The seahorse is a small fish, which is a representative of the Spine family from the order Stickleback. Research has shown that the seahorse is a highly modified pipefish. Today the seahorse is a rather rare creature. In this article you will find a description and photo of a seahorse and learn a lot of new and interesting things about this extraordinary creature.

The seahorse looks very unusual and its body shape resembles a chess piece of a horse. The seahorse fish has many long bony spines and various leathery projections on its body. Thanks to this body structure, the seahorse appears unnoticed among the algae and remains inaccessible to predators. The seahorse looks amazing, it has small fins, its eyes rotate independently of each other, and its tail is curled into a spiral. The seahorse looks diverse, because it can change the color of its scales.

The seahorse looks small, its size depends on the species and varies from 4 to 25 cm. In the water, the seahorse swims vertically, unlike other fish. This is due to the fact that the seahorse’s swim bladder consists of an abdominal and a head part. The head bladder is larger than the abdominal one, which allows the seahorse to maintain an upright position when swimming.

Now the seahorse is becoming increasingly rare and is on the verge of extinction due to a rapid decline in numbers. There are many reasons for the disappearance of the seahorse. The main one is the destruction by humans of both the fish itself and its habitats. Off the coast of Australia, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines, pipits are being caught en masse. The exotic appearance and bizarre body shape are the reason why people began to make gift souvenirs from them. For beauty, the tail is artificially arched and the body is given the shape of the letter “S”, but in nature skates do not look like that.

Another reason that contributes to the decline in the seahorse population is that they are a delicacy. Gourmets highly value the taste of these fish, especially the eyes and liver of seahorses. In a restaurant, the cost of one serving of such a dish costs $800.

In total, there are about 50 species of seahorses, 30 of which are already listed in the Red Book. Luckily, seahorses are very fertile and can produce over a thousand young at a time, keeping the seahorses from going extinct. Seahorses are bred in captivity, but this fish is very demanding to keep. One of the most extravagant seahorses is the rag-picker seahorse, which you can see in the photo below.

The seahorse lives in tropical and subtropical seas. The seahorse fish lives mainly at shallow depths or near the shore and leads a sedentary lifestyle. The seahorse lives in dense thickets of algae and other marine vegetation. It attaches itself to plant stems or corals with its flexible tail, remaining almost invisible due to its body covered with various projections and spines.

The seahorse fish changes body color to completely blend in with its environment. In this way, the seahorse successfully camouflages itself not only from predators, but also while foraging for food. The seahorse is very bony, so few people want to eat it. The main hunter of the seahorse is the large land crab. The seahorse can travel long distances. To do this, it attaches its tail to the fins of various fish and hangs on them until the “free taxi” swims into the algae thickets.

What do seahorses eat?

Seahorses eat crustaceans and shrimp. Seahorses eat very interestingly. The tubular stigma, like a pipette, draws prey into the mouth along with water. Seahorses eat quite a lot and hunt almost the whole day, taking short breaks of a couple of hours.

Seahorses eat about 3 thousand planktonic crustaceans per day. But seahorses eat almost any food, as long as it does not exceed the size of their mouth. The seahorse fish is a hunter. With its flexible tail, the seahorse clings to the algae and remains motionless until the prey is in the required proximity to the head. After which the seahorse absorbs water along with food.

How do seahorses reproduce?

Seahorses reproduce in a rather unusual way, because their young are carried by the male. Seahorses often have monogamous pairs. The mating season of seahorses is an amazing sight. A couple who are about to enter into a marriage union are held together by their tails and dance in the water. During the dance, the skates press against each other, after which the male opens a special pocket in the abdominal area, into which the female throws eggs. Subsequently, the male bears offspring for a month.

Seahorses reproduce quite often and produce large offspring. A seahorse gives birth to one thousand or more young at a time. The fry are born an absolute copy of the adults, only very tiny. The babies that are born are left to their own devices. In nature, a seahorse lives for about 4-5 years.

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Origin of the species and description

Seahorses belong to the genus of ray-finned fish from the order Acidaceae. Studies carried out on seahorses have shown that seahorses are a highly modified subspecies. Like needlefish, seahorses have an elongated body shape, a unique structure of the oral cavity, and a long, mobile tail. Not many remains of seahorses have been found - the earliest date back to the Pliocene, and the separation of pipefish and seahorses occurred in the Oligocene.

Video: Seahorse

The reasons are not precisely established, but the following stand out:

• the formation of multiple shallow waters, where fish often swam as vertically as possible;
• the spread of numerous algae and the occurrence of currents. Thus, the fish had a need to develop the grasping functions of the tail.

There are colorful varieties of seahorses that are not unanimously classified as this species by all scientists.

Some of the most colorful seahorses are:

• pipefish. In appearance it resembles a tiny seahorse with a very elongated thin body;
• the spiny seahorse has strong long spines all over its body;
• sea ​​dragons, especially leafy ones. They have a characteristic camouflage shape, as if completely covered with leaves and algae shoots;
• the dwarf seahorse is the smallest representative of seahorses, measuring barely more than 2 cm;
• The Black Sea pipit is a species that does not have spines.

Appearance and features

The seahorse got its name not by chance - its body shape resembles a chess knight. The elongated curved body is clearly divided into head, body and tail. The seahorse is completely covered with chitinous growths that have a ribbed shape. This gives it a resemblance to algae. The height of seahorses varies, depending on the species it can reach 4 cm or 25 cm. It also differs from other fish in that it swims vertically, holding its tail down.

This is explained by the fact that the abdominal bladder is located in the abdominal and head parts, and the head bladder is larger in size than the abdominal one. Therefore, the head seems to “float” up. The fins of the seahorse are small and serve as a kind of “rudder” - with their help it turns around in the water and maneuvers. Although seahorses swim very slowly, relying on camouflage. There is also a dorsal fin that allows the seahorse to maintain an upright position at all times.

Interesting fact: Seahorses can look different - sometimes their shape resembles algae, rocks and other objects among which they are camouflaged.

The seahorse has a sharp, elongated muzzle with pronounced large eyes. The seahorse does not have a mouth in the classical sense - it is a tube, similar in physiology to the oral cavities of anteaters. It draws water into itself through a tube to feed and breathe. The color can be very diverse, it also depends on the habitat of the seahorse. The most common species have a gray chitinous cover with rare small black dots. There are types of bright colors: yellow, red, green. Often the bright color is accompanied by corresponding fins that resemble algae leaves.

The tail of the seahorse is interesting. It is curved and unbends only during intense swimming. With this tail, seahorses can cling to objects to hold on during strong currents. The abdominal cavity of seahorses is also noteworthy. The fact is that the reproductive organs are located there. In females this is the ovipositor, and in males it is the abdominal pouch, which looks like a hole in the middle of the abdomen.

Where does the seahorse live?

Seahorses prefer tropical and subtropical waters, and the water temperature must be stable.

They can most often be found along the following coasts:

• Philippine Islands;

Most often they live in shallow water, but there are species that live in depth. Seahorses lead a sedentary lifestyle, hiding in algae and coral reefs. They grab hold of various objects with their tails and make occasional dashes from stem to stem. Due to their body shape and color, seahorses are excellent at camouflage.

Some seahorses can change color to suit their new environment. This is how they camouflage themselves from predators and get their food more efficiently. The seahorse makes long journeys in a peculiar way: it clings to some fish with its tail, and detaches itself from it when the fish gets into algae or reefs.

Now you know where are the seahorses found?. Let's see what this animal eats.

What does a seahorse eat?

Due to the peculiar physiology of the mouth, seahorses can only feed on very small food. It draws water into itself like a pipette, and along with the flow of water, plankton and other small food enter the seahorse’s mouth.

Large seahorses can suck in:

• crustaceans;
• shrimp;
• small fish;
• tadpoles;
• eggs of other fish.

It is difficult to call a seahorse an active predator. Small species of seahorses feed continuously by sucking in water. Large seahorses resort to camouflage hunting: they cling to algae and coral reefs with their tails, waiting for suitable prey to be nearby.

Due to their slowness, seahorses do not know how to pursue prey. During the day, small species of seahorses eat up to 3 thousand crustaceans in plankton. They feed continuously at any time of the day - the fact is that the skate does not have a digestive system, so it has to be fed constantly.

Interesting fact: It is not uncommon for seahorses to eat larger fish; They are indiscriminate in their eating - the main thing is that the prey fits into the mouth.

In captivity, seahorses eat shrimp and special dry food. The peculiarity of feeding at home is that the food must be fresh and supplied regularly, otherwise the seahorses may get sick and die.

Features of character and lifestyle

Seahorses lead a sedentary lifestyle. The maximum speed they can reach is up to 150 meters per hour, but they move extremely rarely, if necessary. Seahorses are non-aggressive fish that never attack other fish, even though they are. They live in small flocks of 10 to 50 individuals and have no hierarchy or structure. An individual from one flock can live peacefully in another flock.

Therefore, despite living in groups, seahorses are independent individuals. Interestingly, seahorses can form long-term monogamous pairs. Sometimes such a union lasts the entire life of seahorses. A pair of seahorses - a male and a male - is formed after the first successful breeding of offspring. In the future, the couple reproduces almost continuously, if there are no factors preventing this.

Seahorses are extremely susceptible to all kinds of stress. For example, if a seahorse loses its partner, it loses interest in reproduction and may completely refuse to eat, which is why it dies within 24 hours. Capturing and relocating to aquariums is also stressful for them. As a rule, caught seahorses must undergo adaptation from qualified specialists - captured individuals are not transplanted into aquariums with ordinary hobbyists.

Wild seahorses adapt extremely poorly to domestic conditions, most often become depressed and die. But seahorses born in aquariums calmly survive living at home.

Social structure and reproduction

Seahorses do not have a fixed mating season. Males, reaching sexual maturity, begin to circle around the chosen female, demonstrating their readiness to mate. During this period, the soft area of ​​the male's chest, not protected by chitin, darkens. The female does not react to these dances, freezes in place and watches the male or several males at once.

Some large species of seahorses are able to inflate a pouch on their chest. This ritual is repeated for several days until the female chooses a male. Before mating, the chosen male can “dance” all day until he is exhausted. The female signals the male that she is ready to mate when she rises closer to the surface of the water. The male follows her, opening his bag. The female's ovipositor expands, she inserts it into the opening of the pouch and lays eggs directly into the male's pouch. He simultaneously impregnates her.

The amount of fertilized eggs depends largely on the size of the male - a larger male can fit more eggs into his pouch. Small tropical species of seahorses produce up to 60 eggs, large species more than five hundred. Sometimes seahorses form stable pairs that do not break up throughout the life of the two individuals. Then mating occurs without rituals - the female simply lays eggs in the male’s pouch.

After four weeks, the male begins to release fry from the bag - this process is similar to “shooting”: the bag expands and many fry quickly fly out to freedom. To do this, the male swims out to an open area where the current is strongest - this way the fry will spread over a wide area. The parents are not interested in the further fate of the little seahorses.

Natural enemies of the seahorse

The seahorse is a master of camouflage and secret living. Thanks to this, the seahorse has very few enemies who would purposefully hunt this fish.

Sometimes seahorses become food for the following creatures:

• large shrimp feast on small seahorses, hatchlings and caviar;
• crabs are the enemies of seahorses both underwater and on land. Sometimes seahorses cannot hold on to the seaweed during a storm, which is why they are washed ashore, where they become prey for crabs;
• lives in corals and anemones, where seahorses are often found;
• may simply eat everything in its path, and seahorses accidentally end up in its diet.

Interesting fact: Undigested seahorses have been found in their stomachs.

Seahorses are not capable of self-defense and do not know how to escape. Even the fastest subspecies will not have enough speed to escape pursuit. But seahorses are not hunted purposefully, since most of them are covered with sharp chitinous spines and growths.

Population and species status

Most seahorse species are endangered. Data on the number of species is controversial: some scientists identify 32 species, others more than 50. However, 30 species of seahorses are close to extinction.

The reasons for the disappearance of seahorses are different. This includes:

• mass capture of seahorses as souvenirs;
• catching seahorses as delicacies;
• environmental pollution;
• changing of the climate.

Seahorses are extremely susceptible to stress - the slightest change in the ecology of their habitat leads to the death of seahorses. Pollution of the world's oceans is decimating the population of not only seahorses, but also many other fish.

Interesting fact: Sometimes a seahorse may choose a female that is not yet ready to mate. Then he still carries out all the rituals, but in the end mating does not occur, and then he looks for a new partner.

Seahorse conservation

Most species of seahorses are listed in. Seahorses received the status of protected species slowly, since it is extremely difficult to record the numbers of these fish. Long-snouted seahorses were the first to be included in the Red Book in 1994. The protection of seahorses is complicated by the fact that seahorses die from severe stress. It is impossible to move them to new territories, and it is difficult to breed them in aquariums and home water parks.

The main measures taken to protect skates are as follows:

• a ban on catching seahorses – it is considered poaching;
• the creation of protected areas where large schools of seahorses are located;
• stimulation of fertility through artificial feeding of seahorses in the wild.

The measures are weakly effective, since the capture of seahorses is still allowed in countries and is very active. So far, the population is saved by the fertility of these fish - out of a hundred eggs, only one individual survives to adulthood, but this is a record number among most tropical fish.

Sea Horse- and an animal. They come in a wide variety of shapes, colors and sizes, being one of the most colorful fish species. We can only hope that measures to protect seahorses will bear fruit, and these fish will continue to exist safely in the vastness of the world’s oceans.

Seahorses have always surprised people with their unusual appearance. These amazing fish are one of the most ancient inhabitants of the seas and oceans. The first representatives of this fish species appeared approximately forty million years ago. They got their name because of their resemblance to the chess piece knight.

The structure of seahorses

The fish are small in size. The largest representative of this species has a body length of 30 centimeters and is considered a giant. Most seahorses have modest dimensions 10–12 centimeters.

There are also very miniature representatives of this species - dwarf fish. Their dimensions are only 13 millimeters. There are individuals measuring less than 3 millimeters.

As mentioned above, the name of these fish is determined by their appearance. In general, it is not easy to understand that this is a fish and not an animal at first glance, because the seahorse bears little resemblance to other inhabitants of the sea.

If in the vast majority of fish the main parts of the body are located in a straight line located in a horizontal plane, then in seahorses the opposite is true. They have basic body parts located in a vertical plane, and the head is at right angles to the body.

To date, scientists have described 32 species of these fish. All pipits prefer to live in shallow waters in warm seas. Since these fish are quite slow-moving, they value most coral reefs and coastal bottom, overgrown with algae, because there you can hide from enemies.

Seahorses swim very unusually. Their body stays vertical in the water while moving. This position is ensured by two swim bladders. The first is located along the entire body, and the second in the head area.

Moreover, the second bladder is much lighter than the abdominal one, which provides the fish vertical position in water when moving. In the water column, fish move due to the wave-like movements of their dorsal and pectoral fins. The vibration frequency of the fins is seventy beats per minute.

Seahorses also differ from most fish in that they do not have scales. Their body cover the bone plates, combined into belts. Such protection is quite heavy, but this weight does not in the least prevent the fish from floating freely in the water.

In addition, bone plates covered with spines serve as good protection. Their strength is so great that it is very difficult for a person to break even a dried skate shell with his hands.

Despite the fact that the seahorse's head is located at an angle of 90⁰ to the body, the fish can only move it in a vertical plane. In the horizontal plane, head movements are impossible. However, this does not create any review problems.

The fact is that this fish's eyes are not connected to each other. The horse can look with its eyes in different directions at the same time, so it is always aware of changes in the environment.

The seahorse's tail is very unusual. He twisted and very flexible. With its help, the fish clings to corals and algae when hiding.

At first glance, it seems that seahorses were not supposed to survive in harsh sea conditions: they slow and defenseless. In fact, the fish flourished until a certain time. The ability to mimicry helped them in this.

Evolutionary processes have led to the fact that seahorses can easily blend into the surrounding area. At the same time, they can change the color of their body either completely or partially. This is quite enough so that sea predators cannot notice the skates if they are hidden.

By the way, these sea inhabitants use the ability to change the color of their body in mating games. With the help of the “color music” of the body, males attract females.

Most people believe that these fish eat vegetation. This is a misconception. In fact, these sea fish, for all their seeming harmlessness and inactivity, are notorious predators. The basis of their diet is plankton. Artemia and shrimp- their favorite delicacy.

If you carefully examine the elongated snout of the skate, you will notice that it ends in a mouth that acts like a pipette. As soon as the fish notices the prey, it turns its mouth towards it and puffs out its cheeks. In fact, the fish sucks in its prey.

It is worth noting that these sea fish are quite voracious. They can hunt for 10 hours straight. During this time they destroy up to 3,500 crustaceans. And this is with a stigma length of no more than 1 millimeter.

Reproduction of skates

Seahorses are monogamous. If a couple has formed, it will not break up until the death of one of the partners, which is not uncommon in the living world. But what's really surprising is this birth of offspring by males, not females.

This happens as follows. During love games, the female, using a special papilla, introduces eggs into the male's brood pouch. Fertilization also occurs there. Then, males bear offspring for 20 and sometimes 40 days.

After this period, the already grown fry are born. The offspring are very similar to the parents, but the body of the fry transparent and colorless.

It is noteworthy that males continue to care for their offspring for some time after birth, which, however, very quickly becomes independent.

Keeping seahorses in an aquarium

You should know that these fish cannot be kept in a regular aquarium. Skates need special conditions to survive:

Do not forget that these fish are quite dirty, so the water in the aquarium must be well filtered.

As you remember, skates in nature like to hide from predators in algae and coral reefs. This means that you need to create similar conditions for them in the aquarium. To do this, you can use the following elements:

• Artificial corals.
• Seaweed.
• Artificial grottoes.
• Various stones.

An important requirement is that all elements should not have sharp edges that could damage the skates.

Feeding requirements

Since in nature these fish feed on crustaceans and shrimp, you will have to buy frozen Mysis shrimp for your pets. You need to feed the skates in the aquarium at least twice a day. Once a week you can pamper them with live food:

• krill;
• Artemia;
• live shrimp.

Seahorses cannot compete for food with aggressive fish. Therefore, the choice of comrades for them is limited. Mainly different types of snails: astrea, turbo, nerite, trochus, etc. You can also add a blue hermit crab to them.

One piece of final advice: get all the information you can about these sea creatures before you start your first school.

"Surprisingly, the body of seahorses does the same things as the body of a woman. On the one hand, the fry of seahorses receive a large amount of nutrients along with the yolk, which is contained in the mother's eggs. But on the other hand, the pouch of the fathers has evolved in such a way that it supplies the offspring with nutrients, protects against pathogens, provides oxygen and removes waste products,” said Camilla Whittington from the University of Sydney (Australia).

Whittington and her colleagues found that the similarities between a woman's uterus and a seahorse's pouch don't stop there and even exist at the genetic level by observing the development of pregnancy in several male Australian seahorses in an aquarium.

Seahorses (Hippocampus) are among the most bizarre sea fish. In addition to the unusual body shape, built using a natural analogue of stealth technology, they have developed a paradoxical reproduction strategy, within the framework of which the offspring are born not by the weaker sex, but by the stronger sex. During breeding, the female lays eggs in a special pouch on the male's chest, where the embryos grow over the next 24 days.

The bodies of seahorses are built using stealth technology, scientists have foundScientists from the University of Texas, having studied the aquadynamic properties of the head and other parts of the body of seahorses using the holographic flow imaging (PIV) technique, found that their own technology helps the seahorses in this matter.

Observations of oxygen and food consumption during this pregnancy, Whittington says, led her team and many other biologists to believe that the male pouch not only protects the eggs, but is actively involved in their development, like the womb of women and female mammals.

They tested this hypothesis by studying the chemical processes that occur in the tissues of the “womb” of seahorses during pregnancy, as well as by monitoring changes in the activity of their genes.

As it turned out, the male's pouch is actually involved in raising offspring - biologists were able to show that it supplies the eggs with calcium, fats, oxygen and other nutrients, and purifies the water from waste products.

Interestingly, the genes responsible for all these functions are similar in structure and roles to which sections of DNA are turned on in a woman’s uterus during pregnancy. This, as scientists emphasize, does not mean that they have common roots.

"Whatever animal species you think of, pregnancy poses similar problems, such as providing the fetus with oxygen and nutrients. On the one hand, seahorses and humans have found solutions to these problems independently of each other in the course of their own histories evolution. But on the other hand, our research suggests that even species of animals that are very distant from each other use similar genes to control pregnancy and the birth of healthy offspring,” Whittington concludes.

Seahorses are wonderful creatures that attract aquarists with their unusual appearance and charming habits. These animals require a salty and very clean water environment, which is one of the difficulties of keeping them at home.

Seahorse in an aquarium - appearance

The seahorse is unlike any other sea creature. A large belly, a horse's head, a nimble tail that grabs support, a manner of swimming in an upright position - all these are characteristic features of these animals, radically distinguishing them from all other inhabitants of the depths of the sea.

Erect seahorse ( Hippocampus erectus) is the most accessible and most often kept in the aquariums of beginner hobbyists. The species is distributed in the western part of the Atlantic Ocean, its habitat extends from northern Canada to the Caribbean Sea, representatives can be found in coastal waters near coral reefs, as well as near man-made structures such as piers and breakwaters.

This small creature can reach 15 cm from head to tail, the surface of the body is covered with circular leathery plates rather than fish scales. The horse deftly wraps its tenacious tail around suitable objects, holding on tightly, and spends most of its time this way, saving strength during the ebb and flow of the tides.

The upright seahorse is decorated with a lined transverse pattern, bright dots on the tail and a specific “saddle” pattern on the back.

This species is one of the most beloved in marine aquarium keeping and its representatives, as a rule, are successfully kept and reproduced in captivity. In the wild, these animals are considered rare or endangered due to the degradation of their natural habitat, popularity as souvenirs, and for use in folk medicine.

You should purchase a seahorse from breeders who raise and reproduce these animals in captivity, or from reputable pet stores. Individuals obtained in an artificial environment are distinguished by good health, the ability to consume frozen food and much better adaptability to the conditions of a new aquarium.

Seahorse in an aquarium - basic requirements

Seahorses are very attractive pets, but they are quite vulnerable and fragile creatures that require special conditions. One of the main requirements remains a fairly low temperature, which fluctuates around 21 °C, which is much lower than the temperature range for most aquarium fish.

The minimum volume of an aquarium for seahorses is 140-150 liters; one or two pairs of animals can be placed in such a tank. At the bottom there are several driftwood, as well as other objects for the skates to cling to, and secluded grottoes are provided. The surrounding aquatic environment should be free of injurious or potentially dangerous objects and creatures, including corals or anemones with their stinging cells.

A necessary condition for the normal life of skates is a constant flow of water. A good filter can ensure both water movement and the quality of the aquatic environment. The flow rate should be sufficient - within 10 revolutions of the entire volume of aquarium water per hour. If the speed is too high, the fragile, slow skates will have to constantly resist the current, which can weaken them, lead to exhaustion and even death. It is advisable to provide a couple of quiet harbors - places with minimal current, where animals can rest if desired.

Seahorses eat a lot, and the food, due to the imperfection of the digestive system of these animals, must be rich in proteins and fats. The result of vigorous vital activity and the digestion of large quantities of dense food is constantly polluted water, so it is important to pay attention to both mechanical and biological treatment using a variety of skimmers.

Seahorses tend to act slowly in everything, they also eat slowly and can stare at a shrimp for ten minutes, assessing whether it is worth making an effort for this prey, so life with active fish can be an unbearable test for seahorses. On top of this, fast fish frighten seahorses, forcing them to live in constant stress, which jeopardizes their health, well-being and reduces their ability to reproduce.

Peculiar pets can be placed with other calm, peace-loving and slow-moving fish, for example, blennies, as well as snails or small hermit crabs. And yet, most breeders prefer to keep their pets in a separate tank.

Features of feeding

Seahorses are quite picky and require a special diet. Unlike other aquarium inhabitants, these animals need to be fed by hand, and they eat quite a lot. Regular live shrimp and/or brine shrimp are good foods and can be supplemented with frozen Mysis shrimp. Another very important point that should be taken into account is that you cannot skip even one day of feeding; you must be sure to provide fresh food every day.

The slow feeding of seahorses makes it difficult to keep them at home, and this circumstance must be weighed by potential breeders, since feeding seahorses can become a big problem for a working person or put a question mark on a vacation trip.

The seahorse slowly collects its thoughts before eating the offered shrimp, and the owner needs to be patient, gradually feeding the prescribed portion of 6-8 pieces of shrimp twice a day, which takes at least twenty minutes. It is convenient to feed the skates using a regular medical syringe or a glass tube with a rubber nozzle, which will allow you to retract the shrimp rejected or lost by the skate.

It is more practical to feed your pets using a small container placed at the bottom, for example, a glass saucer, around which several plastic or bamboo rods are placed so that the skates have something to cling to. Once you feed the smart creatures by putting shrimp in the feeder several times, the skates will figure out what’s going on and begin to wait for feeding, gathering in the designated place.

Feeding seahorses

Seahorses in an aquarium - a little about breeding

Adult seahorses are beautiful and somewhat aristocratic creatures, with indescribable grace and regal condescension in all their manifestations, including the process of eating. And while watching the adults is very interesting, breeding seahorses and tracking the development and growth of the babies is even more exciting.

Few people know that seahorses are monogamous, forming one pair for life, which in itself is surprising, because the last thing you can expect is a tender and devoted relationship from such small sea creatures.

After the death or removal of a partner, a lonely seahorse will not be in a hurry to find a soul mate and may remain alone for the rest of its life. With the first rays of the morning sun, the couple begins to perform a special sea “dance”, using not only body movements, but also characteristic sounds to communicate. During preparation for mating or during the process itself, these sounds intensify and become almost continuous.

These animals reproduce in an absolutely amazing way. The female lays eggs, which are then transferred to a special marsupial fold on the male’s tail, where they are fertilized and at some point, miniature copies of their parents emerge from the pouch in an incredible variety. Thus, the male bears the young, which is a unique feature of these creatures.

Seahorses are relatively easy to breed and raise in captivity, and under optimal conditions, it is possible that one day the aquarium will be filled with a whole “herd of horses.”

Birth of baby seahorses

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