The Pipefish is a long slender fish that tapers at both ends. The body is cross-sectioned into 2 parts. The part in front of the vent is 6-sided and behind the vent is 4-sided. A series of bony plates run along each side. They are considered a seahorse, but they are not, they are indeed fish, although they do look like a straightened-out seahorse.
The head is long with a long snout that ends in a small mouth. There are no spines on its back. The tail fin is very small and fan-shaped. The male has a brood pouch just behind the vent, formed by 2 folds of the body wall meeting along the midline.
They are light green to dark brown on the back and this extends down the sides, the belly is paler.
The males can reach up to 30 cm in length and the female can get a bit bigger. They occur from Alaska to Southern California including all the Pacific Northwest.
The pipefish like its cousin the seahorse is quite different from other fish, the male carries the eggs in his brood pouch, and even after the eggs hatch, the young remain in the brood pouch until they are old enough to head out on their own with the male being the only one to care for them.
Pipefish are found in lagoons and along shallow shores in the eelgrass, where they are very difficult to see. Not only is the body shaped like eelgrass, the pipefish even rest in a vertical position looking just like eelgrass. Once you have seen one in the grass though, you will be able to spot them more often. The diet of pipefish is plankton because of its tiny mouth.
What a sweet creature! Such an honour to see one at the Government Dock in Pender Harbour.
I FOUND SOME OF THE CUTEST ONES ONE NIGHT ON THE SUNSHINE COAST THAT ARE YELLOW PURPLE STRIPED!!
Soo friggen cute and you can hold them XD