The Aquarium and Museum of Natural History in Krakow saw the exceptional birth of 100 seahorses Sunday, fifteen of whom survived the adaptation process.
Seahorses rarely reproduce in captivity and are very delicate creatures, thus, the fact that the Krakow museum now boasts 15 young ‘seaponies’ is exceptional.
The parents come from the Indian Ocean, near Sri Lanka.
“The babies feel great. We have situated them ideally, as close to a natural environment as this unusual birth can be. I would estimate that, for every 1000 [seahorse] births in the natural world, about five survive. That shows the rarity of this situation,” stated Michal Popek from the Aquarium.
After the adaptation period is over, the fifteen sea creatures will be moved to a 2,000 litre tank to live with their parents.
The gestation period of a seahorse is 2-4 weeks, during which time the male seahorse carries the birth pouch and gives birth to the babies.
The ‘ponies’ born in Krakow measure about 3 mm and eat a specially prepared plankton until they will be large enough to hunt larger plankton and mini shrimp. (mmj)