Sea Horses and Pipefish

Seahorses are a fish belonging to the family Syngnathidae, which also includes pipefish and leafy sea dragons. There are over 32 species of seahorse, mainly found in shallow tropical and temperate waters throughout the world. Seahorses are so named for their equine appearance. Although they are fish, they do not have scales, rather a thin skin stretched over a series of bony plates arranged in rings throughout their body. Each species has a distinct number of rings. Seahorses swim upright, another characteristic that is not shared by their fish relatives who swim horizontally. Seahorses have a coronet on their head, which is distinct to each seahorse, much like a human fingerprint. They swim very poorly by using a dorsal fin, which they rapidly flutter to propel them, and pectoral fins, located behind their eyes, which they use to steer. Because they are poor swimmers, they are most likely to be found resting in sea grasses or coral reefs with their prehensile tails wound around a stationary object. They have long snouts, which they use to suck up food, and eyes that can move independently of each other much like chameleon. Seahorses eat small shrimp, tiny fish and plankton... Captive breeding of seahorses has become increasingly widespread. These seahorses survive better in captivity, and they are less likely to carry diseases. These seahorses will eat prepackaged, frozen mysis shrimp that are readily available from aquarium stores, and they do not experience the shock and stress of being taken out of the wild and placed in a small aquarium. Although captive-bred seahorses are more expensive, they survive better than wild seahorses, and take no toll on wild populations. There are many seahorse misconceptions. Seahorses should be kept in an aquarium to themselves, or with compatible tank-mates. Seahorses are slow feeders, and in an aquarium with fast, aggressive feeders, the seahorses will be edged out in the competition for food. Special care should be given to ensure that all individuals obtain enough food at feeding times. Seahorses can co-exist with many species of shrimp and other bottom-feeding creatures. Fish from the goby family also make good tank-mates. Some species are especially dangerous to the slow-moving seahorses and should be avoided completely: eels, tangs, triggerfish, squid, octopus, and sea anemones. Seahorses should only be added to a mature, cycled saltwater aquarium. A seahorse tank must have gentle to moderate currents for them to be able to feed properly. There must be adequate biological filtration you should do water changes of 5-20 percent per week. Water should follow these guidelines before you introduce a seahorse: pH - 8.0 to 8.3 Specific gravity - 1.021 to 1.024 Ammonia - 0 Nitrite - 0 Nitrate - <20 ppm Most seahorse aquarists use taller tanks. Seahorses need height (2.5 to 3 times the UNCURLED length of the animals) in their tanks to court and mate. At a minimum, the depth of the tank, excluding the substrate, should be at least 2x the uncurled length of the animal. Further, leave a path along the substrate as some seahorses courting rituals require them to scoot along the bottom of the tank in tandem. Several pairs of pygmy seahorses can be maintained in a 5-10 gallon tank (a 10G is recommended because of the difficulties of keeping water parameters stable in a small capacity aquarium. Two to three pairs of medium sized seahorses can be maintained in a 24-gallon tank although a larger tank is preferable to keep water parameters more stable.

The flamboyant reddish, bright yellow, and blazing orange color morphs of the Brazilian Hippocampus reidi seahorse are almost legendary among aquarists. S eahorses employ a remarkable ability to change coloration. Since they rely on color for many things, including camouflage, complex social interactions, courtship rituals, and to express their mood and emotional state.Seahorses accomplishes their dramatic color changes through the contraction or expansion of pigment cells. Each pigment cell is a contractile cell or vesicle containing liquid pigment or pigment granules and capable of changing its form or size, thus causing changes of color in the skin of the animals that possess them. The pigment cells may be under nervous control and able to change very rapidly or under hormonal control and able to change only relatively slowly. The Hippocampus reidi is typically endowed with just a few different types of pigment color cells, and all colors are derived from these 3 or 4 basic pigments. The exact color the seahorse displays at any given time therefore depends on the concentration of these pigment cells, how close the cells are to the surface of the skin, and which color cells are expanded or contracted at the moment.

Amazing as it sounds, the Hippocampus Reidi seahorse has no orange pigment cells. The incredible bright orange coloration is produced by simultaneously expanding itheir yellow pigment cells and red pigment cells to the fullest. The exact shade of orange the reidi seahorse becomes and its brightness is determined by the proportion of yellow to red cells it opens, how fully they are expanded, and how close to the skin's surface they are. Obviously, a hippocampus reidi seahorse that is black has all its color cells expanded and a hippcampus reidi seahorse that is white has all of its color cells contracted so that all the wavelengths of visible light are reflected back to the observer.

What affects Seahorse Coloration?
The hobbyist should be aware that there are a number of environmental conditions and hormonal influences that can affect the coloration of seahorses in the aquarium, often by affecting the ability of color cells to contract and expand. These include the following factors:

Stress -- seahorses often respond to stress by darkening.
Emotional state -- when excited, seahorses typically brighten in coloration, reflecting a state of high arousal. On the other hand, fear, anxiety and distress are generally accompanied by dark, somber hues.
Social Interactions -- seahorses often brighten during their courtship displays; pair-bonded seahorses likewise brighten during their morning greeting rituals, and rivals go through characteristic color changes during their confrontations and competitions.
Competition for mates -- dominant individuals brighten; subordinate seahorses darken in submission.
Poor water quality -- high levels of wastes, ammonia, nitrite or nitrate can cause color cells to contract and colors to fade.
Low oxygen levels or high CO2 levels-- can cause colorful seahorses to fade.
Background colors -- seahorses will often change color in order to blend in with their immediate surroundings.
Medications -- some antibiotics and malachite-green-based remedies negatively affect color.
Tankmates -- seahorses may change their base coloration to blend in with the rest of the herd or to match their mate (or a potential partner). This can work both ways: a dark seahorse may brighten up and assume vivid hues when introduced to an aquarium with bright yellow or orange tankmates; In the same manner, a brightly colored seahorse may darken and adopt subdued coloration when placed amidst drab tankmates.

So What can you do to influence your Seahorse's coloration?

To Sum it all up, aside from providing your seahorses with optimal water quality, a stress-free environment, and an ideal, enriched staple diet, you must also take care to provide them with a colorful natural aquarium setting that will make them feel right at home. This means furnishing their aquarium with appropriate, multi-colored décor. Pay special attention to the hitching posts you select. Strive for bright reds, oranges, and yellows in anything your seahorses may adopt. Once the seahorse adopts a favorite base of operations like this, they will often proceed to change coloration to match their preferred resting spot. Reef tanks featuring colorful sponges, colorful mushrooms, leathers, and other seahorse-safe soft corals and gorgonians are ideal, guaranteed to keep seahorses feeling right at home and looking their best. Various types of Caulerpa, Gracilaria, and other attractive macroalgae can then be added to give your tank a welcome touch of green, red, gold and add a bit of living color (Giwojna, 2002). If your tank is not a reef tank, you can often achieve the same effect using "make beleive" coral, plastic gorgonians and replicas of marine plants to encourage them to retain their natural coloration. Many hobbyists find that a dark color substrate, such as black sand, brings out their seahorses' brightest colors and sets off their colorful hues exceptionally well.