Launceston is home to a Seahorse Aquarium which breeds seahorses for sale to aquariums and breeding programs in countries all over the world. Huge numbers of seahorses are harvested from the wild every year and many of their species are becoming endangered. Their life cycle is interesting - the male bears the young, they develop in a pouch and thousands can be produced by each male.
Should have read this one first! Beautiful little creatures. Very occasionally I have seen these for sale and although sorely tempted, they've very delicate and my marine knowledge is insufficient.
@sangwann i Dione - thanks for your comment - your question was a good one. I'm pretty sure they are fish - they breathe with gills and have fins to swim with and an internal skeleton. It's quite funny to think of them as a fish! Cheers Rob
@fbailey Hi again FB - as you say - they would be gorgeous to have in a marine tank, if you could maintain it. They seem to have quite a little personality - they do courtship dances, the males preen themselves and expand their belllies to show the female what a good father they would be, and they recognize their carer and don't seem to mind being handled. And they live for a long time - wonderful little creatures. Thanks again for your interest. Cheers
@casablanca Hi Casablanca - The lady who looks after them was so good - she even massages their tummies if a male is silly enough to swallow too much air trying to impress a female! LOL.
@woofandweft1 Hi Deborah -thanks for your interest. It was such a well managed breeding facility. Their carer looked after them extremely well and it was set up so that the young ones learnt from the older ones as they progressed through from the "nursery' to "kindy" etc. They had a couple of different species - each was a different colour. :)
they look so attentive! and really like how you did this shot...as if they are posed in front of the orange seaweed (is it?0 and the eye just stays right in that line...well shot...and very interesting creatures...I didn't know they preened like that or could recognize their handlers...so much more intelligence that I would have given credit for
@granagringa Hi Madeline - thanks for having a look and for your nic comment. Like you, I was surprised at their behaviours - they didn't seem to care that their seaweed was fake. LOL. They were more interested in each other.! - and their keeper! We were so pleased we went to see them. Cheers.
November 11th, 2017
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