This is a male pregnant piper fish. Deocata Pipefish, Rainbow...

[The Librarian]

This is a male pregnant piper fish. Deocata Pipefish, Rainbow Freshwater Pipefish. This small cousin of the seahorse is a freshwater pipefish native to India and Bangladesh. They can grow up to about 6 inches. Their colorful belly extrusion is actually a sail-like membrane that can be hidden or pulled out to reveal a colorful striped display. The stripes are displayed by the females courting males to hold their eggs, a unique behavior even amongst pipefish. The eggs are held in a pouch under the tail, and only take about 15 days to hatch.
In the wild, these vulnerable and defenseless pipefishes are vulnerable and even in captivity are very uncommon. Advanced aquarists covet this beautiful fish, but they are hard to keep as they are so sensitive to food, temperature and water cleanliness.

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