| Ringing in good tidings for the new year, a newly | | | | periods when mating. Monogamy is unusual in all |
| immigrated resident to Krabi was spotted by one of | | | | animals but particularly among fish. The longer a couple |
| our instructors on New Year's Day. At 4-cm long, he | | | | of seahorses stick together, the better they are at |
| appears pregnant. Yes, "he" was pregnant as the male | | | | producing babies. It is the males of seahorses that |
| in this species are the ones to get pregnant and | | | | carry their eggs in a pouch on his belly, after the eggs |
| productive! | | | | have been deposited there by the female. The eggs |
| Krabi, south of Thailand, is the gateway to the famous | | | | are fertilised in the pouch and incubated between 10 |
| Andaman Sea where scuba divers and snorkellors | | | | days to 4 weeks before they hatch. At hatching, the |
| from all over the world convene as winter approaches | | | | male gives birth to fully developed but tiny little |
| in the western world. Famous for its incredible waters, | | | | seahorses. The natural lifespan of seahorses is not |
| great visibility and huge variety of dive terrain, Krabi is | | | | known, but believed to be from one year for small |
| a must-stop for all nature and water lovers on | | | | species to five years for the larger species. Highly |
| vacation in Asia. operates the premier scuba-diving | | | | elusive and difficult to spot in moving water, finding a |
| and eco-tourism center in the heart of Aonang, the | | | | seahorse is every diver's dream come true. |
| sea-side town of Krabi. Here, you can launch off to | | | | So, you can imagine our absolute euphoria when we |
| the amazing Similans, Richelieu Rock, Phi Phi islands, | | | | spotted the little yellow Tiger-Tail. Being creatures of |
| Phuket and Lanta. And lets not forget the relatively | | | | habit, once settled into a location, they tend not to |
| unexplored local Krabi waters where the caves and | | | | move too much. Hence, we can find it again and would |
| caverns provide a great underwater adventure. And | | | | love to show it to you. |
| here is where we found our Tiger-Tailed Seahorse on | | | | Come dive with and let us take you out to the |
| New Year's Day! | | | | amazing underwater world of Krabi, Phi Phi, Phuket |
| Seahorses are amazing creatures. The seahorse is | | | | and Lanta. Or join one of our liveaboards for the |
| one of four families in the syngnathiform family which | | | | Similans Islands. We run fun dive trips daily. Our group |
| also includes pipefish, flag-tail pipefish and seadragons. | | | | of international instructors are available to conduct all |
| They swim in an upright position with their tails down | | | | scuba-diving courses in English, Italia, Spanish, German, |
| and their heads up using their dorsal to move forward | | | | French, Japanese and Chinese. Centrally located at the |
| and pectoral fins for steering control. Also unique for | | | | Sea of Love Plaza (opposite McDonalds) in heart of |
| their prehensile tail (able to twist & grasp),tube-like | | | | Aonang, Krabi in Thailand, come visit us if you are |
| mouth (with no teeth), and small gill openings. | | | | planning a trip to Krabi. Or email us for more |
| Seahorses (like chameleons) can even move their two | | | | information Also check out our website where you will |
| eyes independently of each other. Ranging in size from | | | | find lots more in store about our adventures. |
| the tiny 10mm to 35cm, the largest is the Pacific | | | | This article was contributed by one of the staff |
| Seahorse. Seahorses eat small crustaceans which | | | | members at the premier dive centre at Krabi Thailand. |
| they catch by staying still and lying in wait till their prey | | | | At our dive centre, all our instructors, guides and crew |
| comes near, and they snap them up. Then their | | | | faithfully follow diving safety standards. We also |
| tube-like mouth creates a vacuum that sucks the prey | | | | conduct all levels of dive courses and have the |
| in and they swallow their food whole. | | | | philosophy of small-groups for instruction, to ensure our |
| Sea horses are unusual in a couple of ways. One is | | | | customers are given our full attention. |
| that they are monogamous and have long courtship | | | | |