Micro-habitats and Associations

H. impatiens are commonly found in the intertidal zone and reef flats (Clark and Rowe 1971). They tend to live under large chunks of corraline rubble, or intricately weaved through the branches and crevices of large coral assemblages within shallow reef flats (Kotpal, 2009). However some studies conducted in Ngachelong, Palau, have found the species living in seagrass beds and soft substrate, camouflaged under mats of macro-algal assemblages.

This particular species prefers shallow waters of no more than 37m in depth. The ocean biogeographic information system states that H.impatiens can live within a temperature range of 19°C to 28°C, this information is consistent with the ocean temperatures where H.impatiens are most common. The species can also live in salinity levels between 33PPS and 37PPS (Vanden Berghe and Hansson 2011).