Creature Feature: Bargibanti Pygmy Seahorse

The Bargibanti Pygmy Seahorse (hippocampus bargibanti) is the most common Pygmy Seahorse and found all over the Indo-Pacific region. It was the first Pygmy Seahorse that has been discovered (1969) and still counts as the classic Pygmy Seahorse.
It grows to maximum 2 cm, lives only in Muricella Seafans and matches the colour of their host: Bargibantis can be Pink, Purple or Yellow. They live in couples or groups of sometimes up to 20 in one fan. Like all Seahorses and Pygmyseahorses the male gets pregnant by receiving eggs from the female and fertilizing them in his pouch. A Pygmy Seahorse can give birth to around 30 Baby Pygmies (usually at night).
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Best places to see Bargibanti Pygmy Seahorses in Lembeh: Nudi Retreat, Batu Sandar, Angel’s Window, California Dreaming, Dante’s Wall, Tanjung Tebal, Makawide and other Coral Sites in the Lembeh Strait.
Best lenses to use: Best Lens to use is a 100mm – a teleconverter or a diopter can be added for extra magnification. A 60mm is not advisable as the strobes would touch (and damage) the seafan at minimum distance. Please also respect the animal: Do testshots on pieces of coral before shooting Pygmy Seahorses and then  minimize your shots – they can’t close their eyes and they can’t swim away!