There are approximately 50 known species of sea horses. The two most common in the United States are the large sea horse ( Hippocampus hudsonius punctulatus) and the dwarf sea horse (Hippocampus zosterae). The punctulatus sea horse grows to a length of eight inches. These are a bit difficult to keep as they require constant live food and an aquarium of their own as they will easily be out competed for food with any aggressive feeder in their enviroment. The zosterae sea horse is a miniature copy of it's larger cousin. They have the same anatomy and body characteristics, just in a small, economy size usually not exceeding two inches.

There are several profound differences between sea horses and other fish. The most significant being their gills. Most fish share a similar anatomy in their gills. Gills are shaped reminiscent of the pattern you see on the veins of a leaf. Sea horse gills are masses of small, convex tubes that draw water through them as opposed to over and around them. The second significant difference is their fins and how they utilize them for locomotion. At first glance, you might think they have no fins at all. Look closer. There is a tiny Dorsal fin just above the base of it's tail on the back side. Look even closer still and you will find two tiny,transparent fins on it's head. One on each side where it's ears would be. They vibrate these fins very rapidly and achieve locomotion. In conjunction with vibrating it's fins, they push their bodies against the water as a skater pushes against the floor using the force of gravity and body muscle to move along at a fairly respectable clip.

All fish have an amazing control over their body pigments. The color of a fish can tell us many things. It can indicate mood, alarm, willingness to breed and a host of other things. It is an excellent indicator of water quality and overall health and condition of the animal. The sea horse uses it's pigment for all these reasons and one more very important one, camouflage. It is easily compared to the terrestrial chameleon. A healthy sea horse can actually change it's color to blend with any background color. I don't mean just lightning or darkening it self. I mean it can be bright red while it is resting on a sponge and then be placed against a bright white background and turn itself white even though this is a totally unnatural color for them.

Because of their delicate nature of swimming and lack of strength, they have trouble holding themselves in the water. Nature has given them a prehensile tail that allows them to attach themselves to things. Without it , they would be swept away in the current. Often, if there is nothing to attach to, they will interlock their tails with each other in a little cluster.

One characteristic of this animal that does not work in it's favor in our world is it's exoskeleton. People like to buy them and dry them out to make jewelry out of them. A disgusting thing to do to such a marvelous creature. Well, I hope this clears up a few misconceptions about these wonderful little creatures. As with any animal, Do some research about them before going out and getting some. With an appropriate tank environment, tankmates, proper diet and good water quality, you will enjoy nothing but success with these wonderful little fishes. Good luck.