Bluestripe pipefish

Doryrhamphus excisus

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth1–17 m
Water temperature23–30 °C
Best monthsMay and September
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) Ewout Knoester, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist

About this species

Doryrhamphus excisus is a species of flagtail pipefish from the genus Doryrhamphus. Its common names include blue-striped pipefish and blue-and-orange cleaner pipefish. The fish is found throughout much of the Indo-Pacific and tropical East Pacific.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Doryrhamphus excisus”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 28 records
February: 29 records
March: 46 records
April: 53 records
May: 90 records
June: 37 records
July: 33 records
August: 33 records
September: 54 records
October: 37 records
November: 43 records
December: 8 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 1–17 m · Deepest record: 287 m

0–10 m: 171 records
10–20 m: 58 records
20–30 m: 7 records
30–40 m: 0 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110+ m: 2 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 23–30 °C

22–24 °C: 23 records
24–26 °C: 95 records
26–28 °C: 139 records
28–30 °C: 144 records

Photos

no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Kai Squires, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Ewout Knoester, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
(c) Robin White, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Bluestripe pipefish, Fantail pipefish, Black-sided Pipefish, bluestripe pipefish, Bluestripe Pipefish, fantail pipefish, Pacific Blue-stripe Pipefish

Names in 4 more languages

Spanish: pez pipa chico
French: Aiguille de mer à bande bleue, Syngnathe à bande bleue
Japanese: ヒバシヨウジ
Simplified Chinese: 波斯灣矛吻海龍, 海龍, 藍帶矛吻海龍, 黑腹海龍

Other scientific names: Doryhamphus excises, Doryichthys californiensis, Doryichthys excisus, Doryichthys melanopleura, Doryichthys pleurotaenia, Doryramphus excisus, Doryrhamhus melanopleura, Doryrhamphus californiensis, Doryrhamphus melanopleura, Doryrhamphus pleurotaenia, Microphis extensus, Microphis mayottae, Microphis melanopleura, Microphis pleurotaenia, Syngnathus melanopleura

Similar species

Flagtail Pipefish
Doryrhamphus negrosensis
Banded Pipefish
Corythoichthys flavofasciatus
Bloodspot Pipefish
Corythoichthys haematopterus
Banded pipefish
Corythoichthys intestinalis
Banded Pipefish
Dunckerocampus dactyliophorus
Bargibant's Pygmy Seahorse
Hippocampus bargibanti

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
987 open-data records from 1856 to 2024.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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