The Complete Guide to Dwarf Seahorses in the Aquarium

Seahorses resemble a swimming upright horse and you can imagine a mermaid riding these little horses through the deep.

They have become extremely popular for the tropical fish saltwater aquarium enthusiast. They belongs to the Syngnathidae family, which includes pipefish and sea dragons. They are found in the warmer waters all over the Pacific, Atlantic and Indians oceans. They can range in size from the dwarf, which is only 1 inch to a foot long specimen found around Nova Scotia.

These tiny undersea ponies can turn bright colors in unusual surroundings. By unusual it might mean you could try different colors or features in your salt water aquarium to produce these results. Nano reef Aquariums like to include the seahorse.

One unique feature is that it is the male sea horse that becomes pregnant. The female deposits up to 1,500 eggs in the male's pouch. And depending on water conditions and the type of sea horse, they can carry the eggs from 9-45 days until the fully developed tiny seahorses emerge. The parents don't take care of their young so the babies are on their own from day one.

Keeping them in saltwater aquarium can be challenging and before you try it you must read up on the subject and be completely ready before ordering any. Captive-bred sea ponies do a lot better then ones taken from the wild because the wild ones become stressed, which makes them prone to disease.

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The tank mates of seahorses should be chosen carefully or they should be kept in a tank by themselves so others don't pick them on. They can live with shrimp and some bottom feeders but be aware that they eat really slow and other tank mates might leave them with nothing. Undersea ponies tend to like hunting shrimp and other prey while hiding in their seaweed and waiting for the food to come within grabbing distance.

Sea dragons are close relatives but are larger and have leaf-like appendages so they can hide better among the seaweed. It will be harder to find sea dragons for your salt water aquariums but sometimes you can find one for sale if you are willing to pay the higher price.

The photo with this article shows them in an aquarium. However you need to do your research before buying any of these delicate sea creatures. One day someone emailed me and told me her seahorses were dying. She had just purchased them and didn't know what to do. Since I don't sell them myself I couldn't be much help except to be sympathetic and encourage her to do her research before getting more. Just one time have I seen these in a pet store. This tells me that they are not easy to keep. However many do keep and sell them as you can see from the ones on this page so it is very doable. Just research and get some books on them first.

Susan Dietel
Web Programmer
Email: susansdesign@yahoo.com