Seahorses In Phuket

Seahorses In Phuket

What Do We Know About Our Seahorses In Phuket?

We’re very lucky to get at least four different species of seahorse in Phuket. They’re not hanging off every branch of coral so our guides have to work hard to find them but find them we do. Some of our Phuket diving trips are seem more attractive to seahorses than others. Anemone Reef, Shark Point and Koh Doc Mai are very productive but for some reason King Cruiser isn’t. For the biggest variety of species you can try Kata Beach.

Monsters?

Never heard any diver describe seahorses as anything else but cute, we even get squeals of delight. So their latin name is a bit of a mystery. All seahorses fall in the hippocampus genus. Hippo means horse and campus means sea monster. Can’t imagine what kind of timid individual thought these unassuming creatures are monsters. Their family name (Syngnathidae) means fused jaw.

They’re Fish Not Horses Right?

Yes! Although they don’t resemble any other fish group they are indeed fish. They belong to the same family as all other bony fish. They don’t have scales like other fish, instead seahorses have thin skin stretched over bony plates. Some have spines or bumps to make them even more unappetising to predators, which they don’t have to many of. They can change colour and grow skin filaments to match their surroundings.

Hungry Hungry Hippo (campuses)

Seahorses have no teeth or stomach. Their digestive system is very inefficient so they have to eat at every opportunity. One captive juvenile was recorded eating almost 3,000 brine shrimps in a single day. They’ll eat anything that they can suck into their tube like mouths including small fish. Seahorses eyes can move independently from each other just like a chameleons. This gives them maximum opportunity to see all available food without moving and so revealing their presence.

Committed Lovers

Most seahorse species are monogamous for at least the breeding season but some for life. Seahorses live from 1 – 5 years as far as we know so I guess it’s not that much of a commitment. Pairs of some species will greet and dance together every morning before going their separate ways to feed. Captive seahorses are slightly more liberal and will mate with multiple partners.

A well known fact about seahorses is that the male gives birth. The female will lay eggs in the brood pouch of the male and he will take care of them until they’re ready to hatch. It’s a bit more than locking the the kids in a cupboard though. The male gets labour contractions that can last up to 12 hrs.

The pouch acts very much like a womb, bringing nutrients and oxygen to the developing eggs. The ‘pregnancy’ lasts up to one month and the young are born as perfect miniatures ready to devour the surrounding plankton. Depending on the species, seahorses give birth to between 5 and over 1,500 young. The male will except the next batch of eggs straight away.

What Species Do We See?

Identifying the different seahorses in Phuket is quite difficult but we believe at least four have been confirmed. Below are the four species we know of.

common seahorse

common seahorse

Common Seahorse (Hippocampus kuda)
Dive sites: Kata Beach
Size: Up to 17cm
Distinguishing features: Smooth looking, low coronet

tigertail seahorse

tigertail seahorse

Tigertail Seahorse (Hippocampus comes)
Dive sites: Shark Point, Anemone Reef, Koh Doc Mai, Koh Bida Nok
Size: Up to 19cm
Distinguishing features: Striped tail, nose spine, low blunt spines, low coronet

thorny seahorse

thorny seahorse

Thorny Seahorse (Hippocampus histrix)
Dive sites: Anemone Reef, Richelieu Rock, Kata Beach
Size: 17cm
Distinguishing features: Sharp spines, prominent nose spine, long snout, spines on coronet

hedgehog seahorse

hedgehog seahorse

Hedgehog Seahorse (Hippocampus spinosissimus)
Dive sites: Kata Beach
Size: Up to 17cm
Distinguishing features: Low blunt spines, no nose spike, weed like filaments, short snout

Difficult to I:D

Seahorses are notoriously hard to properly identify, although the resulting arguments can be fun. There are currently 44 species listed and more are waiting to be taxonomised. To identify any seahorses you see, we highly recommend you go to the iseahorse.org webpage that has excellent identification diagrams.

If you want to see some of our seahorses in Phuket then contact us now to get the best recommendations on where to dive with the best scuba diving centre in Phuket.

Contact Us To Find Phuket’s Seahorses!

By Justin Hartrey

I've been enjoying the incredible marine life in our oceans for over 25 years. 13 years ago I became a PADI professional in Phuket, hoping to introduce as many people as possible to the incredible beauty of the seas.

Having been fortunate enough to dive all over south east and especially Thailand, I enjoy sharing my diving experiences and passion on this blog.

Originally from Bristol in the UK, I swapped the frigid waters of the North Atlantic for the warm tropical seas around Thailand and can confidently say that I wouldn't go back

Posted in Rare & Peculiar Critters on .

Popular Services

hawksbill turtle on a phi phi scuba diving tour

Phi Phi Island & Shark Point Diving

The Phi Phi Islands are an incredible diving experience. In the first 5 minutes of your dive at Koh Bida Nok, you're likely to be able to tick blacktip reef sharks off your list. It won't be just one, you could be swimming with a dozen or more!. Sharks from half metre babies up to the 2m long adults patrol the shallows of the sheltered bay where we make the first drop. A great start to the day. Then it's off to'Turtle Rock' which is home t [...]

Find Out More
leopard shark at shark point

Shark Point Phuket

For many divers visiting Phuket, Shark Point is at the top of the list. These stunning pinnacles half way between Phuket and Phi Phi attract tons of life from the featureless areas surrounding it. It's named after the leopard sharks that like to rest on the sandy bottom in the day time. They're not so common as they used to be. After a decline in numbers for a few years, they're becoming a common sighting again. Even without the sharks i [...]

Find Out More

Daily Schedules

M/V Kepsub Schedule

Jobs @ Local Dive Thailand

Local Dive Thailand is one of Phuket's fatest growing & most vibrant scuba diving operations, we are always looking for quality staff to join us, so feel free to have a look at our jobs listing page.

Job Listings

Contact LDT

Local Guides, Local Knowledge, Local Experiences

Don't trust your diving to amateurs or freshly minted dive guides, dive with local experienced experts from Local Dive Thailand. Our Scuba Diving Phuket Tours will take you to see the rarest of the rare critters, you will be amazed by the macro life our guides can find, in the secret places only they know. To put it in perspective, if you were going to climb Mount Everest you would certainly hire a local sherpa to lead the way & keep you safe. Diving is similar because there is absolutely no substitute for local experience & local knowledge, Local Dive Thailand's guides are Phuket's Sherpa's of the Andaman Sea!

Learn More About Us

Scuba Diving Phuket, Phi Phi & Thailand

When talking about Scuba Diving in Phuket, you should believe the hype, many seasons we have had Whale Sharks grace us on our regular and easy to reach dive sites and on a good day you can add Sea Horses, Sea Moths, Snake Eels, Frog Fish & Octopus to what you can see on any given dive and so much more. If we are heading to Phi Phi Island for the day, you can possibly see Hawksbill Sea Turtles and Black Tip Reef Sharks, also don't forget the King Cruiser, 84 meters of beautiful wreck and the most amazing reef nursery for fish and nudibranch. Local Dive Thailand day trip tours to these locations are not to be missed when you are scuba diving Phuket, get in touch with us and book an 'awesome' day of diving.

Book Your Day Trip

Related News From Local Dive Thailand

See why we are Thailand's leading scuba diving Phuket tour provider, stay up to date & watch out for news & special liveaboard offers!

Octopus Are a Common Sighting In Phuket Diving Rare & Peculiar Critters

How Does An Octopus Change Colour?

Dazzling colour changes and perfect camouflage make octopus a favourite with everybody diving in Phuket but how do they perform this magic trick, well it's not mirrors, sorcery or witchcraft it's a complex combination of muscle, nerves, brain and skin pigments. By far the most common octopus we see when diving in Phuket is the day octopus (octopus cyanea) so we'll base our facts around this very convenient creature (we don't do night dives). [...]

Read Full Story
scuba diving new normal News & Updates

Scuba Diving New Normal For Phuket

Hopefully scuba diving will return to Phuket around the 18th June but a new normal will have to be observed. Thailand seems to be doing exceptionally well combating the spread of COVID-19. A plan to slowly start up the economy from the 03rd May has been put into place. All being well on the 18th June, the final group of businesses which include scuba diving can restart. It's absolutely not a guaranteed date. Every stage of the plan has to wor [...]

Read Full Story
mimic octopus at kata beach phuket Rare & Peculiar Critters

Mimic Octopus In Phuket

Finding mimic octopus in Phuket is not a new thing for local divers but it may come as a bit of a surprise to holiday makers. Mimic octopus (thaumoctopus mimicus) are a relatively new species to science, only classified in 1998 from Indonesian specimens. The potential range could be huge because of the habitat they choose to hunt in. Featureless sandy/muddy flats is generally where you can find mimic octopus, not the first choice for most di [...]

Read Full Story

Local Dive Thailand Office In Phuket


Find Us On Google Maps