Hello Seahorsedreams.... First of all, welcome to Captive Reefing, and also the Seahorse Forum. It's great to have another person with a passion for ponies here!

While the Kelloggi & the Kuda are very similar, there are some subtle differences between the two species. Kelloggi in their babyish state start out with the yellow & black splotchy coloring....cute as buttons! As mine grew, they turned all black. I was sad to see the yellow go away, and believe me, I decorated their tank with yellows, oranges and hoped it would convince them to bring back their yellow. Kelloggi's coloring tends to be mostly black, brown & a silvery looking tan. There is one good shot of one of my males in his silvery tan tux on the thread. Now that they are older juveniles, the males are developing their pouches and showing their tan coloring often for the ladies. The females instantly color up the same when her mate comes by her. They color up when they see me coming in the morning with their frozen mysis which always makes me smile. They stick right to the coloring described in the ad and the many other articles I've read on the species. My Kelloggi's do not have any spots, their bodies are not real smooth either. As much as I wanted them to stay the cute splotchy black and yellow color they were when I bought them, as they grew they preferred to be black. I decorated their tank with yellows and oranges to no avail.

Kudas look very similar to the Kelloggi, but there are some subtle differences to look for. Kudas generally remain yellow in color, yellowish orange, a faded yellow & even black. Just like most seahorses it all depends on their environment. Kudas also have those cute little polka dots all over them! Kelloggi's have no spots at all. When they color up, they may have swirls of black or browns in their silvery tan coloring, but that's it. The Kuda has a smoother body than the Kelloggi as well. I questioned whether I had Kudas as well, but after a lot of reading, I would say I'm 99.9% sure that my ponies are Kelloggi.
I hope this clears up any confusion, but thank you for being considerate enough to question. It just increases the learning curve here at Captive Reefing! ....Angel :angel1:

I'll post the 2 different quick sources for the identification of each type. One of course is LiveAquaria.com shown below:

[CENTER] Great Seahorse - Tank-Bred (Hippocampus Kelloggi ) p 26103 - My Seahorse's are NOT Hippocampus Reidi! Surprise!

Minimum Tank Size: 50 gallons
Care Level: Moderate
Tank Conditions: 72-78