Seahorses are instantly recognizable, but few people have ever seen or even heard of a
pipefish. In fact there are three species of pipefishes in the Bay, and they are quite abundant.
Northern,
dusky and
chain pipefishes all are found in the same general habitats in the Bay and coastal ocean: shallow, low-energy grass beds, or near-shore vegetation. Their unique coloration and elongate "pipe" shape - essentially a straitened out and stretched seahorse - gives them an uncanny ability to disappear among vegetation. Coloration can vary widely from dark brown to vibrant green, and they may be solidly colored or distinctly banded, which is more often the case with chain pipefish.
A pipefish tries to blend in
Through camouflage and patience, pipefishes remain motionless and (hopefully) undetected waiting for unsuspecting prey to wander by. They also actively stalk prey by slowly and stealthily gliding through dense vegetation, propelling themselves with rapid undulations of their small dorsal fin and pectoral fins. This minimal motion is difficult to detect and does not betray their stick-like or grass-blade disguise. Just like seahorses, pipefishes use a long protrusable tube-like snout to slurp up small crustaceans such as amphipods and isopods; in fact seahorses and pipefishes are often found in the same areas.
A seahorse and a pipefish hang out together on exhibit.
Both pipefishes and seahorses share many physical characteristics. Their bodies are very similar, though their swimming and resting orientation is different; seahorses are upright while pipefishes are horizontal. Both have a trumpet-like tubular toothless mouths, small pectoral fins, elongate bodies made up of bony rings much more evident in pipefishes (see above), very small dorsal fins, and a leathery brood pouch on the males which is distinctive only to the Family
Sygnathidae (both pipefishes and seahorse spp.). Pipefishes have a rayed - fin tail, while seahorses have a prehensile tail to hold fast to structure and vegetation. Both Sygnathids can be a difficult to keep healthy in captivity mainly due to their specific diet, nutritional requirements and need for an almost constant availability of food. Juveniles and wild-caught specimens often don't transition to prepared foods well - if at all -, as they are naturally ambush predators and stationary foods don't trigger any innate hunting or feeding behavior. They can eventually be trained to take a variety of foods and can even be trained to a "feeding station", a specified area where food can be placed in a concentrated amount. Adult pipefish usually feed very eagerly on non live enriched foods, such as Cyclopeeze and
Mysis, and breed often when healthy.
A two day old pipefish hunts Artemia nauplii...
Compared to seahorses of similar age (born Dec 11, 2014)
