Artificial reproduction of the world's largest seahorses

Of the 7 species of seahorses in the Vietnamese waters, there are 5 species that were spawned under experimental conditions, of which the white-bodied seahorses are the most rare species.

White body seahorse (Hippocampus kelloggi).

White-bodied seahorse (Hippocampus kelloggi) is one of the few species of the largest size in Hippocampus. Most species of seahorses in the world have a length of less than 20cm. But white-bodied seahorses reach maximum size up to 35cm; species H. abdominalis distributed in Australia only reaches a maximum of 32cm.


Recent studies show that white-bodied seahorses have very high levels of amino acids and unsaturated fatty acids, especially DHA. Zinc and manganese content is also quite high in seahorses. Medically, this explains why using seahorses helps boost kidney activity and spermatogenesis.

Chinese researchers believe that seahorses are rich in Na, K and P, which are essential for human metabolism. High levels of zinc and iron (160 micrograms / g) in seahorses help improve the immune system and increase oxygen transport of hemoglobin in humans.

White body seahorse is most popular in traditional Chinese medicine thanks to its large size, white body and smooth body. It is thought that this species has the highest biological activity among seahorses (in Hong Kong some of the black seahorses bleached by chemicals are also for this reason), so their prices are very high from 100-300 USD for an individual with a length of 29-32 cm. In Vietnam, the same size, fish price ranges from 700,000 VND - 1,000,000 VND / head.

Like most other seahorses in our country and in the world, the white-bodied seahorses are included in the Vietnam Red Book, the Red List of the International Union of Nature Conservation and Natural Resources. (IUCN) and Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). This means that they are at risk of being threatened by resources and the issue of trade must be closely monitored by CITES.

In Vietnam, this fish is distributed at a depth of 20-150m, from the waters of Danang to Vung Tau, and very rare in the catches.

Baby seahorses are raised in tanks at the Institute of Oceanography.

In recent times, the research group of the Institute of Oceanography has successfully reproduced this fish. Fish have a survival rate of over 60%, fast growth rate, 7-month-old fish reach an average length of 20cm, it is expected that 1-year-old round fish will reach 25-26cm in length and be able to develop sex in experimental conditions . This success will open up the prospect of creating F1 broodstock, closing the farming cycle. Note that a male male carrying eggs outside the wild can lay 1,000 (with the above survival rate), after one year, farmers will get more than 600 commercial fish, the selling price ranges from VND 300,000-400,000 / baby However, the biggest obstacle is the rare source of broodstock for artificial reproduction.

The cost of raising seahorses is not large, low risk so this is a prospective and economic potential species. However, raising seahorses also need to pay attention to the issue of sustainable development, avoiding the conflict between farming and protecting resources as happened in some other farming objects in our country.

The most effective way to rationally use seahorses resources is to develop aquaculture on the basis of using F1 generation broodstock and stocking back fish with their suitable habitats to regenerate resources.

Dr. Truong Si Ky (Institute of Oceanography - Nha Trang)