Seahorse exhibit rides off into sunset
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This sea dragon, closely related to seahorses, is part of the Shedd Aquarium's "Seahorse Symphony" exhibit.
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CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- When the Shedd Aquarium opened its "Seahorse Symphony" exhibit, experts warned it was doomed to fail. The Shedd, they said, would fare no better at keeping seahorses alive than any pet owner would -- two to four months, at best.
That was 51/2 years and 10 million visitors ago. And dozens of the original creatures are still very much alive.
The exhibit -- which features some 20 species of seahorses and closely related sea dragons, snipefish, pipe fish and trumpet fish -- finally closes January 4 after a history-making run that was supposed to last only 18 months.
"Every few months we'd turn to each other and say, 'When was this exhibit to be closing?"' said Jeff Boehm, the Shedd's senior vice president for conservation and veterinary services. "And sure enough, it would be extended over and over again. We just kept finding that the popularity was sustained."
Along the way, the aquarium made a number of discoveries regarding the care of the eye-catching creatures, and also helped boost efforts to protect seahorses and other marine life.
At the time the exhibit opened, no one knew much about how to keep the 1- to 9-inch seahorses alive.
"There was little to nothing known about nutritional requirements or diseases and how diseases actually occur. We were told we'd have to use live food only," said Jeff Mitchell, a Shedd aquarist.
But through experimentation, the Shedd found that the seahorses would eat frozen mysis shrimp, which could be cleansed of bacteria and enriched with nutrients.
About 25 to 30 of the 90 to 100 original seahorses and other creatures in the exhibit are still around.
How long seahorses can live in the wild is virtually unknown. But largely because of what was learned at the Shedd, experts now know that in an aquarium, seahorse life spans range from about two years in smaller species to seven years in larger ones.
Sex factor
A lined seahorse, which lives on both coasts of North America, grows up behind the scenes at Chicago's Shedd Aquarium.
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After the exhibit closes, the Shedd will continue to display 50 to 100 of the creatures, moving some to a tiny version of the exhibit and others to the aquarium's new Wild Reef addition.
The Seahorse Symphony's popularity and the Shedd's research have been key contributors to seahorse conservation efforts worldwide, said Amanda Vincent, founder of Project Seahorse, a conservation program based at the University of British Columbia in Canada.
The Shedd worked with Project Seahorse to draft a seahorse protection and management plan that was adopted by 164 countries in 2000 and takes effect in May.
"Seahorse Symphony was the spark that lit the fire in terms of collaboration between aquaria and conservationists," Vincent said, adding that the Shedd also helped develop a husbandry guide for seahorses as well as standards for classifying species.
So why was the exhibit such a hit with the public?
One reason, Mitchell said, is the wondrous physical qualities of the seahorses and their cousins: bony-plated, mythical-looking creatures that can change shades of yellow, brown and orange to match their surroundings.
And then there's the sex factor.
Many Shedd visitors are taken by the fact that seahorses are the only species in which the male gets pregnant. Seahorses also perform an elaborate courtship ritual in which the male dances around the female, often for several hours.
"Women really like this," Mitchell said of the male's romantic routine. "I would say it's the perfect man. He's at home, he gets pregnant and he dances every day. What more could a woman want in a mate than that?"
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