• Journal of Aquaculture
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.109-118
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• 2006

The recent decrease in wild stocks of seahorse, Hippocampus coronatus, has prompted the production of the species in captivity. We here present data on the body color changes of the species according to culture conditions. This investigation examined relationship between adult body size and clutch and growth in 60 days after parturition and survival of juveniles with four fed enriched Artemia nauplii, copepod nauplii and copepod adult. Seahorse adults ($77.77{\pm}9.84mm$, n=12) collected from Kamak Bay and Yeoja Bay from August 2003 to November 2004 gave a parturition of $6\sim75$ juveniles (Mean, 39 juveniles/male/time) for 14 times. A day old seahorses were $14.48{\pm}1.38mm$ (n=15) in standard length (SL) with 14 dorsal fin rays, 12 pectoral fin rays and 4 anal fin rays. Sixty-day old seahorses were $24.65{\pm}0.83mm$ (n=4) in SL. Growth rate of seahorses was 0.18 mm/day at 24 in 60 days after parturition. When offered Artemia nauplii and copepod nauplii, 5 day old sea-horses preferred copepod nauplii to Aremia nauplii with a maximum predation rate of 31 copepod nauplii/sea-horse/h. However 30-day old seahorses preferred selected Artemia nauplii with a maximum predation rate of 14 Artemia nauplii/seahorse/h. Survival was highest (49%) when offered copepod nauplii together with enriched Artemia nauplii.