color becoming pale to whitish. The male inflates his pouch prior to pursing the female, signaling his readiness to mate. The female then transfers between 250-650 eggs to the brood pouch of the male which he then promptly seals and fertilizes the eggs. The brood pouch protects the developing embryos and provides them with oxygen through a capillary network. Development in the brood pouch is 20-21 days followed by hatching. The hatched embryos are carried within the pouch until they can actively swim. The father seahorse holds fast to an object with his tail, then bends backward and forward rapidly, opening the pouch to let a young seahorse out. These motions are repeated until the pouch is emptied. Each young seahorse emerges from the pouch head-first and able to swim freely. Each is an miniature copy of the adult lined seahorse, measuring about 0.4 inches (11 mm) in length. Lined seahorses reach their maximum size about approximately 8-10 months of age.