Reproduction
The male carries the eggs in a brood pouch on his lower abdomen. After courtship the pair come close together so that the female's oviduct is close to, if not resting on, the brood pouch of the male, and the female expels some eggs into the pouch. This happens several times until spawning is complete. The male then wiggles about, as if to rearrange the eggs within his pouch. The exact point at which fertilization takes place is not known, though many assume that it occurs while the eggs are in the pouch. The incubation period is generally four to five weeks. To "give birth" the male bends forwards and then backwards, thrusting his pouch forward expelling one or two youngsters with explosive force. Raising the fry in an aquarium is difficult, as they require a large amount of minuscule live food.
Read more about this topic: Hippocampus Kuda
Famous quotes containing the word reproduction:
“The chief function of the city is to convert power into form, energy into culture, dead matter into the living symbols of art, biological reproduction into social creativity.”
—Lewis Mumford (1895–1990)
“Were I called on to define, very briefly, the term Art, I should call it “the reproduction of what the Senses perceive in Nature through the veil of the soul.” The mere imitation, however accurate, of what is in Nature, entitles no man to the sacred name of “Artist.””
—Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1845)
“The atmosphere parents wish to create when talking with children about birth and reproduction is warm, honest, and reassuring, one that tells children they are free to ask questions as often as they need to, and you will answer them as lovingly as you know how.”
—Joanna Cole (20th century)