Dear Haynes:
I’m not quite sure I understand your question. Are you wondering when your pair of seahorses will express an interest in courtship and mating, and the male will begin the typical pouch displays (pumping and/or ballooning) that play such a prominent role in their courtship rituals?
Or do you have a seahorse that has yet to develop an obvious pouch, and you are wondering if it’s still too young and immature, or if perhaps if the seahorse’s gender was misidentified? If that’s the case, Haynes, I can tell you that Mustangs and Sunbursts are normally shipped around the age of six months old, which is usually right about the time they hit sexual maturity. If you’ve had him since July, then he is probably about 9-10 months old. Most juvenile Mustangs and Sunbursts males have developed their pouches by that age, but there are always a few late boomers that may not mature until they’re yearlings, so it’s still a little too early to be sure if it’s just a matter of maturity.
If your young male has a noticeable pouch and you’re just wondering when he’s going to get serious about courtship and breeding, there are quite a number of factors that influence reproduction in Hippocampus. Let me know if that’s what you are curious about, sir, and I will be happy to discuss the matter with you in more detail.
Best of luck with your seahorses, Haynes! Here’s hoping your male’s pouch is soon swollen with a healthy brood of developing young.
Respectfully,
Pete Giwojna
Ocean Rider, Inc. is an Organic Hawaiian-Based Seahorse Aqua-Farm & Aquarium that Follows Strict Good Farming Practices in Raising Seahorses and Other Aquatic Life.
