Seahorses are adorable unique fish that can be found in South Florida. But where and how can you identify them?

The three most common seahorses in South Florida are the H. zosterae, H. reidi, and H. erectus, all belonging to the Hippocampus genus. Despite being fish, they are not strong swimmers and use their tails to latch on to roots or coral to prevent being swept away by the tide. To tell these seahorses apart, you have to look for their torso length, snout length, and coronet (horn-like feature that is individual to all seahorses) shape. 

H. zosterae

These seahorses can only be found on coasts in the Gulf, around Florida, and the Bahamas. They have short snouts, high coronets, and are typically one inch long. They are also called dwarf seahorses as they are one of the smallest fish in the world, and their fastest velocity is 5 feet per hour. Very cute!

H. reidi

These can be found in the coasts in the Gulf, Central America, and the Caribbean, along with the eastern coasts of South America. They have long snouts, low yet wide coronets, and two bumps around their eyes. They can grow up to 7 inches and are also called the Brazilian seahorse. They like to samba.

H. erectus 

These seahorses live in similar coasts to the H. reidi but their range stretches even further to US’ eastern coast, up to New Hampshire. They have long snouts, spiky coronets, and can grow up to 7.5 inches tall. They have small spikes on their cheeks and young seahorses eat up to 10 hours per day! Seahorses in general do not have teeth or stomachs, so eating small amounts of food at a time is best. 

We have a seahorse sanctuary at the Boca Aquarium! Come visit us at 2801 N Federal Hwy, Boca Raton, FL 33431, open 10am-5pm Mondays-Saturdays. You’ll get to see them…seahorsing around.

Written by Val