Preliminary observation on breeding three spotted seahorse, Hippocampus trimaculatus (Leach, 1814), solely fed with wild caught amphipods under ex-situ condition

The family Syngnathidae differs from other families of bony fishes mainly due to the presence of brood pouch and parental care. Female seahorse transfers the unfertilized telolecithal eggs into the vascularized brood pouch of the males which is located below the trunk region and the fertilization of eggs happens inside the brood pouch (Murugan et al. 2008). Monogamous mating system in fish is defined as either time after time spawning with the same partner throughout a breeding season or mutually caring for young ones. The monogamous pair bonding is mainly seen in freshwater fishes and very few in coral reef fishes (Barlow 1986). Limited availability of mates can be an untailored cause promoting monogamy, but monogamy in some fishes is maintained without such limitation (Morley and Balshine 2002). Information on the breeding biology, collectively with courtship behavior of an animal is crucial to know it reproductive strategies. A tryout was made to breed H. trimaculatus in captivity to study the breeding behavior of this species which could be useful for the conservation of