Hippichthys spicifer

(Ruppell, 1838)

Bellybarred Pipefish

Range: Indo-West Pacific Ocean: Red Sea and East Africa to Sri Lanka and Samoa.

Size: 8 inches (20 cm)

Natural Environment: Inhabits inshore shallow seagrass beds, estuaries and small coastal rivers (sometimes brackish) and mangrove areas where it feeds on benthic invertebrate and zooplankton.

General Husbandry: Has a brown body with a series of dark bars on the belly.

Taxonomy:

Order: Gasterosteiformes

Suborder: Syngnathoidei

Family: Syngnathidae

Subfamily: Syngnathinae

Genus: Hippichthys

FYI: Not collected for the hobby.

Shown here for identification only.