Short-snouted seahorse (Hippocampus hippocampus) breeding trials for restocking.

Hippocampus hippocampus is one of two species of seahorses found in the Maltese islands, the other being Hippocampus guttulatus, which has a longer snout and elongated protuberances along the back of the neck, giving the impression of a ‘horses mane’. Research on the short-snouted seahorse, in Malta is limited but notable studies and information on this species in the broader Mediterranean context provide useful insights. Its cryptic body shape, camouflage and particular behaviour make it somewhat difficult to assess and monitor its species dynamics , therefore little or none is known about the current status of both local populations.

In 2017 – 2018 the Conservation & Education unit within the Malta Aquaculture Research Centre conducted a number of laboratory scale trials in order to explore the feasibility of breeding the H.hippocampus seahorse and raise a viable number of young up to hitching age. Being a very challenging species, both to keep and breed in captivity, it was decided that no fish will be taken from local waters to avoid unnessary risk of decreasing the Maltese wild population stock. Following this decision, three young pairs of captive-bred seahorses were purchased from the UK.

After the proper acclimatisation, one pair paired up and bred several times in the laboratory aquaria, but unforunately due to technical and administrative problems had to be shelved until more favourable conditions and resources are available.