Logo
Please visit our Sponsors

Related FAQs: Seahorses & their RelativesSeahorses & their Relatives 2, Seahorse Identification, Seahorse Behavior, Seahorse Compatibility, Seahorse Selection, Seahorse Systems, Seahorse Systems 2, Seahorse Feeding, Seahorse DiseaseSeahorse Disease 2, Seahorse Reproduction,

Related Articles: Seahorse Care GuideColor in Hippocampus, Part I, by Pete Giwojna and Ben Giwojna Fresh to Brackish Water PipefishesSolenostomidae (Ghost Pipefishes)

/The Conscientious Aquarist

Of Leafy Dragons, Pipefishes, Seahorses;  Family Syngnathidae. Pipefishes, part 1

To: part II, part III

By Bob Fenner

Halicampus macrorhynchus 

Pipefishes: Subfamily Syngnathinae. Fifty one genera, about 190 species.

As for Pipefishes, they're survivability is, if anything, even more dismal than wild-collected seahorses. They should only be attempted by folks in the know and of dead earnest. Reef-type set-ups with few or no competing fish tankmates are best for providing conditions conducive to their care. Various banded pipefishes, in the genera Dunckerocampus and Doryrhamphus are available from time to time mostly out of the Indo-Pacific. The creeping Pipefishes of the genus Corythoichthys are probably the most popular, best-lived forms, some known to have lived for months in well-established reef tanks. Some of the temperate species of Syngnathus, likewise have been kept and bred in aquarium confinement, as "species-tanks" by themselves.

Acentronura (Amphelikturus) dendritica (Barbour, 1905), Pipehorse. Western Atlantic. To 7.5 cm. This one in Cozumel 2012

Bigger PIX:
The images in this table are linked to large (desktop size) copies. Click on "framed" images to go to the larger size.


Genus Corythoichthys:

Corythoichthys amplexus Dawson & Randall 1975, the Brownbanded Pipefish. Indo-Pacific. To four inches in length.  Specimens in N. Sulawesi. http://fishbase.sinica.edu.tw/
Summary/species Summary.php?ID=6659&genusname=Corythoichthys& speciesname=amplexus

Bigger PIX:
The images in this table are linked to large (desktop size) copies. Click on "framed" images to go to the larger size.

Corythoichthys flavofasciatus (Ruppell 1838), the Network Pipefish. Indo-Pacific. To six inches in length. One of the hardier "creeping" types of Pipes. Here are specimens in the Cooks and captivity.


Bigger PIX:
The images in this table are linked to large (desktop size) copies. Click on "framed" images to go to the larger size.

Corythoichthys haematopterus (Bleeker 1851), the Messmate Pipefish. Indo-Pacific; East Africa to Vanuatu, southern Japan. To nearly eight inches in length. Maldives photo. 

Bigger PIX:
The images in this table are linked to large (desktop size) copies. Click on "framed" images to go to the larger size.

Corythoichthys nigripectus Herald 1953, the Black-Breasted Pipefish. Indo-Pacific; Red Sea to Micronesians. To five inches in length. Found in lagoons and seaward reefs. Red Sea image. 

Bigger PIX:
The images in this table are linked to large (desktop size) copies. Click on "framed" images to go to the larger size.

Corythoichthys schultzi Herald 1953, Schultz's Pipefish. Indo-West Pacific; East Africa to Japan, Australia. To 16 cm. in length. Indistinctly banded but variable in color, markings. N. Sulawesi images. 


Verticals (Full/Cover Page Sizes Available
Bigger PIX:
The images in this table are linked to large (desktop size) copies. Click on "framed" images to go to the larger size.
 
Corythoichthys waitei (Ramsay 1881), Scribbled Pipefish. Western Central Pacific; Samoa, Micronesia, Noumea, Malaysia. Here in N. Sulawesi (Lembeh Strait). To about six inches in length. Found on rubble zones and seaward reefs. 


Bigger PIX:
The images in this table are linked to large (desktop size) copies. Click on "framed" images to go to the larger size.

To: part II, part III

Become a Sponsor Features:
Daily FAQs FW Daily FAQs SW Pix of the Day FW Pix of the Day New On WWM
Helpful Links Hobbyist Forum Calendars Admin Index Cover Images
Featured Sponsors: