Aquacultured male Half-Spined Seahorse (Hippocampus semispinosus)

In the wild, the Half-spined Seahorse, tends to live in well-sheltered areas close to the sea floor using muddy habitats near mangroves. They feed by sucking small crustaceans and zooplakton. The Half-spined Seahorse males and females differ in color. Males range from yellowish to dark brown with white splashes on its trunk while females are a cream yellow to a dark red color with grayish splashes on its trunk rings. Among the features that make this seahorse different and interesting is that it tends to be leaner through its trunk and it may have algae growth on its spine. Like all seahorses, the males birth baby seahorses; they have a pouch where the female seahorse deposits her eggs for the male to carry and incubate until gestation.