Seahorses

Seahorses: Unique Creatures of the Sea

They bob and float along grassy seabeds, delightful little bits of color on the ocean floor, one of God’s most interesting creatures. They are seahorses, tiny creatures of the sea, with a uniqueness all their own.

Seahorses are members of the pipefish family. They live in warm tropical waters like the West Pacific Ocean or the Coral Sea. They make their homes in beds of sea grasses, coral, mangroves or estuaries, their favorite being the shallow bed of sea grass. There are approximately 32 species of seahorses. Some, like the Pygmy or Dwarf seahorse, are very tiny. They only grow as big as 2 centimeters or one inch. Others, like the Pacific seahorse, which is the largest, can get to be up to a foot in length. The Potbellied seahorse is also one of the largest ones and is known for the size of his pouch. He can carry up to 1500 “fry” (baby seahorses) at one time.

These fragile little animals have several things about them that make them very unique. Their eyes are special. They can turn each eye in a different direction and see two things at one time. Their eyes work independent of each other. That means the can watch out for enemies with one eye and look for food with the other.

Seahorses do not have scales like other fish. They have skin, which is stretched over the bony plates in their body. At the top of their head is what is known as a “coronet”. This is like a crown on their head. To a seahorse, its coronet, makes it as individual as your fingerprints do to you. No two are exactly the same.

The seahorse comes in all shades of colors but many are black, brown or beige. The Brazilian seahorse is one of the most brilliant and colorful. One of the most interesting things about a seahorse is that it can change colors to camouflage itself. They change their color to blend in with their surroundings.

Bright oranges, flaming reds and even neon yellow provide a camouflage that keeps them safe. They can also grow long thin pieces of skin, called filaments, if the plants they are hiding in are frilly, to help hide them. Some even have bumps like the coral they live among.

Seahorse also differ from other animals by not having a stomach. Because their dinner goes straight through they eat constantly. Seahorses has no teeth so they must swallow their dinner whole. They eat small crustaceans, like brine shrimp, but the bigger ones can eat tiny fish. They use their “prehensile” (grasping) tail to grab onto a plant while their dorsal fin beats about 35 times a second. This helps them to hover in the water and stay still to grab food as it goes by. They spend a large amount of time each day just eating.

These features all make the seahorse very special but the thing that makes them stand out the most is the fact that the daddy is the one who gets pregnant and has the babies. The female seahorse lays her eggs inside the male’s pouch where they are fertilized. They stay in there for 10 days to 6 weeks depending on the type of seahorse. The male seahorse is a very good daddy to the babies. When the “fry” are big enough, out they come: teeny, tiny miniature seahorse floating along.

Most seahorses are on list of animals that are protected. They are often harvested for medicines, aquariums and crafts. Seahorses usually mate for life. If only one is taken the other has a hard time getting over the loss of its mate and often takes a very long time to find another if it ever does. So be sure and enjoy them only through pictures or aquariums that are designed to help in the raising and breeding of these wonderful creatures of the sea.