You Kuda Kept A Seahorse

Hippocampus kuda is one of the world's most common Seahorses. They have proven fairly easy to breed in captivity and as a result, nearly all the specimens you see in your local fish store have been aquacultured. One of the results of this commonality, is that they have been “discovered” and classified (or reclassified) at least a dozen times over the years, giving way to a myriad of scientific names that are no longer valid. This has also given rise to a huge number of common names. Here at Quality Marine, we call them “Kuda” or “Colored Kuda” but you'll also see them called Colored, Spotted, Speckled, Common, Ocean, Oceanic, and pretty commonly just Yellow Seahorses. The “Hippocampus” part of their name comes from Greek and roughly translates as “curved horse.”

Occasionally, they also get called Estuary or Estuarine Seahorses, and they can be found in estuaries, as well as pretty much all other shallow water habitats that offer them the correct temperature, sedate flow, food, shelter and places to hang on. They're usually found in water that is less than 30 feet deep with a natural range that spans all of the tropical Indian Ocean out to the central Pacific. They are absent from the American Pacific coastline and the Atlantic Ocean. They've even been found in Sargassum floating along miles from shore. All Seahorses are members of the Sygnathidae family, which most of you will know better as Pipefishes and Seahorses.

These are fairly large Seahorses, capable of getting up to a foot long when measured from the tip of their tails to the tops of their heads. They are very sedate swimmers and don't need much space, and actually, aquariums that are too big can make it difficult for them to chase down and catch enough food. We suggest keeping them in pairs or trios and this could be done in a 55-gallon aquarium at full size, when they are small, say less than six inches, a 40-gallon aquarium would be much more appropriate. The display should have plenty of branchy cover for them to attach to with their amazing tails, while allowing them enough space from the other seahorses in the display so they aren't competing with each other at feeding times. Aquarists often use branchy coral or gorgonian skeletons as well as live algae or plants for this, mangrove roots can work for larger specimens. The flow in the tank needs to be gentle, and the total flow shouldn't be more than five times the total volume of the aquarium. The flow should also be diffuse so there isn't a noticeable current in one direction. Obviously, they aren't going to be jumping anywhere, so a cover isn't necessary. They will try to hang onto anything they can, and so heaters should be either put into a sump or caged off to prevent the seahorse from burning itself.

There are a few fish that could theoretically be placed in a display with Seahorses, but they need to be chosen for their nonchalant attitude toward food. We don't suggest having any other fish, but we've seen some successfully displays that featured a Macropharyngdon genus Wrasse, or a Dragonette. Most fish will eat all the food before your seahorses can get enough, and so they're better left to another tank. You will also want to stay away from anemones, corals that have strong stings like Maze Brains (Platygyra) and corals that could be damaged by the Seahorses hanging onto them.

As you've probably gathered, the primary difficulty in keeping most Seahorses is feeding them. As aquacultured specimens, these Kudas will be much easier to feed than their wild counterparts. In house we feed them a mix of Gamma Rotifers, Copepods and Loaded Brine (like Brine Plus Omega, Brine Plus Spirulina etc.) when they're small. Once they get big enough to take larger meals, we'll still feed them these items, but you can also add things like Mysis, Mini Bloodworms and Krill Pacifica which is smaller than the Krill Superba. They should be fed a minimum of three times a day and more would be better. Target feed them by gently basting thawed foods into the vicinity of the Seahorse with the filters paused to make sure they have ample opportunity to get the food before it is whisked away on the current. Many aquarists will utilize a refugium with their Seahorse displays as a rearing ground for natural food that gets delivered to the main display slowly over time. (See our article on refugiums elsewhere on our website for more info.)

If you have a pair of healthy adult Kudas, having them breed in the tank is fairly likely. Females will generally be more brilliantly colored (usually yellow or orangish) than the larger males (that tend to be more dull and sometimes completely grey or brown or speckled.) Males will also be the ones with the pouch. They will court each other in the days before spawning happens and you'll probably notice them in an embrace, moving heads, wrapping around one another's tails, and swimming like this together. The female will release eggs, and the male will fertilize them and carry them around for around a month! After the young Seahorses hatch, they'll be released from the pouch, which is a strained process and quite dramatic to watch! Often the males will eat less, or not at all for portions of the “pregnancy” and as such are going to be pretty hungry when the babies happen. If you want the younglings to survive, you should remove them as soon as possible. They will already be large enough to eat things like rotifers, artemia nauplii and copepods. Seahorses should not be exposed to air, so it's best to move them in a cup of water, even the babies.

Whatever you decide to call them, Kuda Seahorses can be the anchor of one of the most interesting aquarium displays available to the home marine tank enthusiast. They are gorgeously colored with interesting behaviors. If you've been thinking about trying a Seahorse tank, Aquacultured Kudas are probably the best choice for starting out. Call your Local Fish Store and ask them to order you a pair from Quality Marine today!