---
title: Ghost pipefishes (Solenostomus)
scientific_name: Solenostomus
common_name: Ghost pipefishes
rank: Genus
published: 2024-11-19T18:41:51.573Z
updated: 2026-08-03T21:26:30.312Z
tags: Ghost pipefishes, Solenostomus, Red Sea, Marine Life, Diving
url: https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/ghost-pipefishes
---

# Ghost pipefishes (*Solenostomus*)

## Quick facts

- **Rank:** Genus
- **Scientific name:** Solenostomus
- **Body shape:** Irregular - No standard fish outline - seahorses, frogfishes, ghost pipefishes.
- **Species listed here:** 2

## How to recognise this group

- highly compressed, elongated body
- upturned, pipette-like snout
- large, often fringed or tasseled fins
- hovers head-down or horizontally, swaying with currents
- mimicking floating debris, seagrass blades, or crinoid arms

Ghost pipefishes (Solenostomus) are elongated, highly compressed marine fishes, typically growing to 10 to 20 cm (4 to 8 inches). Their large, often fringed or tasseled fins aid in effective camouflage; species frequently mimic floating debris, seagrass blades, or crinoid arms. All species possess a distinctive upturned, pipette-like snout.

These ambush predators inhabit a range of reef habitats from 2 to over 40 metres (7 to 130 feet) deep. They are typically encountered hovering head-down or horizontally, swaying gently with currents among corals, rubble, or sponges. Ghost pipefishes feed on tiny crustaceans, sucking them into their modified mouth. While generally solitary, they are sometimes observed in pairs. Females brood their eggs within enlarged, fused pelvic fins, a reproductive strategy where the female carries the brood, unlike true pipefishes and seahorses.


## Species (2)

- [Ornate Ghost Pipefish (Solenostomus paradoxus)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/ghost-pipefishes/ornate-ghost-pipefish)
- [Robust Ghost Pipefish (Solenostomus cyanopterus)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/ghost-pipefishes/robust-ghost-pipefish)

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*Source: [Red Sea Creatures](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/ghost-pipefishes)*
*Updated: August 3, 2026*