Of the inhabitants of the underwater world, the most unusual, but known to everyone, are seahorses. They belong to the needle family of the needle-shaped order. The fact is that they are fellow fish called sea needles, whose body is retracted, narrow and long. The largest horses are called dragons, and there are about 50 species of seahorses.
After analyzing the structure of the seahorse, scientists have established that it originated from the sea pipe fish 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 seahorse is not a fish at all. If you look at the photo of a seahorse, outwardly it resembles a horse in chess pieces. The silhouette of this unusual fish is curved, the abdomen stands out forward, and the back is rounded. The front part of the body of the skate is narrow and curved in such a way that it resembles the neck and head of a horse. The front of the head is elongated, a fish with bulging eyes. A long tailturns into a spiral. The tail is quite flexible, allowing the seahorse to wrap itself around the seaweed.
His body is covered with a wide variety of bumps, thickenings and outgrowths. On their small body there are bony scales that act as armor, they are bright and shimmer. Such a shell of a skate cannot be pierced, it is very strong and protects against marine predators.
Their color varies in variety, but still monotonous. The color of the skate cover 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 a seahorse is among corals, then most likely it is red or bright yellow or purple. Skates that live in the environment of seaweed are brown, yellow or green in color. They also tend to change color in cases of habitat change.
Seahorses are small in size, the smallest start at 2 cm and the largest reach 20 cm.
Habitat
Seahorses live under water, mainly in the tropics and subtropics. This means that they live all over the planet.
Usually fish live among seaweed or corals in shallow waters. Skates are inactive and inactive. Most of the time they are in a position with their tail hooked on a branch of coral or seaweed. Larger fish - sea dragons - cannot attach themselves to aquatic vegetation in this way.
Lifestyle
Skates swim a little, not far from the usual place andslowly, while the body is held vertically - this is one of the main differences from other fish. In an emergency, if spooked, they can swim in a horizontal position. In danger, the pipit quickly clings to corals or algae with its tail and freezes. He hangs upside down motionless. The skate can stay in this position for a very long time.
They also differ from other inhabitants of the seabed in their meek and calm nature. These fish are not aggressive towards others. But still they belong to predatory fish, as they feed on heterogeneous small organisms - plankton. They track down the smallest mollusks, crustaceans, larvae of other fish and other invertebrates with their rotating eyes. When the prey comes close to the seahorse, he sucks it up with his mouth, while greatly puffing his cheeks. This little fish is insatiable and can eat for about 10 hours a day.
Reproduction of seahorses
And it should also be noted that these fish are monogamous. They say about seahorses that these fish live in married couples all their lives. But it still happens when they change their partners. Another of the main features is that male seahorses hatch eggs instead of females. During the mating season, the skates change: in the female, an ovipositor grows in the form of a tube, and in the male, a bag is formed in the tail area with thickened folds. Before fertilization, the partners have a rather long mating dance. These are touching courtship from the male. It was also revealed that the male seahorse, as it were,adapts to the female, while changing the color of the coat to match her.
The female puts eggs in the male's bag. So the male bears eggs for about two weeks. The bag has a small hole through which the fry are born. As for sea dragons, they don't have a bag. They hatch eggs on the very stem of the tail. The number of eggs varies in different types of skates. So, some may have 5 fry, while others may have 1500 eggs.
The birth itself is painful for the male. It happens that the outcome of the birth of fry for the seahorse is fatal.
Experiment
Scientists once conducted an experiment. A pair of males and a pair of females were placed in one tank to breed 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 care for this female, but all his efforts were in vain. She ignored him and didn't try to put her 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 were planted on him. Despite the fact that the second male continued to care for her, the female seahorse still chose her former male for breeding. The experiment with the fish was done 6 times - everything remained unchanged.
Fry
Out of a thousand newborn fry, only 5% survive andcontinues labor activity.
The fry that have just appeared 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, and some are completely disappearing from the seabed. After all, 30 species are listed in the Red Book. And all because the seahorse breeds in small quantities. There is a ban on the fishing of skates. But despite this, a person catches these fish in huge quantities for the sake of cooking. Gourmets consider the fillet of these fish to be truly a delicacy and sell it at fabulous prices. And also skates are used in oriental medicine, various drugs are made from them for diseases of the skin and asthma. Because of the unusual beautiful appearance of the skates, they are dried and sold in large volumes as souvenirs. People deliberately bend the tail of the skate in the opposite direction so that its shape becomes in the form of the letter S. In nature, such fish do not exist.
Also, water pollution plays a big 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 aquarium owners to have such an interesting fish at home, the horse is very whimsical for breedingat home. It is prone to various diseases and is too picky about feed.
Rare types of skates are very difficult to endure being in an aquarium. They may become stressed or sick. Therefore, when breeding fish at home, it is necessary to create conditions close to the natural habitat. If you carefully approach the reproduction of a seahorse, then it will delight the owner for 3-4 years.
Aquarium
It is necessary to monitor the temperature of the water in the aquarium. The optimum water temperature for them is approximately 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 will simply suffocate.
In order for a seahorse to feel comfortable at home, in an aquarium, it is necessary to monitor the quality of the water in it. Aquarium water 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.
Food for fish
Seahorses eat often and a lot, so they need to provide 4-5 meals a day. Frozen meat of crustaceans, shrimp and other invertebrate mollusks is suitable for food. They also willingly eat moths and daphnia.
Content Features
The seahorse is very demanding in care, so the owners of such royal fish need to be patient and self-possessed. Here are some features to be aware of:
- The gills of seahorses differ from other fish in their low functional ability. Because of this, the skates have limited gas exchange. It is necessary to constantly artificially supply and maintain oxygen exchange in the aquarium. Don't neglect water filtration.
- The voracity of skates is explained by the lack of a stomach. They eat frequently to maintain energy balance.
- Because they don't have fish-like scales to act as an immune system, they need to be monitored and checked frequently for damage and any changes to their body.
Neighbors in the aquarium
In the neighborhood you can put calm fish or invertebrates in the aquarium. Fish should be small, slow and careful. Ideal neighbors for seahorses are blennies and gobies. They will 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 are inhabited by various living organisms. All new neighbors must be he althy so as not to infect the seahorses.
If you read reviews about seahorse breeding, people write that two pairs of these fish require an aquarium volume of 150 liters.
