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Kellogi Seahorse

Re:Kellogi - 2006/09/20 12:27 Dear Lenny:

Specimens that are said to be Hippocampus kelloggi have only recently begun to appear here in the US within the last several months, and not much is known about these mysterious seahorses thus far. I can tell you that there has been considerable controversy and confusion regarding whether they are actually H. kelloggi or just ordinary H. kuda, as well as whether they are actually captive bred, merely pen-raised, or collected from the wild.

Here is what little information I have been able to compile regarding the genuine H. kelloggi:

Hippocampus kelloggi (Lourie, Vincent and Hall, 1999)

Common name: Kellogg's seahorse (US); Great Seahorse (Australia); Offshore Seahorse (Vietnam);.o-umi-uma (Japan)
Scientific name: Hippocampus kelloggi, Jordan & Snyder 1902
Synonyms:
Hippocampus suezensis

Maximum size: 11+ inches (28.0 cm).

Climate: subtropical to tropical, but primarily tropical

Distribution:
Red Sea and Indian Ocean: Tanzania (Zanzibar), Pakistan (Kurachei), India (Madras, Malabar);
Southeast Asia: Danang Sea, Philippines, China and Taiwan; Japan and Australia (southeast Queensland, north New South Wales, Lord Howe Island.

Meristic Counts:
Rings: 11 trunk rings + 40 tail rings (tail rings vary from 39-41).
Dorsal fin rays: 18 rays (varies from 17 -19) spanning 2 trunk rings + 1 tail ring.
Pectoral fin rays: 18 soft rays (varies from 17-19).
Morphometrics:
Snout length: 2.1 (2.0- 2.3) in head length. (The length of the snout fits into the length of the head only about 2 times. In others, this seahorse has a relatively long snout that measures about 1/2 the length of its head.)
Other distinctive characters:
Coronet: medium-high, with five short spines, and a distinctive high plate in front of the crown.
Spines: low and rounded, always blunt tipped, even in the youngest specimens which have better developed spines. Adults are relatively smooth bodied.
Key Features: a prominent cheek spine (long but rounded) that points backward slightly; a deep head with a thick snout; a slender body with a long trunk and noticeably thick rings, a long tail, and a prominent eye spy (fairly tall but rounded).
Adult height: 6-10 inches (15.0-25.0 cm).

Color and Pattern:
H. kelloggi is typically a pale seahorse with uniform coloration, often adorned with tiny white spots that coalesce to form vertical lines (Lourie at all, 1999). There is some evidence suggesting sexual dimorphism in this species, with the males being darker (brownish to black), while juveniles and females are sometimes lighter in coloration (cream or yellowish), often with pale saddles or patches (Kuiter 2000). The stallions also tend to be slimmer than the females (Coit, pers. com.)

Cultured specimens often exhibit a color pattern that is similar to H. kuda, featuring a yellowish to pale olive green background coloration sprinkled profusely with small dark spots.

This is a very slender seahorse with a long trunk, a long tail, and a thick snout that tends to flare out at the tip (Kuiter 2000)

Natural History:
Very little is known about the life history or behavior of this large slender seahorse, except that it is primarily a deepwater seahorse (> 66 feet or 20 m deep) that is often found well offshore over soft, muddy bottoms (Kuiter 2000).

I have never worked with the species, so at the present, I cannot even tell you if it produces pelagic or benthic fry, or how long the gestation period for the species may be, but now that H. kelloggi is being cultured in large numbers, that information should be forthcoming soon.

Preferred Parameters:

Hippocampus kelloggi should do well under the same conditions as other tropical seahorses. The H. kelloggi keeper should maintain their seahorse tank within the following aquarium parameters:

Temperature = range 68°F to 78°F (20°C-25°C), optimum 75°F (24°C).
Specific Gravity = range 1.022 - 1.026, optimum 1.0245
pH = 8.2 - 8.4
Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = < 20 (ideally 0-10 ppm)

Suggested Stocking Density:
When fully-grown, this is a very large seahorse with a recommended stocking density similar to other giants such as H. abdominalis and H. ingens: one adult seahorse 2-3 years old per 57 liters (15 gallons) or one pair of 6-month old young adults per 15 gallons (57 liters).

Discussion:

H. kelloggi can easily be confused with H. kuda, which is another large, smooth-bodied tropical seahorse with similar coloration. Upon close examination, however, it is not difficult to distinguish between the two. H. kelloggi has a slimmer body build than kuda, with a more slender profile due to its exceptionally long trunk, as well as a longer tail, and the coronets of these two species are quite different (Lisa Coit, pers. com.). The small spines that form the 5-pointed crown on H. kelloggi are nothing like the low, rounded coronet of H. kuda, which may have broad flanges and overhang at the back, but is not at all spiny.

Captive-bred-and-raised Hippocampus kelloggi have only recently become available in the US and very little is known about their behavior. Hobbyists who keep captive raised H. kelloggi tell me that they tend to be real bottom huggers that rarely perch higher up then about 4 inches above the bottom (Coit, pers. com.). Their behavior in that regard is said to be similar to the Cape seahorse (H. capensis), an estuarine species that always orients to the substrate and is notorious for its bottom-hugging behavior. I'm told that they have a big appetite and feed aggressively on frozen Mysis, and are almost fearless in the aquarium -- flaunting themselves in the open, never hiding, and not at all shy or retiring (Coit, pers. com.). They haven't been in the hobby long enough to draw any firm conclusions regarding their hardiness or adaptability to aquarium conditions.

When courting, H. kelloggi stallions perform the usual pouch displays (Ballooning and Pumping) in which they inflate their brood pouches with water in an effort to impress the females with the awe-inspiring dimensions of their fully inflated marsupium.

New arrivals may alarm their keepers with their propensity for performing unusual color changes, in which they exhibit pale patches in various places on their body for short periods before reverting to their normal coloration again just as suddenly (Coit, pers. com.). These lighter patches can appear almost anywhere on their body, from head to tail, and are typically not symmetrical but rather confined to one side of their body only (Coit, pers. com.). This can be disturbing to the uninitiated, since depigmentation and localized loss of coloration are often signs of potential disease problems ranging from fungal and bacterial infections to ectoparasites that attack the skin and gills. In H. kelloggi, however, these unpredictable, transitory, patchy color changes simply appear to be normal behavior.

That's it -- that skimpy information is pretty much the grand total of what is known regarding H. kelloggi at this time, sir.

If the specimens at your LFS are indeed genuine H. kelloggi, then they have compatible aquarium requirements with H. erectus. But, as always, when bringing home any new fish from the pet store, it's very important to quarantine it rigorously for several weeks before you consider introducing it to your main tank.

The problem with obtaining seahorses from your LFS, regardless of whether they are captive bred or wild-caught, is that they are typically maintained in aquaria that share a common filtration system with all of the other fish tanks in the store. Of course, those other fish tanks house a wide selection of wild fish that have been collected from all around the world, and any pathogens or parasites those wild fishes may have been carrying can be transmitted through the common water supply to the seahorses. That makes fish from your LFS potential disease vectors for a whole laundry list of disease organisms and makes it mandatory to quarantine such specimens before they are introduced to your display tank.

Best wishes with all your fishes, Lenny!

Happy Trails!
Pete Giwojna