Rare sea dragon successfully bred in California

A Sourn California aquarium has successfully bred rare weedy sea dragon, lesser kwn cousin of sea horse that resembles seaweed when floating. San Diego's Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceagraphy said in a news release Thursday that two weedy sea dragons have hatched this week, making aquarium one of few in world to successfully breed unusual fish.

babies with leafy appends are less than an inch long, and have eaten ir first meal of tiny shrimp. aquarium is keeping delicate creatures out of public view for w.

hatchlings come less than a year after aquarium at University of California, San Diego built what is believed to be one of world's largest habitats for sea dragons, whose native populations off Australia are threatened by pollution, warming oceans and illegal pet and alternative medicine tres.

18-foot-long tank has 11 weedy sea dragons and three leafy sea dragons, which have never been bred in captivity.

aquarium hopes to breed two different kinds of sea dragons so scientists can learn more about mysterious species. Little is kwn about m because ir populations are so small and in remote areas.

Since 1995, Birch Aquarium has bred 13 different seahorse species, sharing more than 5,000 juvenile seahorses with or aquariums around world.

So far, only weedy sea dragon has been bred in captivity, and only a handful of times.

Aquarium of Pacific in Long Beach was first in world to breed weedy sea dragons in 2001. It also is trying to breed leafy sea dragons.

(Picture Credit: pixabay)