The head resembles that of a seahorse with a long, laterally flattened snout and obliquely sloping mouth.

[3] The broadnosed pipefish tends to rest in a vertical position among the fronds of seaweed and feeds on plankton such as copepods which it sucks in through its mouth.

Even after this the male continues to provide some parental care as the fry can retreat into the brood pouch in case of danger.

[5] Courtship and copulation follow a stereotyped pattern, beginning when one fish identifies a prospective mate nearby and performs the ritualized dance.

[6] If the other is receptive, the two align and continue the dance together until the female delivers her eggs into the male's brood pouch via an ovipositor.

[8] Although males are choosier than females, both sexes exhibit a preference for large mates due to a positive correlation between size and fecundity.

[7] Males also exhibit an avoidance of females carrying high parasite loads, which is negatively correlated with fecundity.

[15] By doing so, the male gains nutrients by ingesting the nutritious egg, which he can then allocate to caring for the embryos he sires with preferred, higher quality females in the future.