Skinny/Underweight

Underweight seahorses have concave depressions of the body between the bony plates that constitute their exoskeleton. Generally the occurrence of an underweight seahorse can be attributed to several factors. The seahorse may not be eating at all, or is not eating enough. Sometimes this is a symptom of an illness that may not be readily apparent such as internal vibrio infection, weak snick, or gill/trigger parasites. It is certainly also possible that the seahorse is not being fed enough or is being fed incorrect food items. A diet that consists only of adult brine shrimp, particularly if they are not enriched, can lead to an emaciated and undernourished seahorse over time. Internal parasites are often the culprit in emaciated wild caught seahorses where such parasites are relatively common. Captive bred horses can harbor internal parasites but that condition is more rare and usually only occurs when the seahorse has been fed a diet of live saltwater food items, which can be vectors for such parasites. Sometimes an underweight seahorse will display abnormal feces. The picture below represents normal seahorse feces to the left and abnormal stringy feces to the right. Contrary to popular opinion this is not always associated with internal parasites and can be an indication that the seahorse is eating very little, or not at all. Information provided by Renee Coles-Hix