Pipefish

Pipefish are related to seahorses.  They both have long, thin snouts.  However, pipefish are usually hidden in reef recesses, or under sponges.  Often only a glimpse of them is visible.  This morning, this pipefish was out from its usual hiding place, and I was able to get a couple of photos of the whole fish.  It was 3 to 4 inches long, and about 40 feet deep.  The white color is sort of a surprise.  None of the pipefish in our reef fish identification guide are white.  However, a whitenose pipefish occurs down here.  Perhaps this is a mutant, sort of a white-bodied, whitenose pipefish.

The above photos are only of the pipefish head.  You can see that its snout is similar to that of a seahorse. Below, the photos show the whole fish.