Habitat
The seahorse is found in many places around North and South America. They live in the shallow tropical waters that are quite warm. They will be found along the coral, the sea grass, and the mangroves. In Europe they live in the Thames estuary. Many of the larger sea horses live in the Mediterranean Sea.
Diet
Seahorses feed on brine shrimp, tiny fish and plankton. A seahorse sucks in food through its long snout, and is always feeding. Seahorses have no teeth and swallow live food whole.
Movement
Because sea horses wear such heavy armor, they are very poor swimmers. They spend most of the day resting by holding onto seaweed with their tail. They have no tailfin like all other fish do. When they do swim, they majestically glide through the water without any visible effort. This is because they have a fin on their back, called a dorsal fin that beats 20-30 times per second, so fast we can't see it! The dorsal fin moves the seahorse forward. The pectoral fin controls which way the seahorse is going to turn. Seahorses can swim up and down.
Description
Seahorses do not have scales like other fish. Instead they have bony plates that help protect their bodies. Since seahorses do not have ribs, the bony plates do the job. Some kinds of seahorse grow spiky parts that look like twigs sticking out, and these help with camouflage. Seahorses change color to match their environment. They can be many colors from white to black, greens, bright oranges and reds. The tail can wrap around seaweed to anchor the seahorse, where its body looks like a part of the plant. There are about 35 different kinds of seahorse as far as we know. They range in size from 6 to 12 inches.
Enemies
Seahorse predators include crabs, rays and tuna. Storms can cause seahorses to be torn away from where they are clinging and tossed ashore. People are harmful to the seahorse, too. Polluted water and fishing pose dangers, but also they are hunted to be used for medicine, cooking or for souvenirs.