Seahorse
Seahorses are ovoviviparous breeders and in this method the male will keep the eggs safe. the male and female will both swim together in a dance. this will be practiced over many days and eventually they will perform the actual dance. The male and female will swim side by side at the same pace they will also intertwine their tails together in this process. Once the female is in the right position she will deposit her eggs into the males pouch which has milt in it to fertilize the eggs.
The male will carry the eggs for around 45 days and when they are ready he will attach himself to something using his tail as an anchor. When the male is giving birth he may change in colour and it seems as though he has contractions the fry will be pushed out of the pouch violently until they are all out. Once all the fry are out the male and female will not care for their young and the fry are then left to fend for themselves. The fry will camouflage themselves in the plants in the water and they will hook onto each other or any plants they come across. Their best chance of survival is to look like the plants around them but the majority of the fry will be eaten by other fish in the wild. Seahorses will produce about 1000 eggs when breeding and they will only mate with the same partner, this means that there is no genetic diversity in the fish.
In this breeding method the male has a very high energy cost because once all the fry have gone from his pouch the male will be tired and will not move for a while which puts him at risk of being attacked by a predator.
Here is a video of two seahorses breeding:
The male will carry the eggs for around 45 days and when they are ready he will attach himself to something using his tail as an anchor. When the male is giving birth he may change in colour and it seems as though he has contractions the fry will be pushed out of the pouch violently until they are all out. Once all the fry are out the male and female will not care for their young and the fry are then left to fend for themselves. The fry will camouflage themselves in the plants in the water and they will hook onto each other or any plants they come across. Their best chance of survival is to look like the plants around them but the majority of the fry will be eaten by other fish in the wild. Seahorses will produce about 1000 eggs when breeding and they will only mate with the same partner, this means that there is no genetic diversity in the fish.
In this breeding method the male has a very high energy cost because once all the fry have gone from his pouch the male will be tired and will not move for a while which puts him at risk of being attacked by a predator.
Here is a video of two seahorses breeding:
Advantages
the advantages of this method is that that eggs are looked after meaning that most of the eggs will surviv. Also another good this is that they produce a large number of eggs which means there is a high chance of at least some of the fry surviving. Compared to goldfish most of the eggs produced will survive and unlike the frontosa there is not a limited amount of eggs that can be carried.
Disadvantages
The disadvantages are that there is no genetic diversity and even though the eggs have a high success rate the majority of the fry do not survive until they are mature enough to mate. Compared to goldfish the disadvantage to this method is similar as although they produce a lot of eggs most of them do not survive but with the frontosa the success rate for both eggs and fry are high but alike them if the male seahorse dies the eggs will too.
an advantage for this fish using this breeding method is that once the fry are out they do not need to worry about caring for them which doesn't take up as much energy for them and they are then able to breed soon after. However when the fry are coming out it takes up a lot of energy which exhausts that male fish making him weak.
the advantages of this method is that that eggs are looked after meaning that most of the eggs will surviv. Also another good this is that they produce a large number of eggs which means there is a high chance of at least some of the fry surviving. Compared to goldfish most of the eggs produced will survive and unlike the frontosa there is not a limited amount of eggs that can be carried.
Disadvantages
The disadvantages are that there is no genetic diversity and even though the eggs have a high success rate the majority of the fry do not survive until they are mature enough to mate. Compared to goldfish the disadvantage to this method is similar as although they produce a lot of eggs most of them do not survive but with the frontosa the success rate for both eggs and fry are high but alike them if the male seahorse dies the eggs will too.
an advantage for this fish using this breeding method is that once the fry are out they do not need to worry about caring for them which doesn't take up as much energy for them and they are then able to breed soon after. However when the fry are coming out it takes up a lot of energy which exhausts that male fish making him weak.