Black-striped pipefish facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Black-striped pipefish |
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Syngnathus
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| Species: |
abaster
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The black-striped pipefish (Syngnathus abaster) is a cool type of fish. It belongs to the Syngnathidae family. This family also includes the famous seahorse. You can find this pipefish in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. It lives from the southern Gulf of Biscay down to Gibraltar. It also swims in the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. Sometimes, it gets introduced to new places. For example, it is now found in the Caspian Sea and its freshwater areas.
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Meet the Black-striped Pipefish
The black-striped pipefish is a close cousin to the seahorse. It usually lives in the Mediterranean Sea. These fish prefer shallow waters. They like to hide among seaweed and sea grass. You can also find them in brackish water. This is water that is a mix of fresh and salt water.
Pipefish are true fish. Their bodies are long and narrow. They have a special outer skeleton made of bony plates. Their mouths are very small. They are shaped like a pipe, which gives them their name!
How Pipefish Move
Pipefish swim in a unique way. They wiggle their bodies from side to side. This movement looks a lot like a snake swimming. They can also move by waving their dorsal fin (the fin on their back).
What Pipefish Eat
Pipefish love to eat small creatures. Their diet mainly includes tiny crustaceans. They also munch on baby fish (called fish fry). And they eat zooplankton, which are tiny animals floating in the water.
Where Black-striped Pipefish Live
The black-striped pipefish lives in many places. You can find it near coasts. It also swims in the lower parts of rivers. These areas include the Caspian Sea, Black Sea, and Mediterranean Sea. Along the European Atlantic coast, it lives from Gibraltar up to the southern Bay of Biscay.
It has also spread to some rivers. For example, it's in the Danube River. It reaches as far west as the border between Romania and Hungary. It's also in the Dnieper River up to Kyiv. This pipefish was even brought to the Volga River in Russia. It's now expanding its home range there. It has been seen south of Moscow.
Pipefish Homes and Habitats
Most pipefish species live in the ocean. But some can also live in freshwater. The black-striped pipefish is a marine species. This means it lives in the ocean. It prefers shallow-water seagrass beds in the Mediterranean Sea. These seagrass areas provide good places to hide and find food.
What Black-striped Pipefish Look Like
Pipefish have long bodies. These bodies are covered in bony plates. These plates are like a protective armour. They also help the fish blend in with its surroundings. This is called camouflage. Even with these bony plates, pipefish bodies are very flexible. They can move just like snakes.
Unique Features
Their head looks a bit like a horse's head. This is similar to their relatives, the seahorses. They can also wrap their tails around sea grasses. This helps them stay in place, just like seahorses do. But unlike seahorses, pipefish swim horizontally. Seahorses swim upright.
Another special feature is their long snout. This is where the pipefish gets its name. It looks like a small pipe!
How Pipefish Find Food
As we learned, pipefish mostly eat newborn fish and small crustaceans. A pipefish doesn't chew its food. So, its prey needs to be small enough to swallow whole. The long, pipe-like mouth works like a sucking straw.
The pipefish wraps its tail around sea grass. This acts like an anchor. It waits patiently for its prey to swim close. Then, it quickly sucks the prey up! Its cheeks puff out as it does this. The tube-like mouth expands. This creates a small, strong current in the water. This current pulls the food right into its mouth. Some people say it makes a sucking noise, like a tiny vacuum cleaner!
Who Eats Pipefish?
Many larger fish hunt pipefish. Otters also prey on them. Even blue crabs will try to catch them. The black-striped pipefish doesn't have many defenses. It mostly relies on camouflage. It also tries to swim away quickly. This can make it an easy target for predators.
How Pipefish Have Babies
It's usually easy to tell male and female pipefish apart. Males often have more colored bands on their bodies than females.
Courtship and Eggs
During mating, the fish perform a special dance. They intertwine their bodies. The female then transfers her eggs to the male. She uses a long tube called an ovipositor to place them in his special brooding pouch.
The eggs stay safe in the male's pouch. They develop there until the young fish are ready. When they are big enough, the young exit the pouch. The male uses his muscles to help push them out. If the young fish sense danger, they can even swim back into the male's brooding pouch for safety!
