Graceful Seahorses
By Elizabeth Henderson
Seahorses are beautiful and peaceful marine aquarium inhabitants often overlooked as pets. Though they do require some special care, with a little knowledge and time seahorses can make wonderful home aquarium inhabitants. There are over fifty species of seahorse and most are found primarily in shallow coastal waters around the world, often in beds of sea grass, mangrove stands, and coral reefs. They range in size from as small as one inch up to about one foot in length. Seahorses have the ability to change their coloration depending on their mood and surroundings and are social in nature.
While seahorses are fish, they have many unique characteristics that set them apart. Seahorses are true bony fish, however they do not have scales like most bony fish do. Instead they have a thin skin. While most fish swim in a horizontal position, seahorses have adapted to swim in a vertical position using their dorsal fins for propulsion and their pectoral fins to steer. Because of their relatively poor swimming ability, seahorses require slow moving water currents in order to thrive. They spend much of their time "hitching" on sea grass or other stationary objects using their prehensile tail to hold on. Seahorses feed on small shrimp, tiny fish, and plankton.
Seahorses can do well in aquariums if given the proper environment. Seahorses are very docile in nature and generally do best in a tank with other seahorses and no other fish. If other species are to be kept, only very docile tank mates should be chosen. It is also important to avoid placing any potentially dangerous invertebrates, such as anemones, in a seahorse tank. Seahorses are social and tend to do best in groups. Because of their vertical swimming position, seahorses need plenty of vertical height in a tank. Smaller species such as the dwarf seahorse do not require a specially sized tank, but larger specimens will do better in a tank that is at least twenty four inches tall. It is important to provide plenty of places for your seahorses to hitch on and most seahorses will feel more comfortable in a tank that has ample sea grass or macro algae. Though water quality must be kept high, water movement must be kept in check. This is most easily achieved through the use of a good protein skimmer, avoiding over feeding, and low stocking density. Seahorses should be fed multiple times each day, and ideally a healthy refugium will be utilized to provide your seahorses with live plankton too.
Whenever possible, captive bred seahorses should be purchased for the aquarium. These seahorses are already accustomed to synthetic seawater and aquarium life, and most importantly should already be feeding on prepared foods. Wild caught seahorses have a difficult time adjusting to the stresses of aquarium life and often die of starvation. In the wild seahorses only eat live foods, and while it can be done, training them to take prepared foods should be left to the experienced seahorse keeper.
A proper seahorse tank requires some planning, but the time and effort it takes is well worth it. A peaceful seahorse tank is truly a delight to behold.
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