for a moment or two. I bet they will make you smile as well.
Have you ever seen a live seahorse? Was it in a tank or in the wild? Click here to leave a comment and share your opinion and experience. Would love to hear from you.
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buy the DVD:Kingdom of the Seahorse by NOVA at Amazon today.
Join biologist Amanda Vincent on a tour of the complex and beautiful world of the seahorse. Travel from an underwater enclave in Australia where their unique mating dance is recorded on camera for the first time, to the bustling apothecary shops of Hong Kong, China, where heaps of harvested seahorses feed a steady market for their medicinal uses.
I’ve always likes seahorses Troy but apart from TV I’ve never seen one live. To tell you the truth I was hoping those see monkeys were more like the sea horses. Man, what a rip off hey?
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I know. The adverts for the sea monkey sure do make them look like sort of seahorse people. If you ever find yourself in a pet store, check out the fish section. They may have a seahorse there. I imagine it would have to be a sort of higher end store though. And if you do see them there, let us know how much they cost will you?
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I love seahorses too!! Have seen a few while scubadiving due to the sharp eyes of my dive guides who always know where the little seahorses lived… They are so small, it’s easy to miss! What magical creatures… Thanks for the smiles today!
That is really cool Little Woo. Many people say I do a lot of fun and amazing things though I think you have me beet for sure. Everyone should definitely be following you and learning / get inspired on your blog- http://www.LittleWoo.org
Say, have you ever seen jellyfish in the wild?
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We are kindred spirits – so much wonder and enchantment to experience in this world… I\’ve gotten minor stings when thousands of small jellyfish floated around one dive site in Thailand. Biggest ones seen while in the water were a foot in diameter and had very short tentacles. The infamous Palau lake full of “non-stinging jellyfish” would be an incredible experience. But most of all, I\’d love to see bioluminescent jellies like these (they look like spaceships): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UT_-D2U-mas
Looks amazing. Those rainbow colors are really out there
I just found out a ‘normal’ person, meaning a non-professional tank or whatnot, can own jellyfish. So, me thinks I shall have to get some. Check it out here- http://jellyfishart.com/
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This a very great article, thanks for sharing.
Glad you liked it. Thanks for stopping by and for your comment.
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I love Seahorse, Amazing creation of God. Seahorse is the name given to 54 species of small marine fishes in the genus and look amazing.
thanks for this.
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They are so adorable.
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I have never seen seahorse in reality…!
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I used to watch a cartoon that the man rode a seahorse
Aquaman?
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Wow 🤩🤩😍😍 such a amazing content you write on seahorses