Ghost pipefishes

The ghost pipefishes are named as such because of their elaborate decorations that camouflage them from prey and predators, making them very difficult species to spot. Unlike their seahorse and pipefish relatives which utilize paternal care, the ghost pipefish females are the ones that care for the eggs — using modified pelvic fins as a ‘brood pouch’ to incubate their eggs until they hatch.

Ghost pipefishes can reach up to 16 cm in the larger species. They are found across the Indo-Pacific, typically inhabiting shallow waters over coral reefs, seagrasses, macroalgaes, and soft sandy-muddy substrates.

These fishes are occasionally taken in hand fisheries, and are sought for the aquarium trade. This likely happens at very low levels, as they are quite difficult to keep happy in aquaria. Many ghost pipefish species have very little known about them, or haven’t yet been assessed on the IUCN Red List. Those with enough data to assess though, appear to be relatively unthreatened.

See the species profiles below to get to know ghost pipefishes better. 

Solenostomidae (Ghost pipefishes)

IUCN Red List categories

Click here for a full explanation of IUCN Red List categories. A brief key is provided below.

A note on ‘Data Deficient’ species: Species that are assessed as Data Deficient are deemed to have insufficient information known about them to carry out a proper conservation assessment. Although such species are not assessed as threatened, we may find out that they in fact are, once enough data is obtained.