Establishment and maintenance of threatened long snouted seahorse, Hippocampus guttulatus, broodstock in captivity

Knowledge on seahorses is generally scarce but has been increasing in recent years due to their conservation status. Seahorse culture is a quite recent activity in most countries attempting it, and captive breeding techniques are available only for some species. With the aim of contributing to the development of breeding in captivity for conservative purposes, captive broodstock of the European long-snouted seahorse (Hippocampus guttulatus) was established with 32 wild seahorses captured in Galicia (NW Spain). This study describes the methodologies applied to the maintenance of the broodstocks, with special reference to aquaria design, feeding, growth and breeding. Procedures of seahorse identification (morphologically and genetically) as a tool for broodstock management are also considered. The results achieved during the first year demonstrate a rapid adaptation of wild seahorses to captive conditions. Seahorses were fed exclusively on enriched adult Artemia and displayed high growth rates. However, fatty acid analyses performed on unfertilised eggs of captive broodstock showed a progressive decrease in the content of essential fatty acids (DHA, EPA) with time in captivity, suggesting the need for improvement in the nutritional quality of broodstock feed.The study was financed by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology (CGL2005-05927-C03-01), as part of a coordinated research project (Proyecto Hippocampus; 2005/PC091). Funding was also partially provided by the Regional Government of Galicia (Xunta de Galicia; PGIDIT06PXIC402106PN). We thank Xunta de Galicia for providing permission in the study and capture of wild seahorses. We are grateful to Dr. J. Pintado, Dr. S. Pascual and M.J. Prol (IIM. CSIC) for providing support with the diseases. We also thank Dr. Isabel Medina (IIM, CSIC) for fatty acid analysis support, Marta Castelo, MaríaMoyano, Alex Fernández and Elena Liñares (AquariumFinisterrae, A Coruña), and Dr. J. Pintado (IIM, CSIC) for helping with the capture of wild seahorses, and Dr. A. López, Dr. B.G. Pardo and Dr. C. Bouza (University of Santiago de Compostela) for providing genetic analysis support.Peer reviewe