Birch Aquarium at Scripps Seadragons Live Cam
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About the Birch Aquarium Seadragon Live Cam
This live camera is steaming from the Seadragons & Seahorses permanent exhibit within Birch Aquarium at Scripps on the University of California campus in San Diego, California. This exhibit is home to weedy and leafy seadragons as well as many various species of seahorses and pipefish.
Birch Aquarium and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California has worked tirelessly to secure the future of seadragons with their breeding program. They have successfully hatched two rare Weedy Seadragons, one of the few aquariums in the world to hatch this unique and unusual fish. After 60 days of incubation the eggs hatched in early February 2020. Birch Aquarium has built one of the world's largest habitats for the alluring and intricate seadragons outside of Australia. Sea dragons are threatened in the wild due to pollution, warming oceans and illegal pet and alternative medicine trades. It's uncertain how many seadragons are left in the wild. Birch Aquarium created the Seadragon Propoagation Program in 2021 in partnership with Scripps Institution of Oceanography scientists. Their hope is to continue captive breeding of seadragons to spread awareness to the world about these beautiful creatures and help reduce the pressure on wild seadragon populations.
About Seadragons and Seahorses
Seadragons and Seahorses belong to the same order Syngnathiformes and family Syngnathidae, the two bony fish share many similar characteristics, however seadragons are endemic to southern and western Australian waters. Also, seadragons differ from seahorses in their reproduction, while male seahorses carry the eggs inside their enclosed pouch, male sea dragons carry the eggs in a small patch on the underside of the tail.
There are three species of seadragon, leafy, weedy and ruby seadragons. Seadragons have intricate leaf-like appendages, the leafy sea dragon has flowing elaborate appendages that look much like a floating piece of seaweed or aquatic plant material. Weedy sea dragons are reddish in color and have fewer appendages. These creatures reside in the wild in warm waters within rocky reefs, sand patches, seaweed and seagrass. Seadragons have a lifespan between 5-7 years.
Feeding Times
Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays between 2-3pm PST