The seahorse is a fish. Seahorse (47 photos)

Avid aquarists love to breed a wide variety of exotic fish and colorful, unusual animals that attract with their non-standard, bizarre proportions and interesting, at times, playful behavior. And none, and even can not be compared with the brightest inhabitants of sea waters - seahorses.

Sea Horse is one of the most outlandish representatives of the aquarium world. Despite their bizarre shapes, all seahorses are part of the subgroup of bony marine fish, the order of needle-like.

It is interesting! There are only one males on the planet who themselves bear their future offspring - seahorses.

Taking a closer look, you yourself will notice the striking resemblance of these small bony fish to a chess piece. And how the seahorse moves interestingly in the water, all bends and very proudly carries its magnificently folded head!

Despite the apparent difficulty, keeping a seahorse is practically the same as keeping any other inhabitants of the aquarium world. But, before acquiring one or several individuals, many factors should be taken into account, without which the life of this bright and interesting "sea needle" may not be as long as we would like it to be.

Seahorses: interesting facts

The existence of the seahorse was known for a thousand years before our era. In ancient Roman mythology, it is said that the god of streams and the sea, Neptune, whenever he went to check his possessions, harnessed a "sea needle" to a chariot, very similar to a horse. Therefore, for sure, Lord Neptune cannot be huge if he moved on small thirty-centimeter skates. But, seriously speaking, it is very rare in nature today to find marine aciculars, which would reach a length of 30 cm. Basically, "skates" barely reach twelve centimeters.

In our time, it is already known about the existence of the fossilized remains of the ancestors of the seahorse. In the course of the study at the genetic level, scientists have identified the similarity of the seahorse with the needle fish.

What are they - seahorses

Today, marine aquarists have seahorses that range in length from 12 millimeters to twenty centimeters. Most of all, however, aquarists prefer to care for Hippocampus erectus, those. standard seahorses.

Seahorses were specially named so, since the head, chest, neck are completely similar to the horse's body parts. At the same time, they differ from fish in a different physique. The horse's head of these individuals is set in a completely different way from that of fish - in relation to the body, it is located at ninety degrees. What's more interesting, these sea fish have eyes that look on different sides.

And also these little, cute sea ​​creatures they do not swim horizontally, but vertically and have scales throughout the body, strong armor - bony colorful, iridescent plates. The shell of these marine needle-shaped individuals is "steel", which cannot be pierced.

I would also like to mention an interesting property of the twisted, long tail of a sea fish in the form of a spiral. If seahorses sense that there is a predator nearby, they very quickly run away to shelter, algae, which they skillfully cling to with their spiral tail and manage to hide.

It is interesting! Feeling that they are in danger, sea fishes - skates cling to corals or algae with their long tails and remain motionless for a long time, hanging upside down.

Despite such a cute appearance, seahorses are classified as predatory fish, as they feed on shrimps and crustaceans.

The seahorse has the ability to disguise itself. They mimic like chameleons, taking on the color of the place where they stop. Basically, these marine fish like to hide where there are richer, brighter colors to avoid encounters with predators. And with the help of bright colors, the male attracts the attention of the female, which he really liked. To please the female, he can even "wear" her color.

Seahorses, despite their numbers, are considered rare fish, therefore their thirty subspecies are listed in the Red Book. The problem is that from year to year, the world's oceans are turning into a total polluted, garbage dump, because of which corals and algae die en masse, and these photosynthetic organisms are vital for seahorses.

And also, the seahorse itself has long been a valuable animal. The Chinese catch these fish en masse, as they believe that they cure any disease. In many European countries dead seahorses automatically become raw materials for making various souvenirs.

Keeping seahorses at home

Bony seahorses are unusual, colorful, funny and very beautiful creatures... Maybe, feeling their beauty and greatness, they are very "capricious" when they fall into captivity. And to make these fish feel good, even experienced aquarists should try very hard. For them, a natural habitat must be created so that animals feel there the same way as in sea ​​water... It is very important to monitor the temperature of the aquariums. Seahorses will feel comfortable in cool water with a temperature of twenty-three to twenty-five degrees Celsius, but no more. In a hot period, be sure to install a split system above the aquarium, you can simply turn on the fan. The hot air can suffocate these little creatures even in warm water.

Before placing the purchased skates in an aquarium with ordinary water, check its quality: it should not contain phosphates or ammonia. The maximum concentration of nitrates in water is allowed at ten ppm. Don't forget to add your favorite seahorse algae and corals to your aquarium. Surface grottoes made of artificial material will also look beautiful.

So you've taken care of your seahorse house. It will also be important for them to take care of food, because these beautiful inhabitants of the sea often and a lot like to eat meat and exotic. A seahorse should eat at least four to five times a day, receiving shrimp and crustacean meat. To do this, you can purchase frozen invertebrates and crustaceans. Seahorses love Mysis shrimp, they will enjoy eating moths and even daphnia with pleasure.

• All seahorses suffer from limited gas exchange due to the poor performance of the gills. This is why the constant filtration of water and the supply of oxygen is a vital process for seahorses.
• Seahorses do not have stomachs, so they need a lot of food to keep themselves healthy and not lose their energy balance.
• Seahorses do not have scales, which is why they easily succumb to any infections, especially bacterial ones. An ecosystem moderator in an enclosed space should frequently inspect the body of the seahorse, which may be damaged.
• Seahorses have interesting mouths - proboscis, with the help of which these creatures suck in caught prey at such a speed that they can swallow a dozen spineless mollusks at a time.

Breeding seahorses

Seahorses are skillful gentlemen! They begin their courtship with mating dance, which is shown to the female. If everything works out, the fish touch each other, wrap themselves around and look closely. This is how seahorses get to know each other. After numerous "hugs" the female begins to throw out a large army of caviar into the male's purse with the help of her genital nipple. Transparent fry of a seahorse are born in 30 days in an amount of twenty to two hundred individuals. They produce fry - males!

It is interesting! In nature, there is a subspecies of males of the outstanding seahorse, capable of carrying over a thousand fry.

It is noteworthy that the offspring is very difficult for the male of the smart seahorse, after giving birth, in a day, or even two, he rests for a long time at the bottom of the reservoir. And only the male, not the female, takes care of his babies for a long time, which, in case of imminent danger, can again hide in the brood purse of their father.

Seahorse Aquarium Neighbors

Seahorses are unpretentious and mysterious animals. They can very easily get along with other fish and invertebrates. Only small fish, very slow and careful, are suitable for them as neighbors. Such neighbors for skates can be fish - gobies and blend dogs. Among the invertebrates, the snail can be distinguished - an excellent cleaner of the aquarium, as well as non-stinging corals.

You can also place live stones in aquariums with marine needle-shaped living stones, the main thing is that they are completely healthy and are not pathogens.

Where to buy a seahorse

In any online store of aquariums and pet stores, live pictures and photos are presented different types seahorses to help you find the perfect one.

It is here or in any pet store in your city that you can buy a seahorse at the best prices. In the future, many pet shops offer substantial discounts for their regular customers, ranging from 10% and higher when ordering a batch of seahorses.

Seahorses at all times amazed people with their unusual appearance. These amazing fish are among the most ancient inhabitants of the seas and oceans. The first representatives of this fish species appeared about forty million years ago. They got their name because of the similarity with the chess piece of the knight.

The structure of seahorses

The size of the fish is small. The largest representative of this species has a body length of 30 centimeters and is considered a giant. Most seahorses have modest sizes 10-12 centimeters.

There are also very miniature representatives of this species - dwarf fish. Their dimensions are only 13 millimeters. There are individuals less than 3 millimeters in size.

As mentioned above, the name of these fish is determined by their appearance. In general, it is not easy to understand that this is a fish, and not an animal, at first glance, because the seahorse is not much like other inhabitants of the sea.

If in the overwhelming majority of fish, the main body parts are located in a straight line located in a horizontal plane, then in seahorses it is the opposite. They have main body parts located in a vertical plane, and the head is completely at right angles to the body.

To date, scientists have described 32 species of these fish. All skates prefer to live in shallow waters in warm seas. Since these fish are quite slow-moving, they value the most coral reefs and coastal seabed overgrown with algae, because there you can hide from enemies.

Seahorses swim in a very unusual way. Their body is held vertically in the water during movement. A similar position is provided by two swim bladders. The first is located along the entire body, and the second in the head area.

Moreover, the second bladder is much lighter than the abdominal one, which provides the fish vertical position in water when driving. In the water column, fish move due to the undulating movements of the dorsal and pectoral fins. The fins oscillate at seventy beats per minute.

Seahorses differ from most fish in that they have no scales. Their body cover the bone plates, united in belts. Such protection is quite heavy, but this weight does not in the least prevent the fish from floating freely in the water.

In addition, the bone plates covered with spines provide good protection. Their strength is so great that it is very difficult for a person to break even a dried ridge shell with his hands.

Despite the fact that the seahorse's head is located at an angle of 90⁰ to the body, the fish can only move it in a vertical plane. Head movements are impossible in the horizontal plane. However, this does not create any viewing problems.

The fact is that in this fish, the eyes are not connected to each other. The horse can look with his own eyes in different directions at the same time, so he always knows about changes in the environment.

The tail of the seahorse is very unusual. He swirling and very flexible... With its help, the fish clings to corals and algae when hiding.

At first glance, it seems that seahorses were not supposed to survive in the harsh sea conditions: they slow and defenseless... In fact, fish flourished until a certain time. In this they were helped by the ability to mimicry.

Evolutionary processes have led to the fact that seahorses are easy merge with the surrounding area... At the same time, they can change the color of their body, both completely and partially. This is quite enough so that sea predators cannot notice the skates if they are hiding.

By the way, these sea inhabitants use the ability to change the color of their body in mating games. With the help of "color music" of the body, males attract females.

Most people believe that these fish feed on vegetation. This is a misconception. In fact, these sea fish, for all their seeming harmlessness and inactivity, are notorious predators. Their diet is based on plankton. Brine shrimp and shrimp Is their favorite treat.

If you look closely at the elongated snout of the ridge, you will notice that it ends with a mouth that acts like a pipette. As soon as the fish notices prey, it turns its mouth to it and puffs out its cheeks. In fact, the fish sucks in its prey.

It is worth noting that these sea fish are quite voracious. They can hunt for 10 hours straight. During this time, they destroy up to 3500 crustaceans. And this is when the stigma length is not more than 1 millimeter.

Breeding skates

Seahorses are monogamous. If a couple has formed, it will not break up until the death of one of the partners, which is not uncommon in the living world. But what is really amazing is male offspring rather than females.

It happens in the following way. During love games, the female inserts eggs into the male's hatch bag with the help of a special papilla. Fertilization also takes place there. Then, males carry offspring for 20, and sometimes 40 days.

After this period, already grown fry are born. The offspring are very similar to their parents, but the body of the fry transparent and colorless.

It is noteworthy that males continue to take care of the offspring for some time after birth, which, however, very quickly becomes independent.

Keeping seahorses in the aquarium

Please be aware that these fish cannot be kept in a regular aquarium. Skates need to create special conditions for survival:

Keep in mind that these fish are rather dirty, so the water in the aquarium should be well filtered.

As you remember, ice skates in nature like to hide from predators in algae and coral reefs... So, you need to create similar conditions for them in the aquarium. To do this, you can use the following elements:

• Artificial corals.
• Seaweed.
• Artificial grottoes.
• Various stones.

An important requirement is that all elements must not have sharp edges that could damage the skates.

Feeding requirements

Since in nature these fish feed on crustaceans and shrimps, you will have to buy frozen Mysis shrimps for your pets. You need to feed the skates in the aquarium at least twice a day. Once a week, you can pamper them with live food:

• krill;
• brine shrimp;
• live shrimps.

Seahorses cannot compete for food with aggressive fish. Therefore, the choice of companions for them is limited. Mainly snails of different types: astrea, turbo, nerit, troshus, etc. You can also add a blue hermit crab to them.

To conclude, here's one piece of advice: get all the information available about these marine life before starting your first flock.

One look of these fish sets you up for pleasant associations with childhood, toys and fairy tales. The ridge floats in an upright position and tilts its head so gracefully that, looking at it, it is impossible not to compare it with some little magic horse.

It is covered not with scales, but with bony plates. However, in his shell, he is so light and fast that he literally floats in the water, and his body shimmers with all colors - from orange to gray-blue, from lemon yellow to fiery red. In terms of the brightness of the colors, it is just right to compare this fish with tropical birds.

Seahorses inhabit the coastal waters of tropical and subtropical seas. But they are also found in the North Sea, for example, off the southern coast of England. They choose quieter places; They do not like the turbulent current.

Among them there are dwarfs the size of a little finger, and there are giants about thirty centimeters. The smallest species - Hippocampus zosterae (pygmy seahorse) - is found in the Gulf of Mexico. Its length does not exceed four centimeters, and the body is very hardy.

In Black and Mediterranean seas You can find the long-faced, spotted Hippocampus guttulatus, which reaches 12-18 centimeters in length. The most famous are representatives of the species Hippocampus kuda, which lives off the coast of Indonesia. Seahorses of this species (their length is 14 centimeters) are brightly and variegated, some with specks, others with stripes. The largest seahorses are found near Australia.

Whether they are dwarfs or giants, seahorses are similar to each other like brothers: a trusting look, capricious lips and an elongated "horse" muzzle. Their tail is crocheted to the belly, and horns decorate their head. It is impossible to confuse these graceful and colorful fish, similar to jewelry or toys, with any inhabitant of the water element.

How is pregnancy in males going?

Even now, zoologists find it difficult to say how many species of seahorses there are. Possibly 30-32 species, although this figure is subject to change. The point is, seahorses are difficult to classify. Their appearance is too changeable. And they know how to hide so that a needle thrown into a haystack will envy.

When Amanda Vincent of McGill University in Montreal began studying seahorses in the late 1980s, she was annoyed: "At first I couldn't even see these subchies." Masters of mimicry, in a moment of danger, they change their color, repeating the color of the surrounding objects. Therefore, it is easy to mistake them for algae. Many seahorses, like gutta-percha babies, can even change the shape of the body. They develop small growths and nodules. Some seahorses are difficult to distinguish from corals.

This plastic, this "color music" of the body helps them not only to fool enemies, but also to seduce partners. German zoologist Ryu-digger Verhasselt shares his observations: “I had a pink-red male in my aquarium. I put a bright yellow female with a red speck on him. The male began to look after the new fish and after a few days he turned the same color as it - even red specks appeared. "

To watch enthusiastic pantomimes and colorful confessions, one has to go under the water early in the morning. Only in the predawn twilight (however, sometimes at sunset hours) seahorses scatter in pairs through the underwater thickets of algae, this marine jungle. In their confessions, they follow a funny etiquette: they nod their heads, greeting their friend, while clinging to the neighboring plants with their tail. Sometimes they freeze, drawing closer in a "kiss". Or they whirl in a stormy love dance, and the males now and then inflate their belly.

The date is over - and the fish are spreading to the sides. Adieu! Until next time! Seahorses usually live in monogamous couples, loving each other to the grave, which they often have in the form of nets. After the death of a partner, half of him is bored, but after a few days or weeks he finds a roommate again. Aquarium seahorses are particularly affected by the loss of a mate. And it happens that they die one after another, unable to bear the grief.

What is the secret of this attachment? In a kindred spirit? This is how biologists explain it: by regularly walking and caressing each other, seahorses synchronize their biological clocks. This helps them choose the most appropriate moment to reproduce. Then their meeting is delayed for several hours, or even days. They glow with excitement and whirl in a dance in which, as we remember, the males inflate their belly. It turns out that the male has a wide fold on the belly, where the female lays eggs.

Surprisingly, in seahorses, the offspring is carried by the male, having previously fertilized the eggs in the abdominal bag.

But this behavior is not as exotic as it might seem. Other types of fish are known, for example, cichlids, from which males hatch eggs. But only in seahorses do we deal with a process similar to pregnancy. The tissue on the inner side of the brood bursa in the male thickens, as in the uterus of mammals. This tissue becomes a kind of placenta; it connects the father's body with the embryos and nourishes them. This process is controlled by the hormone prolactin, which stimulates human lactation - the formation of breast milk.

With the onset of pregnancy, walks in the underwater forests stop. The male keeps on an area of ​​about one square meter. In order not to compete with him in obtaining food, the female delicately swims to the side.

In a month and a half, "childbirth" begins. The seahorse presses against the algae and puffs out its belly again. Sometimes it takes a whole day until the first fry slips out of the bag into the wild. Then the cubs will begin to get out in pairs, faster and faster, and soon the bag will expand so much that dozens of fry will swim out of it at the same time. The number of newborns is different for different species: some seahorses breed up to 1600 babies, while others only give birth to two fry.

Sometimes "childbirth" is so difficult that males die of starvation. In addition, if for some reason the embryos die, then the male who carried them will also die.

Evolution cannot explain the origin of the seahorse's reproductive functions. The whole childbearing process is too "unorthodox". Indeed, the structure of the seahorse is a mystery if you try to explain it as a result of evolution. As one leading expert said a few years ago: “In relation to evolution, the seahorse is in the same category as the platypus. Since it is a mystery that confuses and destroys all theories trying to explain the origin of this fish! Recognize the Divine Creator, and everything is explicable. "

What do seahorses do if they don't flirt and expect offspring? One thing is for sure: they do not shine with success in swimming, which is not surprising given their constitution. They have; only three small fins: the dorsal one helps to swim forward, and the two gill fins maintain vertical balance and serve as a rudder. In a moment of danger, seahorses can briefly speed up their movement by flapping their fins up to 35 times per second (some scientists even call the number "70"). They are much better at vertical maneuvers. Changing the volume of the swim bladder, these fish move up and down in a spiral.

However, most of the time the seahorse hangs motionless in the water, catching its tail on algae, coral or even the neck of a relative. It feels like he's ready to hang out all day. However, with visible laziness, he manages to catch a lot of prey - tiny crustaceans and fry. Only recently was it possible to observe how this happens.

The seahorse does not rush after its prey, but waits until it swims up to it itself. Then he draws in the water, swallowing the unwary small fry. Everything happens so quickly that you can't see it with the naked eye. However, scuba diving enthusiasts say that when you get close to a seahorse, you sometimes hear smacking lips. The appetite of this fish is amazing: as soon as it is born, the seahorse manages to swallow about four thousand miniature shrimps in the first ten hours of life.

All in all, he is destined to live, if he is lucky, four to five years. Enough time to leave behind millions of descendants. With such a population, it seems that the prosperity of seahorses is assured. However, it is not. Out of a thousand fry, on average, only two survive. All the rest fall into the mouth of someone by themselves. However, in this whirlwind of birth and death, seahorses have been floating for forty million years. Only human intervention can destroy this species.

According to the World Fund wildlife, the number of seahorses is rapidly declining. Thirty species of these fish are included in the Red Book, that is, almost all species known to science. First of all, ecology is to blame for this. The oceans are turning into a worldwide dump. Its inhabitants are degenerating and dying out.

Half a century ago, the Chesapeake Bay - a narrow, long bay off the coast of the US states of Maryland and Virginia (its length reaches 270 kilometers) - was considered a real paradise for seahorses. Now you will hardly find them there. Alison Scarratt, director of the National Aquarium in Baltimore, estimates that ninety percent of the algae have died in the bay over the half century, caused by water pollution. But algae was the natural habitat of seahorses.

Another reason for the decline is the massive capture of seahorses off the coast of Thailand, Malaysia, Australia and the Philippines. According to Amanda Vincent, at least 26 million of these fish are caught every year. A small part of them then ends up in aquariums, and most die. For example, from these cute fish, drying them, they make souvenirs - brooches, key rings, belt buckles. By the way, for the sake of beauty, their tail is bent back, giving the body the shape of the letter S.

However, most of the seahorses caught - estimated by the WWF at about twenty million - end up with pharmacists in China, Taiwan, Korea, Indonesia and Singapore. The largest transshipment point for the sale of this "medical raw material" is Hong Kong. From here it is sold to over thirty countries, including India and Australia. Here, a kilogram of seahorses costs about $ 1,300.

From these dried fish, crushed and mixed with other substances, for example, with the bark of trees, drugs are prepared that are as popular in Japan, Korea, China as we have - aspirin or analgin. They help with asthma, coughs, headaches and especially with impotence. Recently, this Far Eastern "Viagra" has become popular in Europe.

However, even ancient authors knew that it was possible to prepare medicines from seahorses. Thus, Pliny the Elder (24-79) wrote that in case of hair loss, an ointment made from a mixture of dried seahorses, marjoram oil, resin and lard should be used. In 1754, the English Gentlemen's Magazine advised nursing mothers to take seahorse extract "for better milk flow." Of course, old recipes can bring a smile, but now the World Health Organization is conducting research on the "healing properties of the seahorse."

Meanwhile, Amanda Vincent and a number of biologists advocate a complete ban on the uncontrolled fishing and trade of seahorses, trying to end predatory fishing, as was done in due time with whaling. As a matter of fact, in Asia, seahorses are caught mainly by poachers. To end this, the researcher founded the Project Seahorse organization back in 1986, which is trying to protect seahorses in Vietnam, Hong Kong and the Philippines, as well as to establish a civilized trade in them. The situation is especially successful on the Philippine island of Handayan.

The inhabitants of the local village of Handumon have been fishing for seahorses for centuries. However, in just a decade, from 1985 to 1995, their catches fell by almost 70 percent. Therefore, the seahorse rescue program proposed by Amanda Vincent was almost the only hope for fishermen.

To begin with, it was decided to create a protected area with a total area of ​​thirty-three hectares, where fishing was completely prohibited. There, all the seahorses were counted and even numbered, putting on a collar. From time to time, divers looked into this water area and checked whether "lazy couch potatoes", seahorses, had swum away from here.

We agreed that males with full brood pouches would not be caught outside the protected area. If they were caught in the net, they were thrown into the sea again. In addition, ecologists have tried to re-plant mangroves and underwater forests of algae - the natural shelters of these fish.

Since then, the number of seahorses and other fish in the vicinity of Handumon has stabilized. Especially a lot of seahorses inhabit the protected area. In turn, other Filipino villages, having made sure that the neighbors are doing well, are also following this example. Three more protected areas in which seahorses are bred.

They are also grown on special farms. However, there are problems here. So, scientists do not yet know which diet is best for seahorses.

In some zoos - in Stuttgart, Berlin, Basel, as well as in the National Aquarium in Baltimore and in the California Aquarium, the breeding of these fish is proceeding successfully. Perhaps they can be saved.

In the seas washing Russia, there are only two types of seahorses (although the species diversity of seahorses is great, there are 32 types of seahorses in different seas of the world). These are the Black Sea seahorse and the Japanese seahorse. The first one lives in the Black and Azov seas, and the second in the Japanese one.

"Our" seahorses are small and do not have chic long outgrowths all over the body, as, for example, in the rag-picker that lives in warm seas and disguised as a thicket of sargassum algae. Their carapace is modestly protective: it is very strong and is usually colored to match the background color.

The plan of the Creator is clearly and clearly manifested in the seahorse. But the fossil record presents another challenge for those who believe in evolution. To defend the idea that the sea horse is a product of evolution over millions of years, proponents of this theory need fossils showing the gradual development of the lower form of animal life into the more complex form of the seahorse. But, much to the regret of evolutionists, "no fossilized seahorses have been found."

As with the multitude of creatures that fill the seas, heavens and land, there is no link for the seahorse that can connect it to any other life form. Like all the main types of living creatures, the complex seahorse was created suddenly, as the book of Genesis tells us about.

V depths of the sea many unusual and interesting creatures live, among which seahorses deserve special attention.

Seahorses, or scientifically hippocampuses, are small bony fish family of sea needles. Today there are about 30 types of them, which differ in size and outward appearance... "Growth" ranges from 2 to 30 centimeters, and the colors are very diverse.

The skates have no scales, but they are protected by a hard bony shell. Only a land crab can cut through and digest such "clothes", therefore, underwater predators usually do not have interest in ice skates, and they hide in such a way that any needle in a haystack will envy.

Another one interesting feature skates in the eyes: like a chameleon, they can move independently of each other.

Like a fish in water? No, this is not about them

Unlike other inhabitants of the sea, skates swim in an upright position, this is possible due to the presence of a large longitudinal swim bladder. By the way, they are very inept swimmers. The small dorsal fin makes rather fast movements, but this does not impart much speed, and the pectoral fins mainly serve as rudders. Most of the time, the skate hangs motionless in the water, catching its tail on the seaweed.

Every day is stress

Seahorses live in tropical and subtropical seas and prefer clear calm waters. Greatest danger for them, this is a strong pitching, which can sometimes lead to complete exhaustion. Seahorses are generally very stress-prone. In an unfamiliar environment, they get along poorly, even if there is enough food, in addition, the loss of a partner can become the cause of death.

There is never a lot of food

The seahorse has a primitive digestive system, there are no teeth or stomach, therefore, in order not to starve to death, the creature has to constantly eat. By the way of feeding, ice skates are predators. When it comes time to have a snack (almost always), they cling to the seaweed with their tail and, like vacuum cleaners, suck in surrounding water which contains plankton.

An unusual family

Family relations with skates are also very peculiar. The female always chooses the second half. When she sees a suitable candidate, she invites him to dance. Several times the steam rises to the surface and descends again. The main task of the male is to be hardy and keep up with his girlfriend. If he slows down, the capricious lady will immediately find another gentleman for herself, but if the test is passed, the couple starts mating.

Seahorses are monogamous, that is, they choose a partner for life and sometimes even swim with tails. The offspring is carried by a male and by the way, these are the only creatures on the planet who have a "male pregnancy".

The mating dance can last about 8 hours. In the process, the female lays eggs in a special bag on the male's belly. This is where the miniature seahorses will form for the next 50 days.

From 5 to 1500 cubs will be born, only 1 in 100 will survive to mature age. It seems not enough, but this figure is actually one of the highest among fish.

Why seahorses are dying out

Seahorses are small, peace-loving fish that have suffered greatly due to their bright and unusual appearance. People catch them for different purposes: for making gifts, souvenirs, or for preparing an expensive exotic dish that costs about $ 800 per serving. In Asia, medicines are made from dried seahorses. 30 species out of 32 existing ones are included in the Red Book.