Identification:
Family: Syngnathidae (Seahorses, Pipefishes, and Leafy Seadragons)
Subfamily: Hippocampinae
Species: Hippocampus reidi
The Brazilian Seahorse has a range of color variations from black to yellow, orange and red.
Common Names:
Brazilian Seahorse.
Distribution:
This Seahorse occurs from as far north as the Carolinas, Bermuda and south to Brazil.
Maximum Size:
Over 8".
Characteristics and Compatibility:
This species is common in the aquarium trade. The Brazilian Seahorse will do well and reproduce regularly if it is offered a proper diet on a regular basis.
As with most Seahorses, the Brazilian Seahorse does best in a quiet tank with little competition for food. Less aggressive fish such as Mandarins make good tank mates.
Seahorses require stationary perches to wrap their prehensile tails around. Since Seahorses are not strong swimmers, they do best in a tank with a low water flow.
Diet and Feeding:
Seahorses should be fed live or (if they will take it) vitamin enriched frozen or freeze-dried mysid shrimp. Seahorses should be fed several times per day with food available for 20 to 30 minutes per feeding. Wild caught Seahorses may be slow to accept frozen or freeze-dried mysid shrimp as food to begin with and may have to be fed live foods until they are weaned onto prepared foods. Tank raised Seahorses are normally trained to accept frozen or freeze-dried mysid shrimp at an early age and will make the transition to your tank much more easily than wild caught.
