A
Few Facts about Seahorses
One
of the fascinating things about seahorses is the way
they reproduce: During mating season the male dances
a courting dance around the female. He swells a pouch
located below his belly. He dances around her for
hours pompously, with his swollen belly, until she
succumbs to his charms. Then the most surprising thing
happens: During mating, the female lays her eggs into
the male's pouch and that's where they're fertilized.
The male is pregnant!!!
The seahorse is a fish who doesn't like to swim. His
fins are not well-developed and even when he's just
moving from place to place, he does so in an awkward
yet charming way.
The seahorse's natural habitat is a region with marine
vegetation. This vegetation covers much of the area
around coral reefs. Thus they camouflage themselves
by turning the color of the vegetation where they
live their lives.
A
Few Facts about Cleaner Fish
Many fish carry parasites on their bodies among their
scales. The Cleaner Fish keeps them clean, getting
its nutrition from the parasites which it removes
from other fish at special clean-up spots. The fish
who come to the clean-up spots give the Cleaner Fish
free reign - so the cleaner fish can even clean inside
the mouth and around the teeth and gills of the bigger
fish. One fish who is almost identical to the Cleaner
Fish is the Imitator, mimicking not only the appearance
but also the movements of the Cleaner Fish. The imitator
fools the other fish on the reef who arrive to get
cleaned and are bitten by the Imitator instead.