FishCommonVisible while snorkeling

Network pipefish

Corythoichthys flavofasciatus

A pencil-thin cousin of the seahorse: the network pipefish creeps over the corals with its finely patterned body – and here too, it is dad who gets "pregnant".

Photo: iNaturalist – (c) mumudu, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

The network pipefish (Corythoichthys flavofasciatus) is a close relative of the seahorse, just stretched out straight: its pencil-thin, rigid body is armoured with bony rings, and its pale base colour is overlaid with a fine reddish-brown net-like pattern that gives the species its name. With its long, pipette-shaped snout it snaps up tiny crustaceans from the bottom in a flash – it has no teeth at all.

Like most pipefishes it lives in pairs, and the parental roles are reversed here too: after spawning, the female glues the eggs onto the male's belly, where the father carries them on a spongy brood patch and keeps them oxygenated until the larvae hatch. Each morning the pairs perform a conspicuous "greeting dance" around one another to reaffirm their bond – early divers can catch it live.

Around Hurghada it inhabits shallow reef tops and lagoons, inching across coral rubble and the surface of hard corals, so you can find it while snorkeling if you scan the bottom carefully at 1–5 metres. It never bolts in panic, just slides calmly aside – a patient, rewarding subject for macro photographers.

Did you know?

In pipefishes, just as in seahorses, it is the male who gets "pregnant": the female glues the eggs onto his belly, and the father carries, guards and oxygenates them until they hatch.

Where can you meet it?

It is most common on shallow, sheltered reefs: you have a good chance of meeting it on the sandy plateau of Shaab Sabina, around the pinnacles of El Aruk and in the lagoons of the Giftun Islands.

Frequently asked questions

Yes, it is one of the most accessible "macro specials": it lives in water as shallow as 1–2 metres. The secret is slowing down – float motionless over the shallow corals and scan the bottom for pencil-thin, creeping little lines.

Yes, they belong to the same family (Syngnathidae): they share the bony-ringed armour, the pipette snout and the male brooding duty. A pipefish is essentially a seahorse straightened out.

Not at all – it has no teeth and no venom, and at ten centimetres it is only fearsome to a shrimp. Watch it up close as long as you like, just do not touch it or stir up the sand around it.