There has been a stampede with a difference at Deep Sea World.
Keepers at Scotland’s national aquarium are celebrating the birth of more than 60 seahorses. The youngsters are members of what is thought to be the largest species of seahorse in the world the Australian big-belly which can reach up to 20cm in length.
Only measuring around a centimetre in length, the offspring are a major success story for the aquarium’s ongoing captive breeding programme for the graceful creatures.
Their parents, which were also part of a breeding programme, arrived at the North Queensferry aquarium last year.
”The parents started displaying to each other and taking part in courtship rituals a few weeks ago, so we were confident that things were going well,” said Deep Sea World’s Aisling Thornton.
”However, you can never be completely sure, so we were delighted when we came in to see dozens of tiny seahorses swimming around the display.
”Since then they have given birth to a second batch and they are also doing extremely well.”
The youngsters have been taken out of the main display and been placed into special nursery tanks at the aquarium.
In the wild virtually all 35 species of seahorse are under threat for a variety of reasons, including loss of habitat, pollution, the souvenir trade and traditional Far East medicine, which is believed to account for more than 20 million seahorse deaths annually.
The big-bellied seahorses at Deep Sea World are part of a captive-breeding programme that aims to ease the pressure on wild populations.
Once the offspring are large enough they will be put on display in with their parents