can you get away with pipefish in a 220 reef with a couple of juvenile tangs and clowns..etc

[t blackwell]

just wondering if pipefish can do ok ..in either a 220 with a dozen fish but lots of room..few coral..or in a 50 cube with two clowns and a tailspot blennie..

 

[EmdeReef]

@eatbreakfast?

 

[Gareth elliott]

I have only kept fw species. But they are easily outcompeted by more active feeders. Especially those that swim in the upper and middle areas of the tank. @Paul B keeps them is his mixed reef will also have insight into tank mates.

 

[eatbreakfast]

It depends on other factors, but based off of the info, they would be better suited to the 50g with the slower swimmers.

 

[t blackwell]

It depends on other factors, but based off of the info, they would be better suited to the 50g with the slower swimmers.

there are two clowns and a tailspot blennie in the 50 cube. Im under the impression that they can eat more than pods..I doubt there is much of a pod pop in this tank but I can get some since I regularly add them to my 220 for mandarin and anthias..level with me..can this be done..I mean I dont want to just kill the poor creature because I think its interesting to look at. the 220 gal has lots of room..but it does have a sm med rose bubble that the clowns host..would that be the problem with the 220..I already have food hogs..and a copperband thats mild..so i use a variety of foods including masstick ..and though i shouldnt I overfeed..

 

[eatbreakfast]

there are two clowns and a tailspot blennie in the 50 cube. Im under the impression that they can eat more than pods..I doubt there is much of a pod pop in this tank but I can get some since I regularly add them to my 220 for mandarin and anthias..level with me..can this be done..I mean I dont want to just kill the poor creature because I think its interesting to look at. the 220 gal has lots of room..but it does have a sm med rose bubble that the clowns host..would that be the problem with the 220..I already have food hogs..and a copperband thats mild..so i use a variety of foods including masstick ..and though i shouldnt I overfeed..

Neither clowns nor tailspot blennies are big pod eaters. They are also relatively slow swimming fish compared to most. I still believe that the 50g is a better fit for the pipefish than the 220.

 

[doodledreads]

I currently have a blue stripe "pair" with 2 flasher wrasses, 2 chalk bass, orchid dotty back and a allen's damsel in reefer nano. They are doing really good so far and even boss around with their tank mates. I have an ATS and dose carbon, so I have a steady supply of pods. They also get a feast of baby brine shrimp. I would say if you get them acclimated to the tank mates, they will do great. They are really good swimmers to my surprise.

Blue Stripes are also tiny (2 inches), so there might be risk of being swallowed whole by bigger fish in the 220. They are a good choice for 50, if the clowns are not too aggressive. However, if you could get banded pipefish, which are much bigger and probably a better choice for the big tank.

 

[t blackwell]

Neither clowns nor tailspot blennies are big pod eaters. They are also relatively slow swimming fish compared to most. I still believe that the 50g is a better fit for the pipefish than the 220.[/QUOTheyE]

hey thanks ..I Think i may try one..in the 50 cube..have you enjoyed keeping them?

 

[t blackwell]

I currently have a blue stripe "pair" with 2 flasher wrasses, 2 chalk bass, orchid dotty back and a allen's damsel in reefer nano. They are doing really good so far and even boss around with their tank mates. I have an ATS and dose carbon, so I have a steady supply of pods. They also get a feast of baby brine shrimp. I would say if you get them acclimated to the tank mates, they will do great. They are really good swimmers to my surprise.

Blue Stripes are also tiny (2 inches), so there might be risk of being swallowed whole by bigger fish. However, if you could get banded pipefish, they are much bigger and probably a better choice for a big tank.

what about the dragonface pipefish...or rather what kind would be good...

 

[doodledreads]

what about the dragonface pipefish...or rather what kind would be good...

I can vouch for blue stripes. They are much easier to keep than I expected. They do have some special needs like good supply of pods and not too much flow (my tank is lps dominated), they also accepted small mysis, ROE, calanus, cyclops thawed etc. I haven't seen them eat pellets but they do seem to like the Easy Reef's masstick. They also LOOOVE newly hatched baby brine shrimp. PaulB's feeder helped initially but now I just dunk the shrimp in with the powerheads off and they go bonkers.

I think the flag tail helps them handle more flow than regular pipefish.

 

[doodledreads]

there are two clowns and a tailspot blennie in the 50 cube.

As long as the clowns aren't too aggressive, you can keep the blue stripes. Only you can answer that. It is a calculated risk. You can rescape the tank and add the pipefish when the lights are off or use a acclimation box for a week to get the clowns used to their presence. Feed a lot so there is less fighting.

Im under the impression that they can eat more than pods..I doubt there is much of a pod pop in this tank but I can get some since I regularly add them to my 220 for mandarin and anthias..level with me..can this be done..I mean I dont want to just kill the poor creature because I think its interesting to look at.

They do eat more than pods. Try the baby brine shrimp for few weeks. You can also try adding a small fuge which can help establish a steady population. It can definitely be done. I did it with 21 gallon reefer nano. They are definitely easier than a mandarin as they are not benthic.

the 220 gal has lots of room..but it does have a sm med rose bubble that the clowns host..would that be the problem with the 220..I already have food hogs..and a copperband thats mild..so i use a variety of foods including masstick .

Yeah, you are better off with 50g with pipefish as you might not even see them in the 220. I have trouble finding them sometimes in my 21g lol.

Edit: Wow, my written grammar is baad! I am not a native speaker, but that isn't an excuse.

 

[t blackwell]

thank you

 

[locito277]

Ive had m/have multiple pipefish in my reefs. I currently have one with 4 eels in a 350. Been in there for months and came from my buddies tank where he also had a full blown SPS with large tangs. I’d worry mostly about your pod population as that is why they mostly eat. I seed my tanks with all different pods from pod your reef among others.