User:Seahorses

The beautiful colored seahorses belong to the most magnificent and most remarkable organisms of the seas. Actually a seahorse is quite normal fish, coming along only in a very special dress. There are about 35 different species of seahorses spread all over the world, but only a small spectrum of this variety is frequently imported for aquarist purposes. While the smallest species, the dwarf seahorse, is just 1.5 inch in lenght, others achieve a body length up to 14 inch (giant seahorse).

The new generation grows up really slow during the first weeks of their life. Four months later the largest of my seahorses were about 2.5 inch long (H. reidi), whereby there were enormous growth differences. These differences seem to be in direct relationship with the individual skill of catching food. After 5 months their size is approximately 3 inch (tank conditions), after 8 months approx. 5 inch. The size of adult H. reidi is about 6 to 8 inch.

The maximum life expectancy of seahorses in nature is up to four years (depending on species), whereby sexual maturity already occurs at the age of 6 months. Nearly all of my own H. reidi died of old age. I purchased these seahorses fully-grown in adult age (1 year or older). In my tanks they lived for another 2 years and more. The oldest of my self-bred seahorses is now 21 months old.

Seahorses can become very friendly. Some of them eat out of the keepers hand and grab his fingers as he is doing some work in the tank.

The affinity of seahorses to objects not available in nature is interesting: They for example really love a normal thermometer in my tank giving them a perfect hold for their tail.

But also other seahorses sometimes serve as a holding object.