The common name sea pony has been used for populations formerly treated as the separate species Hippocampus fuscus, now a synonym of H. kuda.

Hippocampus kuda inhabits waters from the Persian Gulf to Southeast Asia, Australia, Japan, and several Pacific islands including Hawaii, and is also found the eastern coast of Africa from Tanzania to South Africa, including the Indo-Pacific region ranging from the northwest Indian Ocean to the central areas of the Pacific Ocean.

H. kuda inhabit estuaries, lagoons, harbors, littoral zones, and coastal seagrass beds, where they are found in shallow waters of up to fifty-five meters in depth.

The male will change its color patterns and dance around the female and while producing a clicking with the coronet.

Males typically go into labor during a full moon, and after birth, the baby seahorses average a length of seven millimeters.

[3] Seahorses spend most of their time anchoring to coral reefs and branches with their tails because they are poor swimmers.

Aquarists have found them to be generally accepting of tankmates like Synchiropus splendidus and other bottom-dwelling fishes.

[6] The species is still commonly encountered (especially in Indonesia and New Guinea) but is currently classified as vulnerable by the IUCN, as populations face some threat from bycatch in the shrimp trawl fishery, targeted catch for the aquarium and traditional medicine trade, and habitat destruction, coupled with low fecundity due to the involved method of parental brood care.

Internationally, it is also listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which means that it is not necessarily threatened with extinction, but its trade must still be controlled in order to avoid utilization incompatible with their survival.

Populations of H. kuda have declined by 30% in the last few decades due to pollution, habitat destruction, and illegal trading in Chinese medicine.