The perfect camouflage!

On some of our recent dives we have been focusing on the smaller creatures in the water due to the visibility dropping a bit and therefore a perfect reason to stay shallow and concentrate on macro features. Cruising over the sandy area in between the beautiful coral blocks of Kichouani my eyes suddenly focused on some seagrass leaves moving around. Getting closer I got very excited as my eyes spotted a pair of Seagrass or Robust Ghost Pipefish (Solenostomus Cyanopterus). This is a small fish resembling totally drifting pieces of seagrass, the perfect mimick! They also imitate the same movement, mostly just swaying in the surge in sandy lagoons, silty bottoms or seagrass beds. They hang often head down, hunting minute crustaceans.

When pointing them out to divers, they need some time to see them as fish and not as floating debris as their camouflage is near perfect!

Their stiff, slim body is mostly brown but can vary to dark green or even be reddish. They are mostly seen in pairs, the female easily distinguished by a ventral pouch holding the cluster of eggs during mating season. After that dive, I went back occasionally to the same area trying to challenge my eyes and a few times I managed to spot them again still swaying over the sandy bottom in the same area proving they are indeed territorial. Not a pretty colourful fish but amongst experienced divers a unique sighting because they're almost always overlooked.

Seagrass ghostpipe fish - Solenostomus Cyanopterus

Posted: &BEYOND Mnemba Island by Leen Charle, Date: 3 January 2008