Sea Horse

Sea horses are usually found in warm, shallow water among sea grass beds. They situate themselves near deep, fast-running channels that provide them with plankton, the microscopic marine life on which they feed. To avoid being swept away by the current, they wrap their long tails around nearby vegetation. Their tails are prehensile----specially adapted for grasping.

Sea horses feed constantly on plankton and other small fish. A sea horse can use each eye independently from the other, which allows it to search for prey without moving its body. When prey comes close, the sea horse can snap it up from up to an inch and half away. The sea horse can avoid most predators because its coloration acts as camouflage in all surroundings. Within seconds, it can change from gray or black to vivid yellow or purple.

Sea horses are an unusual species in that the male becomes pregnant. The female releases her eggs into a pouch on the male's abdomen. As the eggs attach themselves to the spongy pouch wall, he fertilizes them and nourishes them with a special fluid secretion. After gestation, about fifty young are released from his pouch.

The sea horse was once thought to be a mythological creature. Today it is much in demand for home aquariums. However, it is extremely difficult to keep a sea horse alive outside its natural environment, probably because of the high intake of food it needs to survive.