Lembeh Strait offers the opportunity to discover many marine creatures such as blue-ringed octopus, rhinopias, Lembeh sea dragons, harlequin shrimps, flamboyant cuttlefish, mandarin fish and much more! Here in Two fish Divers Lembeh, we are lucky enough to enjoy these wonders every day. Today at Nudi Retreat, one of our wonderful diving spots, we had the opportunity to see a lovely creature: a halimeda ghost pipefish. Ghost pipefish are in Lembeh!
Ghost pipefish are related to the pipefish and the seahorses, but belong to a different family: the solenostomus family.
They mostly live in the Indo Pacific area. During the breeding season, they will choose a muddy, sandy or coral environment prone to moderate currents.
Six species of ghost pipefish are currently known, and in Lembeh Strait you can see them all! All of them have a similar morphology and only vary in their camouflage, color and size. These fish do not usually measure more than 15 cm. They remain almost motionless with the mouth facing downward and are masters of disguise. They use to mimic leaves, crinoids, algae or sponges, making them almost impossible to detect. You might need the expert eyes of our experienced dive guides to see them.
The ornate ghost pipefish (Solenostomus paradoxus) is one the most recognizable and better-known species. They live generally next to crinoids. They are beautiful fish with bright colors and spiked fins.
The robust ghost pipefish (Solenostomus cyanopterus) are one of the most common species with the ornate ghost pipefish. They have a brown to green color and they mimic pieces of seagrass swaying in the surge, making them almost undetectable. They use to live on sandy bottoms.
The rough-snout ghost pipefish (Solenostomus paegnius) display hairy-like skin filaments. Their color varies from reddish-brown to light green. We can find them in filamentous algae environments.
The delicate ghost pipefish (Solenostomus leptosomus) can be almost translucent and display a thin white line along their body. We can find this uncommon species at the limits between reefs and sandy bottoms.
The halimeda ghost pipefish (Solenostomus halimeda) is the one displayed on the picture. He lives among the halimeda seagrass, and has adopted its color and its shape. He also presents a few red filaments on his body.
The Velvet ghost pipefish (Solenostomus sp.) is an uncommon species with a characteristic round shape, mimicking certain sponges and displaying a great variety of colors.
This beautiful fish offers great opportunities of beautiful pictures for all underwater photography lovers.
Here at Two Fish Divers Lembeh, you can shoot them with our rental camera, an Olympus TG5 with YOS strobe. This camera has a spectacular macro mode and you will surely have fun taking pictures of these lovely creatures.
Lembeh is the perfect place for that!
Richard Becam & Virginia Marques
Two Fish Divers Lembeh Managers
