I thought the big day was yesterday. But as it turns out seahorse sometimes do a pre-birth. This is where the male seahorse will give birth to only a few young. The next day is the big day.

In captivity a male seahorse will start to have contractions as soon as lights are turned on. The baby seahorse are attracted to any light source. The belief is when the male releases the young they will swim to the surface. Once near the surface they can forage for food and will be spread out with the ocean currents. Typically the male seahorse mates around the new moon and will give birth on the full moon.

This video was taken a few minutes after the lights came on. The contractions started as soon as I turned on the light.

This video is the second round of contractions.

I should have some video of the babies up soon.