Corythoichthys haematopterus
Slender reef pipefish logged across the Central Atolls, Maldives, in warm 26-29C water year-round. Here's how to find one on a reef flat.
A slender, straight-bodied pipefish reaching around 14cm, ringed with reddish-brown bands over a pale cream body, giving it a banded, almost segmented look. It has the classic tube-shaped snout of the pipefish family and holds itself rigid and horizontal against the substrate rather than swimming freely. Look for it lying tight against coral rubble or reef flats, where its banding breaks up its outline against the rock.
Divers most often find it lying still against rubble, coral debris or sandy reef flats rather than swimming in open water, relying on its banded pattern to blend into the substrate. It tends to sit tight when approached rather than dart off, which makes it a good subject for a slow, careful look if you spot one, though its size and camouflage mean most divers log it as uncommon even on sites where it's present.
Like other pipefish, males carry the fertilised eggs on their belly until they hatch, so a diver who watches one closely may spot a male carrying a visible egg patch.
No clear seasonal pattern shows up in the sightings, and with water sitting comfortably between 25.9 and 29.3C year-round on these reefs, there's no need to time a trip around temperature. Treat it as a year-round find wherever it's logged.
Reef neighbours a diver could mistake it for. Use the identification notes above to tell them apart.
Most reliably found across the Central Atolls of the Maldives, which account for the bulk of logged sightings, with a further reliable population around Efate in Vanuatu. Smaller but consistent numbers turn up in Koh Phi Phi and Phuket in Thailand, the Visayas in the Philippines, and Sulawesi in Indonesia, with occasional records from Tufi in Papua New Guinea and the Loyalty Islands in New Caledonia.
Mapping where Messmate Pipefish is logged…
The Central Atolls of the Maldives are the most reliable spot, with Efate in Vanuatu also holding a steady population. Thailand's Koh Phi Phi and Phuket, the Philippine Visayas, and Sulawesi in Indonesia also turn up sightings.
There's no strong season in the data, so it's a year-round sighting on the tropical reefs where it lives, helped by consistently warm water between roughly 26 and 29C.
Look for a slender, rigid body around 14cm long with reddish-brown bands over a pale body and a thin tube-like snout. It usually lies flat against rubble or reef debris rather than swimming openly.
They typically reach around 14cm in length, a slim, elongated body rather than a bulky one.
No. They have no venom or defensive strike and simply rely on staying still and camouflaged when divers pass by.
As with seahorses and other pipefish, males carry the fertilised eggs against their belly until they hatch, so egg-carrying is a male behaviour rather than a female one.
Site and sighting data is aggregated from diver logs, iNaturalist and GBIF. For taxonomy and conservation status:
Ornate Ghostpipefish
1,155 sites
