Welcome to You Ask Andy

Joan Dayan, age 10, of Atlanta, Ga,, for her question:

What does a. sea horse eat?

The cute little sea horse is a fussy eater, which is one reason why we cannot keep him as an aquarium pet. No, he does not graze in the floating ocean meadows of plankton, nor does he munch hay. In fact, the little fells is not a vegetarian at all. Unlike the noble horse who lives on land, the sea horse is a meat‑eater.

He feeds on the smallest members of the crustacean clans the little cousins of the crab and the lobster. We can find relatives of these crusty little creatures on the ocean beaches. They are the so‑called beach fleas, the sand fleas and the sand bugs. Actually, these animals are not at all related to the fleas and bugs of the insect world.

Warm, tropical waters teem with countless varieties of these miniature crusta,cea.ns. They resemble the green seaweed flea which we fine! clinging to floating seaweeds. The sea horse also eats baby crabs, shrimps and lobsters. Almost any crusty sea dweller smaller than a quarter inch is food for him.

There are about 50 different sea horses in the warm and temperate oceans of the world. Most are but a few inches long. The smallest is two inches and the giant of the family is one foot long. They are fishes of the pipefish family and, of course, they are not at all related to the noble horse who lives on land. They have no legs, no manes and they breathe through gills instead of lungs.

When you look at the little sea horse, however, you can sea how he got his name. He has a horsy snout and the graceful arch of the horse’s neck. But he does not resemble the land horse in any other way. He does, however, look somewhat like the might or horse in a chess set.

It is no easy job to keep a sea horse in an aquarium because he needs a change of fresh sea water at least once a day. But, if you are lucky, you may watch him in some seaside aquarium. He stands straight up 3n the watery perhaps resting with his long tail grasping a seaweed. Or he may be gliding through the water with his tail curled under his puffed‑up chest. How does he swim? Look closely and you will see his fine gauzy fins fanning the crater, perhaps 35 times a second.

The little fish moves slowly and with great dignity. You would never guess that he is out hunting for his dinner. The mouth of the sea horse is a small round hole in the end of his horsy snout. Since he feeds on crusty crustaceans, you might think he had a mouth full. of teeth. But this is not so. The sea horse has, no teeth. When he finds himself a little crustacean, he swallows it whole, crust and all.

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