Ornate Ghostpipefish are more at home in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea than in Sydney Harbour, but just like in the film ‘Finding Nemo’ they can get caught in the East Australian Current and end up on a one way trip south.
The Ancient Greeks believed that seahorses were the babies of the sea monsters that pulled Poseidon’s chariot across the Ocean. This is why Seahorses were given the scientific name of Hippocampus which literally means horse-seamonster.
The Sydney Pygmy Pipehorse is as small as its name suggests. Its only about 4cm long, which is about a third of the size of their tropical relatives. Fortunately size isn’t important if you’re a pygmy pipehorse. In fact, it’s probably better to be small as it makes you almost impossible to spot.
Unlike Ornate Ghostpipefish, which is a visitor from the tropics, Robust Ghostpipefish are Sydney residents. They are incredibly difficult to spot as they look like broken pieces of weed.
The Tiger Pipefish is another one of Nature's bizarre experiments - "Let's make a fish with a completely square profile that can't even swim". I get the distinct impression that Nature was very bored that day. It is not as if there are any square holes underwater.
Seadragons are as fabulous as their name suggests - in fact they're our favourite resident of Underwater Sydney. They're a blue striped, red spotted, bright yellow underwater dragon that is bizarrely almost impossible to spot. What's not to love about these creatures.
Sydney is arguably the easiest place in the world to see a seahorse in the wild. You can jump off a plane, put on a snorkel and mask and be face to face with one within the hour.