Many aquaculture farms, such as those cultivating seaweeds and mussels, create suspended canopies in coastal waters that can serve as nature-based coastal protection measures. These canopies are typically off-bottom and heterogeneous, with line spacings significantly larger than lateral element spacing. Existing wave attenuation and canopy flow models assume benthic, homogeneous canopies, and may yield inaccurate predictions for suspended, heterogeneous canopies. Understanding wave-induced velocities in such suspended canopies is critical for improving wave attenuation predictions and developing canopy flow models. This study aims to advance the understanding of wave-induced velocities in suspended canopies. Laboratory experiments were conducted to examine horizontal and vertical velocities in suspended cylinder arrays under waves. Results show that canopies only minimally influence vertical velocities, but significantly affect horizontal velocities. The horizontal orbital velocity attenuates within and below the canopy and overshoots above it. Denser canopy configurations and longer wave periods generally enhance these effects. Additionally, two horizontal mean current regimes around the canopy interfaces are observed: one with shoreward streaming around the canopy top and seaward streaming around the canopy bottom, and another without these effects. The hydrodynamic conditions that distinguish these regimes are identified for different canopy configurations. These findings provide insights that could improve the prediction of wave attenuation caused by suspended aquaculture farms and optimise their design.