Of the inhabitants of the underwater world, the most unusual, but known to everyone are seahorses. They belong to the family of needle-shaped detachment needle-shaped. The fact is that they are brothers of fish called sea needles, whose body is retracted, narrow and long. The largest horses are called dragons, and in total there are about 50 species of seahorses.
After analyzing the structure of the seahorse, scientists found that it originated from fish, the sea needle 13 million years ago. In appearance, these species are very similar, only the needle is straightened, and the ridge is curved.
Description of the underwater "horse"
At first glance it seems that the horse and not the fish at all. If you look at the photo of the seahorse, then outwardly it resembles a horse in chess pieces. The silhouette of this unusual fish bends, the abdomen stands forward, and the back is rounded. The front of the skate is narrow and curved so that it resembles the neck and head of a horse. The front of the head is elongated, the fish with bulging eyes. A long tail is wrapped in a spiral. The tail is quite flexible, this allows the seahorse to wrap around seaweed.
His body is covered with a wide variety of bumps, thickenings and outgrowths. Bone scales are located on their small torso, which serve as armor, they are bright and iridescent. Such a carapace cannot be pierced; it is very strong and protects from marine predators.
Their color differs by variety, but still monophonic. The color of the covering of the skates depends on the habitat, they acquire the most similar color for the best imitation of the surface on which they live. So, for example, if the ridge is among corals, then most likely it is red or bright yellow or lilac. Skates that live in the environment of seaweed are brown, yellow or green. They also tend to change the shade in cases of changing habitat.
Seahorses are small in size, the smallest start at 2 cm, and large ones reach 20 cm.
Habitat
Seahorses live underwater, mainly in the tropics and subtropics. This means that they live all over the planet.
Typically, fish live among algae or corals in shallow waters. Skates are inactive and inactive. Most of the time they are in a position, with their tail caught on a coral branch or seaweed. Larger fish - sea dragons - cannot attach to aquatic vegetation in this way.
Lifestyle
Skates swim a little, not far from the usual place and slowly, while the body is held upright - this is one of the main differences from other fish. In urgent cases, if you frighten them away, they can swim in a horizontal position. In danger, the skate quickly clings its tail to corals or algae and freezes. He hangs upside down motionless. In this position, the skate can be very long.
They also differ from other inhabitants of the seabed with their meek and calm character. These fish are not aggressive towards others. But still they belong to predatory fish, since they feed on heterogeneous small organisms - plankton. They trace the smallest mollusks, crustaceans, larvae of other fish and other invertebrates with their rotating eyes. When the victim approaches close to the seahorse, he sucks it in with his mouth, while greatly inflating his cheeks. This little fish is insatiable, and it can eat about 10 hours a day.
Breeding seahorses
And also it should be noted that these fish are monogamous. They say about seahorses that these fish live in couples their whole lives. But it still happens when they change their partners. Another of the main features is that male seahorses carry eggs instead of females. During the mating season, the skates change: the female ovipositor grows in the form of a tube, and the male forms a bag with thickened folds in the tail area. Before fertilization, the partners have a rather lengthy mating dance. These are touching courtship by the male. It was also revealed that the male seahorse as if adapts to the female, while changing the color of her tone.
The female lays the eggs in the bag. So the male carries eggs for about two weeks. There is a small hole in the bag through which the fry are born. As for sea dragons, they don’t have a bag. They carry eggs on the stem of the tail. The number of eggs varies for different types of skates. So, some may have 5 fry, while others - 1,500 eggs.
The birth itself is painful for the male. It happens that the outcome of the birth of fry for the ridge is fatal.
Experiment
Once, scientists conducted an experiment. A pair of males and a pair of females were placed in one aquarium for breeding seahorses. After all the traditional courtship, the female laid her eggs to one of the males for further fertilization. The fertilized male was removed to a nearby aquarium. The remaining male tried to look after this female, but all his efforts were in vain. She did not pay attention to him and did not try to lay eggs in his bag. When they nevertheless returned the male back to the aquarium to the female, she again chose him to fertilize her offspring. So he was cleaned again and again after the eggs laid to him. Despite the fact that the second male continued to look after her, but for breeding the seahorse, the female still chose her former male. The experiment with the fish was done 6 times - everything remained unchanged.
Fry
Of the thousands of newborn fry, only 5% survive and continue labor.
The newly appeared fry are already completely independent and move away from their parents, choosing a new habitat for themselves.
Skates in the Red Book
Now most species of seahorses are rare, while some completely disappear from the seabed. After all, 30 species are listed in the Red Book. And all because the seahorse reproduces in small quantities. A ban has been imposed on catching skates. But despite this, people catch these fish in huge quantities for the sake of cooking. Gourmets consider the fillet of these fish truly a delicacy and sell it at fabulous prices. As well as skates are used in oriental medicine, they make various drugs from diseases of the skin and asthma. Due to the unusual beautiful appearance of the skates, they are dried and sold in large volumes in the form of souvenirs. People specifically bend the tail of the ridge in the opposite direction, so that its shape becomes in the form of the letter S. In nature, such fish do not exist.
Water pollution also plays a large role in the extinction of most species of seahorses. Indeed, every year more and more waste and chemicals processed by industries are thrown into the oceans. Environmental accidents and other pollution affect the extinction of corals, algae, which are so necessary for the life of seahorses.
Breeding seahorses at home
Despite the desire of many owners of aquariums to have such an interesting fish at home, the skate is very whimsical for breeding at home. It is susceptible to various diseases and too demanding on feed.
Rare types of skates are very difficult to tolerate being in the aquarium. They can give in to stress or get sick. Therefore, while breeding fish at home, it is necessary to create conditions close to the natural habitat. If you carefully approach the reproduction of the seahorse, it will delight the owner of 3-4 years.
Aquarium
It is necessary to monitor the temperature of the water in the aquarium. The optimum water temperature for them is about 23-25 degrees Celsius. For hot days, you need to take care of installing an aquarium split system or turn on a fan nearby. Otherwise, hot air adversely affects these fish, and they simply suffocate.
To make the seahorse at home, in the aquarium, feel comfortable, you need to monitor the quality of the water in it. The water in the aquarium should not contain ammonia or phosphates. At the bottom you need to put corals and algae. Various grottoes, jugs, castles and other products made of artificial materials are also welcome.
Fish food
Seahorses often and often eat a lot, so they need to provide 4-5 meals a day. Suitable for food frozen meat of crustaceans, shrimp and other invertebrate mollusks. They also eagerly eat moths and daphnia.
Content Features
Seahorse is very demanding in care, so the owners of these royal fish need patience and endurance. Here are some features to be aware of:
- The gills of seahorses differ from other fish in their low functional ability. Because of this, gas exchange is limited in skates. It is necessary to constantly supply and maintain oxygen metabolism in the aquarium. Water filtration should not be neglected.
- Gluttony of the skates is explained by the lack of a stomach. They often eat to maintain energy balance.
- Since they do not have the scales characteristic of fish, which would play the role of the immune system, it is necessary to monitor and often check for damage and any changes in their body.
Neighbors in the aquarium
You can place calm fish or invertebrate animals in the aquarium next door. Fish should be small, slow and careful. Ideal neighbors for seahorses would be sea dogs and gobies. They get along well with a snail that does not sting corals and perfectly cleans the aquarium. You can also consider living stones as inhabitants of the "house" of needle-shaped fish. These are small pieces of calcareous rock that have been in warm tropical waters for some time and inhabited by various living organisms. All new neighbors must be healthy so as not to infect the seahorses.
If you read reviews about breeding a seahorse, people write that an aquarium volume of 150 liters is needed for two pairs of these fish.