Husbandry Manual For White’s Seahorse Hippocampus whitei Actinopterygii : Syngnathidae Date By From Version 2008 Charisse Kate Pitargue WSI Richmond v 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................... 5 2 TAXONOMY ...................................................................................................................................... 9 2.1 NOMENCLATURE ............................................................................................................................... 9 2.2 SUBSPECIES ....................................................................................................................................... 9 2.3 RECENT SYNONYMS .......................................................................................................................... 9 2.4 OTHER COMMON NAMES .................................................................................................................. 9 3 NATURAL HISTORY ......................................................................................................................10 3.1.1 MORPHOMETRICS ............................................................................................................................10 3.1.1 Mass And Basic Body Measurements ....................................................................................10 3.1.2 Sexual Dimorphism ................................................................................................................11 3.1.3 Distinguishing Features.........................................................................................................11 3.2 DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT ...........................................................................................................12 3.3 CONSERVATION STATUS ..................................................................................................................12 3.4 LONGEVITY ......................................................................................................................................13 3.4.1 In the Wild .............................................................................................................................13 3.4.2 In Captivity ............................................................................................................................13 3.4.3 Techniques Used to Determine Age in Adults ........................................................................13 4 HOUSING REQUIREMENTS .........................................................................................................14 4.1 EXHIBIT/ENCLOSURE DESIGN ..........................................................................................................14 4.2 HOLDING AREA DESIGN ..................................................................................................................15 4.3 SPATIAL REQUIREMENTS .................................................................................................................15 4.4 POSITION OF ENCLOSURES ...............................................................................................................15 4.5 WEATHER PROTECTION ...................................................................................................................15 4.6 TEMPERATURE REQUIRMENTS……………………………………………………...………13 4.7 SUBSTRATE ......................................................................................................................................16 4.8 NESTBOXES AND/OR BEDDING MATERIAL .......................................................................................16 4.9 ENCLOSURE FURNISHINGS ...............................................................................................................17 5 GENERAL HUSBANDRY ...............................................................................................................18 5.2 HYGIENE AND CLEANING .................................................................................................................18 5.3 RECORD KEEPING ............................................................................................................................18 5.4 METHODS OF IDENTIFICATION .........................................................................................................19 5.5 ROUTINE DATA COLLECTION ...........................................................................................................20 6 FEEDING REQUIREMENTS ..........................................................................................................21 6.2 DIET IN THE WILD ............................................................................................................................21 6.3 CAPTIVE DIET ..................................................................................................................................21 6.4 SUPPLEMENTS ..................................................................................................................................22 6.5 PRESENTATION OF FOOD ..................................................................................................................23 7 HANDLING AND TRANSPORT ....................................................................................................24 7.2 TIMING OF CAPTURE AND HANDLING ..............................................................................................24 7.3 CATCHING BAGS ..............................................................................................................................24 7.4 CAPTURE AND RESTRAINT TECHNIQUES ..........................................................................................25 7.5 WEIGHING AND EXAMINATION ........................................................................................................25 7.6 RELEASE ..........................................................................................................................................26 7.7 TRANSPORT REQUIREMENTS ............................................................................................................27 2 7.7.1 Box Design .............................................................................................................................28 7.7.2 Furnishings ............................................................................................................................29 7.7.3 Water and Food .....................................................................................................................29 7.7.4 Animals per Box.....................................................................................................................30 7.7.5 Timing of Transportation .......................................................................................................30 8 HEALTH REQUIREMENTS ...........................................................................................................31 8.1 DAILY HEALTH CHECKS ..................................................................................................................31 8.2 DETAILED PHYSICAL EXAMINATION ................................................................................................32 8.3 ROUTINE TREATMENTS ....................................................................................................................32 8.4 KNOWN HEALTH PROBLEMS ............................................................................................................33 8.5 QUARANTINE REQUIREMENTS .........................................................................................................45 9 BEHAVIOUR ...........................................................................................................................................46 9.1ACTIVITY..............................................................................................................................................46 9.2SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR .............................................................................................................................46 9.3REPRODUCTIVE BEHAVIOUR ................................................................................................................46 9.4BATHING ..............................................................................................................................................46 9.5BEHAVIOURAL PROBLEMS ....................................................................................................................47 9.6BEHAVIOURAL ENRICHMENT................................................................................................................47 9.7INTRODUCTIONS AND REMOVALS .........................................................................................................47 9.8INTRASPECIFIC COMPATIBILITY............................................................................................................48 9.8.1INTERSPECIFIC COMPATIBILITY .........................................................................................................48 9.82SUITABILITY TO CAPTIVITY ................................................................................................................49 10 BREEDING .......................................................................................................................................50 10.1 MATING SYSTEM ........................................................................................................................50