Taxonomy & naming
Microphis leiaspis was described by Bleeker in 1854 from Jakarta, Java, Indonesia. It belongs to Syngnathidae and is one of the Microphis pipefishes that live in freshwater. The authority is in parentheses because it was first placed in another genus.
Morphology
FishBase gives a maximum length of 7.5 in SL. The body is long and ringed with bony plates, and the snout is tubular, as in other pipefishes.
Habitat
FishBase lists it from streams, rivers and estuaries, in fresh and brackish water to a depth of about 16 ft, and calls it amphidromous, meaning the young move between river and sea. It is recorded from Indonesia, Japan, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and New Caledonia.
Feeding
FishBase records no diet for this species. Pipefishes take small crustaceans by suction.
Mating
Courtship has not been described in the sources used by the atlas.
Breeding
The male carries the eggs in a brood pouch under the tail, and FishBase notes males may be brooding at 4.5 in SL.
In the aquarium
As an amphidromous fish that moves between fresh and brackish water, it needs water with some salinity for long-term success. It feeds on live small crustaceans and should not be mixed with fast feeders. FishBase gives no temperature, pH or hardness.
Conservation
The IUCN Red List lists Microphis leiaspis as Least Concern, assessed 28 June 2016.