Pipefish Pipefish , common name applied to all of the small fishes in the same family as the sea horses. The Pipefish has a long, tubular snout ending in a small, cylindrical mouth equipped with tiny jaws. The body is covered with armour of bony plates arranged in rings. Pelvic fins are absent, and the remaining fins are minute. The tail is long, slender, and often prehensile.
Pipefishes feed on minute crustaceans that they find in clumps of aquatic vegetation.
They change colour under varying light conditions. The breeding habits of Pipefishes are curious. About two weeks after the eggs are laid, the brood pouch of the male ruptures, liberating the young into the water.