Community Corner

Watch This Amazing Video Of A Rescued Male Seahorse Giving Birth

To the amazement of Clearwater Marine Aquarium staff, the rescued seahorse gave birth to a herd of baby seahorses.

CLEARWATER, FL — Here's something you don't see every day.

A beach goer recently rescued a seahorse that was found floating on top of the water and brought it to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium.

The aquarium's veterinarian determined the male seahorse had an over-inflated swim bladder. The vet released the trapped air that was causing the seahorse to float.

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A few days later, to the amazement of aquarium staff, the rescued seahorse gave birth to a herd of baby seahorses.

Yes, in the world of seahorses, it's the males that give birth. A female seahorse lays dozens, sometimes hundreds, of eggs in a pouch on the male seahorse’s abdomen. Called a brood pouch, it resembles a kangaroo’s pouch for carrying young.

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Seahorse young hatch after about 45 days in the brood pouch. The baby seahorses, sometimes as many as 2,000, swim out of the pouch. About the size of a jelly bean, the baby seahorses seek out one another and float together in small groups, clinging to each other using their tails.

Both the seahorse dad and his brood of babies are doing well. They are currently under observation in the Clearwater Marine Aquarium's animal hospital.

The aquarium is now seeking names for the babies. Click here to submit your suggestion.


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