Fun facts!

DID YOU KNOW? :D

Conventionally, parents take care and attend to the needs of their young. However, the seahorses do not! Instead, they just leave the baby seahorses to gain independence themselves. But, they do a teeny weeny bit for them.

As mentioned before, their brood pouch regulates salinity (dissolved salt content of a body of water) for the eggs, slowly increasing in the pouch to match that of sea water outside as the eggs mature. Once the offspring hatch, the male releases the baby seahorses and does not provide parental care for them.

So.. the little seahorses are left to wander off in the sea alone!

Sex role reversal! :)

The seahorse is a very unique type of animal as it is the only one in the entire animal kingdom where the male gets pregnant instead of the usual female!

Sex role reversal involves the female competing for males as a mate. (where males usually fight for a girl in our daily lives) Male seahorses provide parental care for the young.  While the young are in the pouch, males give oxygen through a capillary network, transfer nutrients, and change the atmosphere in the pouch. 

*tick tick, isn't that like the placenta and umbilical cord in the human body system?* :D


The atmosphere change in the pouch makes it contain more salt water, so the young will be prepared to go into the ocean water when they are born.

Common Misconceptions! Are seahorses monogamous? :)

In many websites such as wikipedia, seahorses is said to be monogamous! :) How much of this is true?

First, what does monogamous refer to? :D It refers to having only one mate, while polygamous refers to having different mates.

Actually, did you know that seahorses are usually polygamous? Only some species are monogamous.

Why is it then that so many people believed -and many people still do -that seahorses are monogamous? This was a big deal, as monogamy was thought only to occur in higher species like mammals, and certainly not in fish.

This was due to the media sentionalising this idea of monogamy. It was great publicity for conservation groups. These groups painted the picture of seahorses dying of loneliness in the oceans when their mates were taken from them, thus encouraging people to stop keeping wild seahorses as pets.

Even though the mating patterns of only a small handful of seahorse species have been studied, there is enough evidence to show that seahorses are in fact not monogamous, contrary to what the public would like to believe. However, this is also a saving grace -it means that seahorses will not be as easily forced into extinction, as if a mate disappears, the seahorse itself will actively seek out a new mate for reproduction.

Hope this enabled you to brush up on your current affair skills on seahorses! :D And gain more knowledge of the mates of seahorses!

What do you need to breed your seahorses to enable them to be very productive in reproduction?

For breeding, seahorses do require some special treatment, should you want to have loads of cute little baby seahorses!

1. Nutrition is extremely important! Ensure your females are producing good-quality eggs by feeding her high-energy food, such as frozen (or live) Mysid shrimp.

2. Tank depth! At least 50 cm is recommended for sub-adult seahorses to breed, and 1-m for full-grown adults.

3. Very good water quality! Ensure the ammonia and nitrite are low, your temperature is stable around 18-20 oC, and salinity is between 20-35 ppt.

4. A small tank for your babies, as well as live baby brine shrimp.

5. It is always good to keep seahorses in their own aquarium. Never put seahorses in an aquarium with aggressive and fast feeders as seahorses are gentle feeders, which will be edged out in food rivalry. 

Gestation period

Sea horse reproduction usually occurs from May to August. There is something known as the gestation period for humans of around 9 months. Well, does the same apply for the seahorse too? YES! :) They too have a gestation period. However, it is only for 40 to 50 days. For these days, the male is the SOLE caretaker of the eggs, present in the tightly sealed sack.The eggs inside the sack attach themselves to the male with umbilical cords. He goes through everything a regular female goes through when they are pregnant. The male may be in a state of labour for hours until the young are ready to emerge from the pouch. The babies emerge as miniature sea horses and make their way to the surface of the ocean.

Actually, the duration of pregnancy relies on temperature of water.

Parts of the reproductive system of a seahorse! :)

 

A photo showing the different parts of the seahorse :)

Just like humans, the seahorse has many different parts in their body, having tubular testes and a duct system that merges with the urinary bladder at the cloaca. However, seahorses do not posssess an external copulatory organ! They have the anal fin instead.

Anyway, which are the ones that are classified under the reproductive system?

They are the:

- Tail

- Mesenteries (extend along body cavity just in front of the kidneys, in body of the seahorse)

- Anal fin
- Male brood pouch (only for male seahorses)

What part do they play in the reproductive system then? :)

First, the tail is used in greeting rituals and to hold onto a partner during mating.

Next, the mesenteries suspend the reproductive organs of the seahorses- testes of males and ovaries of females, where they are paired structures.

Moreover, the anal fin is situated above the opening of the brood pouch and covers it, where it then has connection with reproductive activity. It does this by directing the sperm released by the urogenital duct towards the mature eggs as they travel from the female to the male's brood pouch.

Last, the male brood pouch is located on the front of the tail. The pouch opening is positioned just under the anal fin and during mating, it is opened to allow the female to deposit eggs. The brood pouch lining provides nourishment (nutrients and oxygen) to the developing egg and removes all harmful waste. During the development of the young, the salinity of the pouch increases so that they will be adapted to seawater! Though it does not play a direct role in fertilisation, it does indeed ensure that the young are in safe hands but thus considered a secondary sex characteristic. The size of seahorse broods is much smaller than that of most fishes.

Hope you have benefited from this insight on the reproductive parts of seahorses! :D

A closer look! :)

Is there a physical difference between the male and female seahorses? :)

As seen from the above illustration, the physical similarities between the male and female are striking! The only discernible difference scientists have been able to find is in the abdominal area where the female is rough and angular.  The male is smooth and the reproductive pouch is visible. 

How a male seahorse gives birth!

Since we now know what happens during courtship, let us take it a step further and observe the types of symptoms or changes occuring during birth! :) Here is an interesting video which clearly highlights how a male seahorse gives birth! So, sit back, relax and enjoy!



At the time of birth, the brooding pouch extends and the male undergoes a period of muscular contractions where he bends forward and backward.  After a short period of time, usually about ten minutes or so, the baby seahorses will be released into the water, looking like miniature versions of their parents, at which point they are basically on their own.  Infant mortality in the seahorse world is extremely high with very few living long enough to mature and mate on their own, contributing to their growing risk for extinction.  Those that do survive can expect a life span between four and six years.