Facts on Zebra Pipefish

Zebra pipefish, also known as glittering pipefish, are tiny, hard-to-spot fish that resemble seahorses in their size and habits. The main difference is pipefish have a cylindrical-shaped, striped body. Pipefish have snouts that are used to suck up food, and the male pipefish carries eggs that are deposited by the female.

  1. Classification

    • Zebra pipefish,or Halicampus nitidus, are part of the Syngathidae family, which includes various types of pipefish and seahorses. Other pipefish in the Syngnathidae family include blue-speckled, alligator and mangrove pipefish.

    Features

    • Zebra pipefish, like their seahorse cousins, have bony rings under their skeleton, no scales, and often have fan-like or prehensile tails. It has black and white colored stripes on its cylindrical body which give it a zebra-like appearance. Zebra pipefish are similar to other pipefish in size, shape and makeup, but differ in their coloring. Other pipefish can range in color from blue to green to black.

    Habitat

    • Zebra pipefish are found in the waters near Belau in Micronesia, as well as the western Pacific, particularly in the vicinity of Vietnam, Fiji, the Ryukyu Islands, Rowley Shoals and New Caledonia. Zebra pipefish are found near shore, often floating motionless near seagrass or seaweed.

      They use camouflage to protect themselves against predators, and due to their small size and shape, they are often mistaken for part of the marine landscape. Slow-moving and inflexible, the zebra seahorse does not swim very fast. It prefers sheltered calm waters with full vegetation it can hide in.

    Reproduction

    • The male zebra pipefish carries eggs, which are deposited by the female's ovipositor into the male's body. Once developed, the eggs are birthed by the male, who may be carrying the young of more than one female zebra pipefish.

    Uses

    • In Chinese medicine, zebra pipefish are sometimes used as a seahorse substitute, or they are sold as part of the international live aquarium trade. According to the website WildSingapore, those activities, plus the slow-moving nature of the fish, its lack of a natural defense and low egg survival rates, make it a threatened species as of 2010.