ARTICLE SUBMITTED FOR PUBLICATION ON CARERS- HEALINGSPUR
SEAHORSES
First of all they are a fish although it looks very cute and resembles a tiny horse they are such amazing little creatures and just like a kangaroo the males have a pouch, they are one of the few species where it is the males who get pregnant, their scientific name is Hippocampus and their home is in tropical waters in many parts of the world among coral reefs, seagrass, and also mangrove forests. They have unusual eyes that can move in different directions and have a curly tail with which they can grasp seaweed, and they use their horse like snout to suck up food, they balance amazingly using their pectoral fins at each side of their head and use another dorsal fin on their back to propel themselves forward by flapping it, they roll and unroll their tail to move up and down. They have no teeth or stomach and swallow their food whole and are always hungry eating zooplankton.
The female lays her eggs in the male pouch where they are fertilized and he takes care of the eggs until they hatch which takes about two to six weeks, the tiny babies resemble their parents and look like tiny horses about quarter of an inch long. The parents do not need to take care of them as they can eat by themselves just after they are born. Predators rarely bother them as they are too bony for most predators taste and they can defend themselves very adequately because they can change colour to match their surroundings. How interesting and beautiful these little creatures are when you get to know them, there are about thirty five different species, some are tiny about an inch long but other larger species can grow up to fourteen inches, they are graceful and very colourful and can sometimes mimic each others colour, there are lots of interesting things to learn about seahorses and they have some unusual and quaint habits like doing a little dance when they go to the toilet, and when they are in love they dance gracefully when courting, and hold each others tails, they are generally faithful to partners, but can be flirty at times, the male will defend his female and charge at an interlopers head, they reach sexual maturity at about six months old, and their life span is about four years depending on the type of species. They are friendly and can become tame enough to eat out of your hand, what adorable little creatures they are, if you would be interested and would like to start an aquarium for them there is excellent information on keeping and breeding them, and much more to learn about them on this website. http://www.seahorses.de/seahorses.htm
If you decide to get an aquarium do care lovingly for these unusual and gorgeous little creatures that our Divine Creator gave us.
