All fish / Syngnathidae

Patagonian Seahorse

Hippocampus patagonicus

Also known as patagonian seahorse, argentine seahorse, longsnout seahorse, patagonicus seahorse, 巴塔哥尼亚海马

A medium-sized seahorse from cool temperate waters, usually brown, yellowish or dark with pale speckles and a fairly long snout. It is kept by specialist seahorse hobbyists, and most of the stock in the trade comes from captive breeding in South America and from research facilities.

Care at a glance

Care level

Hard

Temperament

Peaceful

Adult size

14 cm

Temperature

16 to 22 °C

pH

8 to 8.4

Smallest tank

110 litres

Keep as

A pair or small group, in a species-only tank

Diet

Carnivore: frozen mysis shrimp, enriched live brine shrimp and amphipods, fed several times a day

Swims

Middle of the tank

Lifespan

3 to 5 years

Water

Marine (saltwater)

Wild range

Southwest Atlantic: southern Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina

Breeding

Males brood the eggs in a pouch and release fully formed young after about two to three weeks. Captive breeding works fairly well because the fry are quite large, but they need a steady supply of live food such as rotifers, copepods and enriched Artemia.

Good to know

This species needs cool water, so a chiller is usually required. It is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN and all Hippocampus species are on CITES Appendix II, so buy only captive-bred fish with proper paperwork. Do not keep it with fast, aggressive feeders or with stinging corals.