The seahorse has been used for thousands of years as an important traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in China. Many species of wild seahorse have become endangered, but demand for them continues to grow rapidly. Therefore, it is urgent to cultivate seahorses to relieve the strain on natural populations and meet the market demand for this TCM. In this study, medicinal components of wild and cultured yellow seahorses (Hippocampus kuda Bleeker) were analysed and compared. Different parts of the body (cortex and bone), male and female specimens, and seahorses of different ages were analysed. Crude protein, crude fat, trace elements, calcium, amino acid, fatty acid, steroid and cholesterol content were measured. The results showed that moisture content accounted for 70% of wet weight and ash content increased with growth. Crude protein and fat contents were higher in cultured seahorses than in wild specimens, and the content of Zn in cultured seahorses (93.26 ± 10.44%) was significantly higher than that of same‐aged wild seahorses (74.20 ± 3.83%). Amino acid and fatty acid contents of cultured seahorses also were higher than those of wild seahorses. These findings show that cultured seahorses can also be used in TCMs and that 1‐year‐old cultured seahorses have the best properties.

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To improve the yield and survival rate of the offspring, the broodstock cultivation methods of the yellow seahorse, Hippocampus kuda Bleeker, were assessed, including the temperature conditions, diets, culture density and mono-or mixed-sex culture. Feeding parent seahorses with live food increased fecundity, and culture density of more than two pairs of parents during mating improved the survival rate of both sexes and decreased the production cycle. Additionally, separate culture of males and females prior to mating improved fecundity as well as the survival rate of juveniles. A higher number of larvae per batch was produced at 26 °C than at 30°C and 22°C, whereas seahorse production occurred at a higher frequency at 30 °C than in the lower temperature treatments. These results suggest that the optimal culture conditions for H. kuda are as follows: provide live food when cultivating seahorse broodstock, use equal proportions of males and females during mating, use monosex culture at other times, and maintain seawater temperature of 26 °C.