Wooooow! What is better than a pipefish?! A beautiful couple of Orange-Banded Pipefish! This duo is searching for food at our divesite ‘Frogfish Point’ north of Gili Air. During the second dive of her Open Water Course for Yasmin we were able to watch this beautiful and fascinating couple. Our Indonesian Discover Scuba Diver Willy sadly didn’t see them but to make it up for him he was lucky to see beneath all the other cool aquatic life a rare Hawksbill Turtle.

But back to our cuties: Did you know that Pipefishes are close relatives to seahorses and seadragons? They have a long snout, bony rings around their body and a fan-shaped tail. The bony plates are of course used for their protection.

Mostly you can find them in shallow waters, like this couple above, but also at over 300 meters depth. Pipefish eat tiny crustaceans, fish, fish eggs and some even act as cleaners that eat small parasites from client fishes. As you can see from the picture, Pipefishes characteristically slip over the bottom upside down searching for prey. Their long, pipette-like snout is used for sucking in food. Some pipefish even make clicking sounds — generated by the bony edges of the skull — while feeding, for an yet unknown reason.

So if you also fell in love with this tiny but shiny Pipefish couple, let us guide you to the right spots around the wonderful Gili Islands. You will love it!