The Seahorse is arguably the most beautiful, mysterious and instantly recognisable sea creature in the world. With its upright posture, athletic tail, and mammal-like head, it really is one of a kind. Seahorses, of which there are about 40 different species, inhabit warm, shallow waters across the globe. They range from the tiny, rare Pygmy Seahorse, (Hippocampus pygmius) to the large, colourful Seahorses of South America (Hippocampus reidii)

Seahorses are able to employ subtle changes of colour to allow camouflage among the various corals and weeds that make up their home.

Seahorses give birth to live young, but produce very small babies, only a few millimetres long. However they can produce 1,000 or more at a time. Indeed, an active couple can mate every fortnight, with the male giving birth to his progeny after only 13 days. This leaves only a 24 hour rest period before the whole process begins again!

The female Seahorse produces the eggs, and then transfers them to a pouch on the male’s abdomen. The male incubates the eggs, and when they hatch, he gives birth to the young over the space of a few hours. Seahorses can be prolific breeders, with some species giving birth to over 50’000 live young in a single year. Seahorses mate for life, which is why you will likely see our Seahorses swimming in pairs.

Here at Atlantaquaria, we have two species of Seahorse (Hippocampus whitei and Hippocampus reidii) which are from stock bred at Ireland’s first Seahorse “farm”, Seahorse Ireland in Connemara. By breeding Seahorses in captivity, it is hoped to reduce the enormous strain Seahorse populations are under in the wild, from both the private and public aquarium trade, and the huge Asian market where Seahorses are sold in their thousands for their supposed medicinal properties. We are in the process of establishing our own Seahorse breeding centre here in the aquarium.

There is one species of Seahorse native to Irish waters, Hippocampus gattulata, also known as the Maned Seahorse.