HELP! Seahorse Rescue - PLEASE HELP

[wyssj]

Vacationing near Virginia Beach and found some Seahorses still attached and around a clump of algae that came ashore. They are definitely not from this beach. No calm areas for them. They are in a bucket with seawater now.

I don't have experience with Seahorses other than the past research I've done to possibly keep them but I didn't ever get them. I don't have the necessary equipment with me to house them since I'm on vacation. And I haven't found anywhere local to help.

Suggestions on how to proceed??
Keep them going and take them home to house/rehome? Any aquariums or LFS around?

Thanks!


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[DaveK]

This is really a tough call. I'm not even sure if they can be legally collected. On the other hand, your right, they sure are not going to live where you found them.

If you want to take them home and try to keep them, I don't see any moral or ethical reasons not to, but they may not be legal to have. I just don't know.

I will say wild caught seahorses will usually only take live food. Are you prepared to supply that? Over time you might be able to get them to take frozen foods.

They will likely require a cold water tank, so you'll need a separate tank setup.

If your prepared to meet their needs, give them a try. If not, put them back where you found them.

 

[Pat24601]

You intentions are good, but seahorses have really specific requirements. @DaveK is giving great advice, as always. But, I think it boils down to maybe reading up on taking care of seahorses (for which I don't have any specific articles I'm familiar with ... I'd just google) and seeing if you feel up to trying to get them an appropriate set up.

Candidly, I don't think your odds of success are good even if you try really hard, but it sounds like they weren't going to make it where you found them.

 

[Oxylebius]

They will likely not survive in your tank unless you can supply them with live food. If you can't I'd suggest taking them to a bay and releasing them where there are structures and vegetation for them. This will give them the best possible way to survive.

Here is some info about your seahorses:

Virginia Living Museum: https://thevlm.org/portfolio_page/seahorse/
Lined seahorses Hippocampus erectus – Lined seahorses (Hippocampus erectus) are native to Virginia but local populations are in decline as they are throughout their range.

Chesapeake Bay Foundation: http://www.cbf.org/about-the-bay/mo...chesapeake/the-lined-seahorse-a-rare-romantic
The Chesapeake Bay is home to a single species, the lined seahorse, which is classified as threatened by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Lined seahorses get their names from their zebra-like stripes. They range from Nova Scotia to Uruguay, grow to about eight inches in length, live about four years, and are masters of changing colors to match their backgrounds.

Laws & Regulations
Our native seahorses have varying levels of rarity and protection throughout the United States and Outlying Territories (listed above), and laws vary from State to State. There are currently no seahorse species listed under the Endangered Species Act, although dwarf seahorse is being evaluated for possible listing by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).

In addition, the genus Hippocampus was listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) as of 2004, based on a proposal put forward by the United States. As part of the listing, CITES Parties agreed to a voluntary minimum size limit for wild-collected seahorses , which the United States adheres to. This minimum size limit is designed to discourage people from harvesting immature seahorses that have not had a chance to reproduce and contribute to the population. To read more on this CITES recommendation, click here .

CITES regulations also recognize that international trade in captive-bred seahorses , rather than wild, reduces the collection pressure on wild populations.

Traveling to the Caribbean? Visit our Travel & Trade section on Caribbean travel for more information on buying souvenirs.

 

[Oxylebius]

@wyssj

You intentions to help them are good. I'd feel the same way. But, in this case it would be better to find a nice spot in the bay with structures and vegetation and release them back into the wild. Sometimes our best intentions to take them home don't turn out well for the critters we are trying to help.

As you said, you found them on a beach, where I'm assuming there are waves. You are right that this is not a good habitat for them (beach and waves). I bet the vegetation that they were clinging to was somehow dislodged with the seahorses attached and they floated in the current until the waves brought them ashore. So look at it this way, you would be saving them by taking them from the beach and releasing them in the bay where they can survive. Which gives them a better chance of surviving then putting them in a tank.