The Pipefish in Focus

Don’t bet an eye!

“I have no idea why but I began to focus on the two tiny strands of seagrass gently floating close to the sea bottom. Perhaps I was drawn by the perfect harmony of their movements. I descended near them in the sand and began to watch them from even closer as if I already knew this was going to be some sort of hoax. And I was right – the macro lens, when aimed just right, was able to see through the tiniest mimicry. We could say – the lens doesn’t lie. There they were, flashing their greenery before me. And let’s be honest, seagrass doesn’t really flash, now does it?”

The Robust Ghost Pipefish (Solenostomus cyanopterus) drifts almost motionlessly with its tiny fins barely moving as it approaches its prey of tiny crustaceans which it sucks up into its snout. It prefers open waters except during breeding when they tend to move closer to the coral reefs.

Dive site: Shaab Mahmoud (close to the wreck of Dunraven)

Text and photo by Csaba Tökölyi