Matt
I have another video on raising seahorses by Jeff Mitchell (Shedd Aquarium). If you want I can let you borrow it. I got my VCR to work
finally.
Mike
Here are some interesting links from the web.
http://www.seahorse.org/
http://seahorse.fisheries.ubc.ca/
Seahorse sound
http://aquarium.ucsd.edu/new_site/biology2.html
http://www.utahreefs.com/articles/AZA_paper_BAS.pdf
http://www.utahreefs.com/articles/Pipefish_final.pdf
http://seahorse.fisheries.ubc.ca/pdfs/PS_Husbandry_Manual.pdf
http://www.isidore-of-seville.com/seahorse/
Seahorse survival defies doubters
Shedd Aquarium to close exhibit after 5 1/2 years
By BENNIE M. CURRIE
Associated Press
Posted: Dec. 26, 2003
Chicago - When the Shedd Aquarium opened its Seahorse Symphony exhibit,
experts warned it was doomed to fail. The Shedd, they said, would fare
no better at keeping seahorses alive than any pet owner would - two to four
months, at best.
That was 5 1/2 years and 10 million visitors ago. And dozens of the exhibit's
original inhabitants are still very much alive.
The exhibit - which features some 20 species of seahorses and closely related
sea dragons, snipefish, pipe fish and trumpet fish - finally closes Jan. 4
after a history-making run that was supposed to last only 18 months.
"Every few months, we'd turn to each other and say, 'When was this exhibit
to be closing?' " said Jeff Boehm, the Shedd's senior vice president for
conservation and veterinary services.
Along the way, the aquarium made a number of discoveries about the care
of the eye-catching creatures, and also helped boost efforts to protect
seahorses and other marine life.
At the time the exhibit opened, no one knew much about how to keep the
1- to 9-inch seahorses alive.
"There was little to nothing known about nutritional requirements or
diseases and how diseases actually occur. We were told we'd have to
use live food only," said Jeff Mitchell, a Shedd aquarist.
Through experimentation, the Shedd found that the seahorses would
eat frozen mysis shrimp, which could be cleansed of bacteria and
enriched with nutrients.
About 25 to 30 of the 90 to 100 original seahorses and other
creatures in the exhibit are still around.
How long seahorses can live in the wild is largely unknown.
But because of what was learned at the Shedd, it is known that,
in an aquarium, seahorse life spans range from about two years
in smaller species to seven years in larger ones.
After the exhibit closes, the Shedd will continue to display
50 to 100 of the creatures, moving some to a tiny version of
the exhibit and others to the aquarium's new Wild Reef addition.
