Dragon Weed

Price: Tier 6

Habitat: Typically they live in the shallow waters around Scalvoris. They usually live in small numbers and are hard to find.

Lifespan and Development: The Dragon Weed, named for it's appearance bordering on a dragon made out of seaweed, are small and rare creatures. Varying in color and pattern they are rare and beautiful, often sought after as pets but rarely found. The Dragon Weed starts its life like a baby sea horse would, hatching from eggs in its father's pouch. The first thing a Dragon Weed learns to do is hide, blending in with its surrounds. A Dragon Weed will change in color depending on exactly where it lives so it can better blend in. This is done by the body replicating the pigmentation of the seaweed that it eats, this ability to change color though often leaves the skin weak and easily broken, making the Dragon Weed fragile. A Dragon Weed will stay with it's father learning how to feet and camouflage until it is roughly three arcs (years) old. A Dragon Weed will never meet with its mother.

Once it reaches age three the Dragon Weed will go off to live on its own or with a small group of other Dragon Weeds who recently left home. Dragon Weeds when not mating or raising young will often stay in small group of the same age and gender. These group are usually any size from 3-5. When a Dragon Weed reaches 5 arcs of age it will finally be old enough to breed. On the 100th of Ashan, Dragon Weeds from all over gather together together to pick mates. This is one of the only chances that people get to catch wild Dragon Weeds, most pet Dragon Weeds being bred in captivity. Even then it is rare to be able to catch a dragon weed because their size, speed, and ability to quickly camouflage makes the use of nets hard.

Once a Dragon Weed pair has bred they will stay together until the beginning of Ymiden. At that point the mother will lay her eggs in the father's pouch and leave. The father will take care of the eggs until they hatch at the start of Saun. From there the father will take care of his children for 3 arcs before going off to breed again. Female Dragon Weeds only stay fertile until the age of 12, at which point they can no longer breed. Male Dragon Weeds however always have the ability to breed as well as carry young. Sometimes if a female loses her mate a Dragon Weed who was unable to get a mate might carry the eggs for the female. Dragon Weeds usually live for 20 arc, the oldest recorded Dragon Weed had lived up to 25 arcs in captivity. That Dragon Weed was a male who continued to breed and carry eggs until his death. It is sometimes dangerous for older Male Dragon Weeds to breed as they might die while still caring for their young, in which case if the young isn't old enough and another male or group isn't willing to take them they will die.

Diet: The diet of a Dragon Weed typically consists of seaweed and any creatures that are smaller than them such as plankton. Since the Dragon Weed is very tiny they often become prey for bigger fish if they aren't careful. Depending on what the Dragon Weed eats their bodies can change pigment to better hide in their environment. Some variations of Dragon weed have been known to eat things like coral, though this is rare and usually only an urban myth. In captivity sometimes exotic plants and materials will be crushed up for the supplemental consumption of Dragon Weeds to give them extra luster and color. A Dragon Weed seems almost to have a cast iron stomach, meaning if they can force it down their throat their bodies consider it edible. Whether they still get nutrition from it or just pigmentation is up for debate.

Temperament: The Dragon Weed is often considered to be a very calm and kind creature, making beautiful additions to any aquarium as long as nothing in there will eat them. Dragon Weeds have never been known to show the slightest signs of aggression. Quite the opposite in fact, they flee at even the slightest inkling of danger.

Abilities: The ability to change pigment based on what they take into their bodies, leading to superior camouflage abilities. Great agility. A special stomach acid that allows them to break apart just about anything and use it's pigmentation. This stomach acid also burns away anything that could be potentially dangerous. Caution while feeding strange objects is still advised.

Creator: Nightshade

Notes: These critters are often considered to be rare.