They breathe through their gills. They use their tail for hanging on to eelgrass and seaweeds. They only eat live food of small crustaceans and fish fry in large numbers. In captivity it is difficult to provide them with sufficient food.
Seahorses can grow spiky appendages to their body.
This makes them look like seaweed and prevents them being discovered and eaten by bigger fish. Seahorses find a partner and will usually stay with him, or her, for life. Pipefishes belong to the same family as Seahorses, but they are much longer, like pipes. The Autumn 1996 magazine of the Marine Conservation Society has an article on seahorses by Amanda Vincent. It is not the policy of the British Marine Life Study Society to publish information that is easily available elsewhere.