Leafy Sea Dragon

[Angler Lover]

are these legal to have in home aquarium? if so does anybody know where to get them? i can't find out that much about them but they look sweet

[smoney]

I tried to get one once, haha, I found out that they are an endangered species, and they do not have them availble. I have heard that you can get them on the black market for upwards of $5,000 dollars if you get them somehow shipped from austrailla. They are native to austrailla, but the fines for having one would be soo expensive, plus they are super sensitive to water parameters, so they aren't really worth it at all.

[Angler Lover]

wow thanks for the info didn't know that at all

[lbaskball45]

My seahorse has what looks like branches where his spikes are. does that mean his a leafy seadragon seahorse? Instead of the spikes, they are like branches/leafs. But not as much as a actual seadragon seahorse. It eats frozen mysis.

[Angler Lover]

pics?

[CCall]

You can own a leafy seadragon but you have to get a special permit from the country to have them. They do cost around $3,ooo.oo. My LFS said the paper work is crazy to get. You have to show you have enough experience to raise them.

[ann83]

Originally posted by lbaskball45
My seahorse has what looks like branches where his spikes are. does that mean his a leafy seadragon seahorse? Instead of the spikes, they are like branches/leafs. But not as much as a actual seadragon seahorse. It eats frozen mysis.

Seadragons are not seahorses, they are a completely seperate genus of fish. What you are talking about is cirri, it helps the seahorse blend in to its environment.

[Brock Fluharty]

I agree with Ann.

Seadragons are as different from seahorses as pipefish.

As far as I know, no seahorse has "leaf" appendages. It is called cirri, but it doesn't look like leaves.

[SWSaltwater]

Birch aquarium and long beach aquarium are actively breeding them Husbandry is quite difficult, breeding in captivity was a miracle.............They need constant live food, large mysis or pods........Since they are successful in breeding them I hope one day they will be available to the advanced aquarist to take a stab at breeding em.

[lbaskball45]

I definetly looked at some pictures online and it definetly looks like a cirri seahorse. Thanks for the clarification. I am guessing these seahorses are from australia.

[lbaskball45]

anyone konw what may cause these seahorses to grow cirri? I would guess the environment that they live in.

[ann83]

um, your seahorses could be from anywhere. many different species of seahorses can grow cirri. Its a way of camoflauging themselves, and yes, has some to do with their environment. Are you trying to identify your seahorse species? If you are, start another thread, and post pictures and any info you can about them and where you got them.

[Brock Fluharty]

Yes, they aren't called "cirri seahorse". It's just a seahorse with cirri.

Erectus and dwarves are infamous for their cirri, but other can have it as well.

I don't think anyone really knows why seahorses grow cirri. Some think it's their habitat, some think it's genetics, and i'm sure there are a half dozen other theories floating around out there.

Yes, if you want an identification, start a new thread, as Ann suggested. I just wanted to clear that up about cirri.

[pledosophy]

Originally posted by SWSaltwater
Birch aquarium and long beach aquarium are actively breeding them Husbandry is quite difficult, breeding in captivity was a miracle.............They need constant live food, large mysis or pods........Since they are successful in breeding them I hope one day they will be available to the advanced aquarist to take a stab at breeding em.

They are breeding Weedy's, not Leafy's. To date there is no institution that is breeding leafy's in house, although some are collecting preganant males and raising the fry. Some of the fry goes back into the wild, others goes to institutions around the world.

Seadrgaons are not illegal to own, just require permits and paperwork.

There are many myths and much tribal knowledge about the creautures, however it is safe to say IMO you should look for another fish to get.

[Brock Fluharty]

There are very few people that would have the means to sustain them. A lot of people don't realize that these guys need a large tank with a larger chiller, and lots and lots of swimming room.

One of those fish that needs to be left in the wild for the time being.

[NYSEMTI]

tampa aquarium in florida seems to be having decent success with them. Tampa aquarium changes it's entire system with natural sea water everyweek. there is a tanker that is nice enough tto bring them water from miles off shore during thier regular deliveries.

[fishman42101]

they are illegal to own without dodging through about 2 miles of red tape, but I have heard of baby seadragons hitchhiking on shipments of caulerpa and macro algae, but I personally have not gotten that lucky yet : )

[pledosophy]

Originally posted by fishman42101
they are illegal to own without dodging through about 2 miles of red tape, but I have heard of baby seadragons hitchhiking on shipments of caulerpa and macro algae, but I personally have not gotten that lucky yet : )

Care to site a source stating it's illegal to own them in the U.S.A. ?

I'd be curious to read it.

[melsteve]

Originally posted by fishman42101
they are illegal to own without dodging through about 2 miles of red tape, but I have heard of baby seadragons hitchhiking on shipments of caulerpa and macro algae, but I personally have not gotten that lucky yet : )

As mentioned they are not illegal to own and are not even cities listed at this point and do not require a permit your end they do require permit from this end
There is one person who captive raises the fry and has varoius degrees of success each year and these are provided to the Public Aquarium arena
The Perth Aqaurium is the only place of I know that has captive breed this animal and that was once a few years back
Regards Steve

[rjarnold]

I don't think people realize how absolutely huge both leafy's and weedy's can get (fish base has Weedy's at 46cm and Leafy's at 35cm. I think the leafy's in particular can get even bigger...I've seen some fairly large individuals. These aren't the type that hitch and stay in one spot, they need a lot of room. An awful big aquarium would be needed with a lot of high quality food. While amazingly bizarre and beautiful creatures, I think they're best left where they are