Why are seahorses taken from the wild?

Seahorses are taken from the wild for the aquarium trade to be sold to people who want to keep them as pets, and for Chinese medicine.

Seahorses caught in the wild do not make good pets and you should always make sure that any seahorses you buy are breed in captivity. That way they are trained to eat frozen food, and are much less likely to carry parasites that may infect other seahorses.