Seahorse

Seahorse is a unique sea creation that has been known as its physical appearance resemblances to a horse but much smaller. The seahorse lives under the sea around the coral reefs, seaweeds and seagrass beds. The size of a seahorse is about 1.5 to 35.5 cm and it has no scales like a fish. Seahorse is a bony fish and it swims vertically or upright, it cannot swim well and move slowly under the water. Seahorse has no caudal fin, its tail tends to be small, elongated and circular. Seahorse’s body is surrounded by rings that are different from one to another species. Seahorse spends its time by hanging or holding a coral reef by its tail and uses its snout to suck the food. One single seahorse also has a coronet on its head and it different from one to another.

The male seahorse has a pouch on its front of the tail side on the ventral. During the mating season, a couple of seahorses stay together for some days. They hold each other by their tails or embrace the same object like seaweed. They swims together by the tails relating to each other. They swim and wheel at the same time. The male pumps his pouch which can be opened and expanded by his snout. It is to show and prove the female that his pouch is empty and it is ready to be filled. When the female’s eggs are ready to be released, she will lay thousands of eggs. During this season, they will swim upper, out of the seagrass by their trunks rising up and facing each other. The female then inserts the eggs to the male’s pouch. The female’s stomach will be slim after releasing the eggs while the male’s pouch gets swelled. After they finish depositing the eggs, they swim back, down to the grass and the female swims away.

 

The seahorse’s gestation is unique. The male releases his sperms into the water and fertilizes outside. The spongy tissue appears and the eggs are embedded into the male pouch. The male carries the eggs until they reach maturity. The male produces prolactin which supplies the milk. The male pouch also provides enough oxygen and the warmth like incubator. The eggs then hatch inside and the youngs are ready leave the pouch. The male releases his offsprings in less than two months. During the pregnancy, the female seahorse visits her partner and interacts to each other for some minutes then she swims away and she comes back in the next day.

The young seahorses are very tiny and like the other fish, seahorse does not nurture the offsprings. Once the male releases the youngs, his responsibility is fully over and he is ready to mate again with his partner during a breeding season. Seahorse is not a poligamy sea creature like the other fish, the male seahorse mates to a single female.