Diet and Feeding Habits
The location where the Common Seahorse happens to live strongly influences what they will eat. The main items are very small guppies and small Brine Shrimp. They have a large snout that they consume the food with. They have no teeth and they will swallow their prey. They can’t consume anything that is larger than that snout.
What is very interesting is that no seahorse has a digestive system. That is why they spend so much time feeding. They also eat very slowly so it can take them many hours each day to feed. When they aren’t eating they will typically be resting.
Reproduction
The females will find that many males are common around when the conditions are right for mating. The females will agree to mate as long as their basic needs are being met. The couple will spend several days with each other first. They have been observed mirroring each others behaviors.
This allows them to learn how to move in sync with each other. That will be a vital part of the mating process in the days ahead. The female is going to deposit many eggs into a pouch on the abdomen of the male. This is one of the few living creatures in the world where the male is responsible for getting the young into the world. The time it takes for them to arrive is from 4 – 5 weeks. If the water temperate is warm it will reduce the incubation period.
The young will have to take care of all their needs when they are born. However, there are many predators out there waiting to dine on them. This is why less than 1% of them actually make it in the wild long enough for them to mature and have offspring of their own.
It is typical for the male and the female to take part in depositing the eggs and having young two or three times per season. This is why there are myths that the seahorse mates for life. However, they really only mate with each other for a season and then they will mate with a new partner the following year.
(source:google/http://www.seahorseworlds.com/)
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