Article: Dive dry with dr. Bill # 546: When is a horse not a horse?
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The real extinction threat to seahorses is not from aquarists. They account for a very small number of these creatures. Traditional Chinese Medicine uses them by the hundreds of thousands. Every month. In NYC I've seen 5 gallon buckets filled with dried seahorses at just one popular TCM shop. There must have been more than a thousand seahorse corpses in the two buckets I saw.
Aquarists, and full disclosure requires that I must point out that I am one, buy live seahorses. Transporting live seahorses in the water needed to keep them alive is an expensive proposition and greatly limits the numbers available marine aquarists. They are difficult to maintain, requiring their own specialized aquariums and only eat live food. Finally, it has been illegal to import live seahorses into the US and most other countries for several years.
OTOH, importing countless dried seahorses is a completely different proposition because issues of cultural discrimination are raised. Despite the fact that no known medical benefit is associated with the powder into which these dead seahorses are ground, they remain a popular consumer item. Because they are simply allowed to dry out in the sun for a few days after being netted off sea grass beds, collecting, maintaining and shipping these endangered creatures is cheap and easy.
The great majority of seahorses seen for sale in aquarium shops are captive bred and raised. Anything else is illegal in most places, and penalties are severe. Seahorses are highly endangered, especially in Asia, but not because of aquarium collectors.
It's interesting how common seahorses are here in NJ during the summer. While seining for baitfish I sometimes will find a few dozen in an hour. Many are Gulf Stream strays from Florida, where they are also very common, especially in shallow grassy bays. Wade fishing in late summer in Tampa Bay last year I watched as countless tiny newborns were carried past me by the current where I was standing in shallow water. Sadly, they are disappearing from New Jersey's bays because the Eel Grass they depend upon is vanishing under the assault of human construction and pollution.
Aquarists, and full disclosure requires that I must point out that I am one, buy live seahorses. Transporting live seahorses in the water needed to keep them alive is an expensive proposition and greatly limits the numbers available marine aquarists. They are difficult to maintain, requiring their own specialized aquariums and only eat live food. Finally, it has been illegal to import live seahorses into the US and most other countries for several years.
OTOH, importing countless dried seahorses is a completely different proposition because issues of cultural discrimination are raised. Despite the fact that no known medical benefit is associated with the powder into which these dead seahorses are ground, they remain a popular consumer item. Because they are simply allowed to dry out in the sun for a few days after being netted off sea grass beds, collecting, maintaining and shipping these endangered creatures is cheap and easy.
The great majority of seahorses seen for sale in aquarium shops are captive bred and raised. Anything else is illegal in most places, and penalties are severe. Seahorses are highly endangered, especially in Asia, but not because of aquarium collectors.
It's interesting how common seahorses are here in NJ during the summer. While seining for baitfish I sometimes will find a few dozen in an hour. Many are Gulf Stream strays from Florida, where they are also very common, especially in shallow grassy bays. Wade fishing in late summer in Tampa Bay last year I watched as countless tiny newborns were carried past me by the current where I was standing in shallow water. Sadly, they are disappearing from New Jersey's bays because the Eel Grass they depend upon is vanishing under the assault of human construction and pollution.
Allison Finch
Contributor
I agree, Chinese traditional medicine is one of the most destructive influences on animal species there is. In the case of seahorses, well, see for yourself which has a bigger impact.....
While I really dislike the selling of any animal that is almost impossible to keep healthy in a tank, I think the aquarium trade PALES in comparison to the medical and USA beach tourist trade (third photo).
While I really dislike the selling of any animal that is almost impossible to keep healthy in a tank, I think the aquarium trade PALES in comparison to the medical and USA beach tourist trade (third photo).
OP
Hadn't realized the language in that paragraph suggested otherwise. I agree that "medicinal" uses are a much bigger threat to these species.
My favourite local dive spot (here in Japan) is known to have a bunch of Seahorses (and Frogfish, if you can find them), and every time I have been there I have seen some. It's a very shallow spot (3~6 meters) and very close to shore. I also like how they are called in Japanese... Tatsu no otoshigo, which means something like "the dragon's lost child". 
I have also seen two of them together, so are these actually the same species? Maybe one female one male? Or do they just like to hang out together?
I have also seen two of them together, so are these actually the same species? Maybe one female one male? Or do they just like to hang out together?
Seahorses in general are found where their food and shelter are most abundant. For most species this means relatively shallow water, in bays, estuaries, and in the open ocean. The species I'm most familiar with, from the Caribbean and West Atlantic, are usually found in water less than 5 meters deep. The reason that divers in these areas consider spotting one a rare event is because they are usually diving in deeper water, and also because seahorses are masters of disguise and concealment. There are some deep water species, but these are usually connected with various coral and coralline growths that provide them with appropriate homes.
The pics look like they might be Hippocampus mohnikei. The coral rubble, plants, and what seems to be natural light photographs suggest shallow water. The 3 to 6 meter depth you describe is fairly typical of most seahorses. In quiet Caribbean bays I've frequently found them in less than one meter of water.
The pics look like they might be Hippocampus mohnikei. The coral rubble, plants, and what seems to be natural light photographs suggest shallow water. The 3 to 6 meter depth you describe is fairly typical of most seahorses. In quiet Caribbean bays I've frequently found them in less than one meter of water.
OP
I'm certainly no expert on seahorses but in several species I'm aware of, the male and female can be of different color
Most seahorses that I have direct knowledge of are chameleon-like, able to change color rapidly, from solid to barred, and from light to dark, in a matter of minutes. Substantial changes, from brownish grey to oranges, yellows, and reds take longer, and are generally reflective of their environment, enabling them to better blend in. Put a few seahorses in a bare tank with some white coral skeletons, and they will almost all turn white themselves after a couple of months, some more than others though of the same species.
I'm unaware of any gender color distinctions among the 3 or 4 species I am very familiar with, though there are sometimes subtle shape and size distinctions, along with the obvious male pouch, which can be seen when they are less than half grown. The seahorses I know well are extremely variable in color and appendages, and there are probably gender differences in species I am unfamiliar with.
Local (NJ) seahorses are almost always founds in pods or small schools, and those found as lone individuals, especially in deep water or in areas subject to strong currents were probably swept away from their group by strong currents. I have also found them in the stomachs of large predatory fishes.
I've been a fish collector and a marine aquarist since the 1950s. As time has gone by I find myself less able to tolerate the cavalier attitude many aquarists have regarding their charges. I keep only two very large marine aquaria, populated lightly only by fish I've collected myself, here in NJ, a few in the Caribbean, and two in the South Pacific. I've had these two Pacific clownfish for more than 12 years. To me, a fish should thrive in captivity for at least several years before the aquarist can be considered to have done a good, ethical job. Currently, in 350 gallons of SW in two aquariums I have a total of 11 fish and a few invertebrates.
At one time I bred and raised the local US East Coast seahorse, Hippocampus erectus. This is a difficult, demanding task. I no longer keep any seahorses, and have also stopped giving those I catch to friends, except for one individual who is involved in breeding programs. The rest go free.
I'm unaware of any gender color distinctions among the 3 or 4 species I am very familiar with, though there are sometimes subtle shape and size distinctions, along with the obvious male pouch, which can be seen when they are less than half grown. The seahorses I know well are extremely variable in color and appendages, and there are probably gender differences in species I am unfamiliar with.
Local (NJ) seahorses are almost always founds in pods or small schools, and those found as lone individuals, especially in deep water or in areas subject to strong currents were probably swept away from their group by strong currents. I have also found them in the stomachs of large predatory fishes.
I've been a fish collector and a marine aquarist since the 1950s. As time has gone by I find myself less able to tolerate the cavalier attitude many aquarists have regarding their charges. I keep only two very large marine aquaria, populated lightly only by fish I've collected myself, here in NJ, a few in the Caribbean, and two in the South Pacific. I've had these two Pacific clownfish for more than 12 years. To me, a fish should thrive in captivity for at least several years before the aquarist can be considered to have done a good, ethical job. Currently, in 350 gallons of SW in two aquariums I have a total of 11 fish and a few invertebrates.
At one time I bred and raised the local US East Coast seahorse, Hippocampus erectus. This is a difficult, demanding task. I no longer keep any seahorses, and have also stopped giving those I catch to friends, except for one individual who is involved in breeding programs. The rest go free.
OP
Like several fish species, there can be gender-based color differences or differences in the range of colors that each gender can display. I know there are species of seahorse in the Philippines that exhibit this. Here in my waters, the giant kelpfish males tend to be dark green or brown while the females can add yellow, lime green and red. In this case, it is probably because the male tends the eggs in the nest while the female moves on. Therefore the male needs to be better camouflaged in the brown and green algae they use for nests and the female needs to be able to adopt a wider range of coloration for camouflage. Could be the same in the seahorse species since the male tends the young.
Seahorses do not tend their young, or make nests. The young immediately become part of the plankton as the male expels them in spasmodic bursts. A fascinating thing to see. The young are perfect miniatures. Their mating rituals are even more interesting. In Dominica, where they are common in shallow calm water on the Caribbean side, I've watched pairs spiral up almost to the surface in about 3 meters of water, tails intertwined while the female deposits her eggs in the male's pouch. They start downward still intertwined but facing in opposite directions, and detach from each other before they reach the sea floor. They will often do this two or three times in the space of 30 minutes.
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