Facts on What Sea Horses Eat

Seahorses can be found in tropical waters and aquariums throughout the world. There are more than 50 species of seahorses, and all swallow their food whole since they have no teeth. The tiny creatures -- some are no more than a few centimeters long -- have very short digestive tracts and feed on brine shrimp, Copepods and Guppy fry.

  1. Brine Shrimp

    • Brine shrimp, which grow to approximately 1 cm, are the most common food for seahorses. A young seahorse can consume more than 3,000 brine shrimp each day and adults even more. However, according to seahorse.org, a diet of brine shrimp alone will not sustain a seahorse since they don't provide any nutritional value. Only the baby blue brine shrimp have some value.

    Copepods

    • Copepods are crustaceans found in both oceans and freshwater habitats.They are usually no more than 2 mm long and are shaped like a teardrop with a large antennae. They are used in saltwater aquariums as a food source for seahorses.

    Chameleon Shrimp

    • Chameleon Shrimp are medium-size shrimp with a hairy, coated claw. They can be predatory in nature. The creature can change its appearance from transparent to completely black. As with the other food sources, a seahorse can consume approximately 3,000 of these creatures on a daily basis.

    Guppy Fry

    • A guppy fry is a baby guppy no more than two weeks old. Also known as the millionfish, a full grown guppy only grows to a few centimeters in length. A female guppy can drop between two and 50 fry at a time. Seahorses who can consume up to 20 guppy fry per day.

    Frozen Food

    • Aquarium seahorses are often fed packaged frozen foods such as frozen brine shrimp or frozen copepods. The food has to be defrosted in a tea strainer under gently running water and allowed to stand for approximately 15 minutes. Spoon fulls of it are then fed to the seahorses in the same spot and time, so the seahorses adapt to a feeding schedule.

    Aquarium Bugs

    • Aquarium seahorses will also pick at bugs like amphipods and scuds in the algae-covered rocks in saltwater aquariums. Place a small egg crate in the tank filled with shredded plastic to allow the bugs to breed.