Polyculture of the lined seahorse, Hippocampus erectus Perry, 1810 with two species of macroalgae in aquaria

Abstract

A two-month study was conducted to test the effects of macroalgae on the growth and survivorship of juvenile lined seahorse (Hippocampus erectus) in aquaria. Twenty-day old seahorses were cultured in the tanks with green alga Chaetomorpha linum, red alga Gracilaria tikvahiae, green plastic artificial plant (stargrass), and black plastic net, respectively. Increases in wet mass and standard length for the seahorses were significantly higher in the tanks with macroalgae than those without macroalgae. The seahorse survivorships in the two macroalgal treatments were also significantly higher than those of the two treatments without macroalgae. In the treatments with macroalgae, the DO and pH were higher than those without marcoalgae. During the experiment, the color of seahorses was changed to certain extent. In the green background (the treatments with C. linum and stargrass), 24.1%–28.4% of black seahorses decreased over time; whereas in the black (plastic net) or brown (G. tikvahiae) background treatments, 14.1%–16.3% of yellow seahorses decreased over time, for matching that of the background. Furthermore, the survival rate of seahorse was correlation with DO and pH, and strong correlation with standard length, wet mass and CF. Polyculture with macroalgae, survival rates of seahorse were higher than without macroaglae.