Saltcorner
By Bob Goemans
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Hippocampus - Seahorses

Hippocampus barbouri

Jordan & Richardson, 1908

Barbour's Seahorse

Likely Reef Tank Suitable

Likely Fish-Only Tank Suitable

Range: Indo-West Pacific Ocean: Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

Size: 6 inches (15 cm)

Natural Environment: Inhabits shallow seagrass beds, mangrove areas, and inshore stony coral growths where it may occasionally be found clinging to hard coral growths. Feeds on minute crustaceans.

General Husbandry: Quite attractive, having a white to pale yellow to pale brown body, with reddish brown spots and lines on or around the snout.

Occasionally seen in the trade and requires an environment that is well-suited to these slow moving fishes, i.e., having slow moving water currents, preferably low light, and structures or large microalgae growths that can be used to grab-on and support itself.

As to diet, meaty foods consisting of enriched live adult brine shrimp and/or enriched frozen mysis shrimp, and fed several times daily.

Taxonomy:

    Order: Syngnathiformes

    Suborder: Syngnathoidei

    Family: Syngnathidae

    Genus: Hippocampus

FYI: Often dried and sold to the Oriental medicine trade.

Tankmates should be limited to species such as pipefish/mandarins.

Experience Level: Intermediate

Temperament: Peaceful

Diet: Carnivore

Coral Safe: Yes

Fish Safe: Yes

Invertebrate Safe: Yes

Acclimation Time: 30 minutes+

Aquarium Environment: Their own private environment/special tankmates

Tankmates: Peaceful

Minimum Tank Size: 30 gallons

Temperature Range: 72 - 80°F (22 – 27°C)

Specific Gravity: 1.020 - 1.026

pH: 8.0 - 8.5

 Hippocampus barbouri (Barbour's Seahorse)
Photo © John Randall
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