Ornate Ghost Pipefish

The Ornate Ghost Pipefish is one of the ocean's most spectacular masters of camouflage, capable of transforming its appearance to mimic crinoids (feather stars), gorgonians, and other reef organisms with astonishing accuracy. Its body is covered with elaborate, branching skin appendages and its coloration can range from vivid red, yellow, and white to mottled brown and black, always matching the specific organism it is mimicking in its local habitat. At approximately 4.7 inches, it is a medium-sized ghost pipefish that commands attention from any observer fortunate enough to spot one.

In the wild, Solenostomus paradoxus is found throughout the Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea to the Great Barrier Reef and Japan. It inhabits reef slopes and walls where it drifts head-down among crinoids, gorgonians, and soft corals, its ornate body appendages and matched coloration making it virtually invisible. Ghost pipefish are typically found in pairs, with the larger female carrying eggs in a brood pouch formed by her modified pelvic fins, a reversal of the male brooding seen in true pipefish and seahorses.

Keeping Ornate Ghost Pipefish in captivity is an extreme challenge recommended only for the most experienced marine aquarists. These fish are ambush predators with an almost exclusive dependence on live foods, as they rarely accept frozen or prepared diets. They drift motionlessly, waiting for tiny copepods and mysid shrimp to pass within striking range of their small tubular mouths. A very mature aquarium with a highly productive refugium is essential. Ghost pipefish generally have short captive lifespans, and success requires extraordinary dedication to maintaining a constant supply of live micro-crustaceans.