AquaShop - Stock Log # 12 " The Seahorse "
Hello and welcome back to The AquaShop Stock Log. 馃悹
In this series we will be showcasing the different types of fish you might find in an aspiring fish shop!
take notes shop owners!
Starting with some of the more commonly found fish we will work our way up to the more sought after species of fish that only an experienced caretaker could handle.
The Seahorse
Hippocampus
Saltwater
The scientific name for seahorse, hippocampus, derives from the ancient Greek mythological creature known as Hipp贸kampos, who was a horse-like sea monster. Like the Hipp贸kampos, the seahorse has a long narrow snout used for finding food in small nooks and crannies found in the ocean. Adult seahorses eat around 30-50 times a day and feed on small creatures such as shrimp and crustacea.
The seahorse is the only known creature that has a true reversed pregnancy. Meaning, the female seahorse transfers her fertilized eggs to the male seahorse. From there the male seahorse stores it in his pouch until the baby seahorses, known as fry, are ready to hatch. The male seahorse's pouch has enough food and oxygen for the entirety of the development of the fry before it is born.
There are 35 different species of seahorses. 11 of the 35 seahorse species are considered vulnerable to extinction and 1 of the 35 species is considered endangered. In addition to this, it's estimated that over 150 million seahorses are taken from the wild per year for medicinal purposes.
Gift Shop horrors
The Curio trade takes about one million seahorses from the wild each year, broils them in the sunlight and sells them as souvenirs. A tragic loss for a lovely sea creature.
Where do they come from?
Seahorses have likely been around since the Oligocene epoch of the Paleogene Period which was about 23 to 34 million years ago. They likely originated in the Pacific Ocean and eventually slowly spread to the Atlantic Ocean. The earliest known seahorse fossils are said to be about 13 million years old and were found in Slovenia.
We will continue to show more information on these fish as time comes. More information can be read about these fish HERE.
That's all we have for today shop keeps! Keep on swimming!
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