Expert-Only Pipefish?

[TonkaReefer]

Just a heads up, LA has these guys for $40 right now which is the cheapest I have seen online in a while. I have had a pair of blue stripes for a while now and I am super happy with them. I added them to my mixed reef Lagoon and I was pretty worried at first especially given their small size but they seem to hold their own just fine. I have a pretty aggressive Royal Gramma that I was planning on removing beforehand but failed to catch him before delivery. All three actually hang out in the same area (under a rock arch) and the pipes pick on the Gramma now. I do have a BTA in this tank but it is quite small maybe 1.75" - 2". The pipes stay away from the BTA, but I would be careful with larger nem's, just seems easier for them to drift into. Other tankmates include a black occelaris, Mcockers wrasse and pair of hi fin gobies, I have never seen any of these fish show aggression to the pipes.

I have been feeding Cyclops, mysis, BBS and top off the pod supply every 60 days with Tisbe.

 

[PicassoClown04]

Just a heads up, LA has these guys for $40 right now which is the cheapest I have seen online in a while. I have had a pair of blue stripes for a while now and I am super happy with them. I added them to my mixed reef Lagoon and I was pretty worried at first especially given their small size but they seem to hold their own just fine. I have a pretty aggressive Royal Gramma that I was planning on removing beforehand but failed to catch him before delivery. All three actually hang out in the same area (under a rock arch) and the pipes pick on the Gramma now. I do have a BTA in this tank but it is quite small maybe 1.75" - 2". The pipes stay away from the BTA, but I would be careful with larger nem's, just seems easier for them to drift into. Other tankmates include a black occelaris, Mcockers wrasse and pair of hi fin gobies, I have never seen any of these fish show aggression to the pipes.

I have been feeding Cyclops, mysis, BBS and top off the pod supply every 60 days with Tisbe.

Thanks! This is great info, pretty much what I was planning on doing with my pipes. Do you have a fuge? How large is your system? Your pipes look gorgeous! Id love to buy the ones right now but unfortunately I dont have a fuge set up and I'm visiting family for christmas so I'd be uncomfy leaving them with a fishsitter so soon after arrival. Thank you though!

 

[TonkaReefer]

Thanks! This is great info, pretty much what I was planning on doing with my pipes. Do you have a fuge? How large is your system? Your pipes look gorgeous! Id love to buy the ones right now but unfortunately I dont have a fuge set up and I'm visiting family for christmas so I'd be uncomfy leaving them with a fishsitter so soon after arrival. Thank you though!

They are in a 25 Lagoon. I plan on doing a fuge soon but for now I just have one of those 3d printed Copepod caves and dose phyto.

 

[PicassoClown04]

They are in a 25 Lagoon. I plan on doing a fuge soon but for now I just have one of those 3d printed Copepod caves and dose phyto.

Thanks! I’m planning on a 45 with at least monthly doses of phyto and pods plus a fuge. You’ve definitely quelled my fears a little!

 

[Chrisfish]

I purchased a captive bred blue stripe pipefish from Alyssa’s’s seahorse Savvy, he’s awesome, eating frozen mysis shrimp , live baby brine shrimp as well as pods as my tank has been up and running for almost a year, no other fish eat them so it’s full of pods.

 

[terraincognita]

I need to stop reading this thread....

now I want a pipe specific tank

 

[PicassoClown04]

I need to stop reading this thread....

now I want a pipe specific tank

do itttttt

 

[PicassoClown04]

I purchased a captive bred blue stripe pipefish from Alyssa’s’s seahorse Savvy, he’s awesome, eating frozen mysis shrimp , live baby brine shrimp as well as pods as my tank has been up and running for almost a year, no other fish eat them so it’s full of pods.

I’ve been looking at their stuff! They’re currently out of stock on the blue stripes but I’ll send her an email in the summer when I’m able to receive packages. None of the other fish on my stock list are pod eaters and I’ll’ve had the fuge up and running for at least 6 month at that point with regular pod and phyto restocking so I think I’ll be good to go! Thank you!

 

[terraincognita]

do itttttt

I promise you in the next 5 years I'll try.

I want a really nice macroalgae/planted/sea grass tank, these would be perfect to go in there

 

[PicassoClown04]

I promise you in the next 5 years I'll try.

I want a really nice macroalgae/planted/sea grass tank, these would be perfect to go in there

Yes!!! Please tag me when you do! I thought about a mini display like that with some dwarf horses but I don’t think it’ll look good with my current setup just cause the plumbing would be ugly. I’d love to see yours!!

 

[vetteguy53081]

They require a mature reef tank with optimum tank conditions. Theyre often out-competed for food and cant withstand much current due to their small dorsal fin. Additionally, they require camoflauge such as sea grass and experts only dictates ability to keep such grasses alive.
The ph of the water should stay between 8.1 and 8.4, with a carbonate hardness (dKH) of 8-12 and a specific gravity of 1.020-1.025 which can be challenging to less experienced hobbyist. Other challenges are pipefish require alkaline water and are visual eaters and so they need good lighting in order to find food.
Dragonface Pipefish are the easiest of the group to care for and pipefish will need a variety of live foods, to provide them with a complete nutritional diet. You should select foods that originate from a marine environment as they are rich in Highly Unsaturated Fatty Acids.

 

[Chrisfish]

I’ve been looking at their stuff! They’re currently out of stock on the blue stripes but I’ll send her an email in the summer when I’m able to receive packages. None of the other fish on my stock list are pod eaters and I’ll’ve had the fuge up and running for at least 6 month at that point with regular pod and phyto restocking so I think I’ll be good to go! Thank you!

They are an awesome company!! I just purchased a few more fish from them, they weren’t going to be able to send out my order till Wednesday and i wouldn’t be home Thursday so she pushed my order forward to be sent out tonight and she even called me to let me know. I sent them an email for the pipefish and they emailed me as soon as it came in and sent it out that day, I just can’t say enough about what awesome customer service they have

 

[PicassoClown04]

They are an awesome company!! I just purchased a few more fish from them, they weren’t going to be able to send out my order till Wednesday and i wouldn’t be home Thursday so she pushed my order forward to be sent out tonight and she even called me to let me know. I sent them an email for the pipefish and they emailed me as soon as it came in and sent it out that day, I just can’t say enough about what awesome customer service they have

That sounds awesome! I’ll definitely be contacting them after school ends so I can get my hands on some nice pipes! I’m still kinda torn a little over which species I want... dragon faces are so dorky but bluestripe are gorgeous! I was considering one of each but idk, do they need same-species friends? Will different species fight? Kinda scared

 

[Chrisfish]

That sounds awesome! I’ll definitely be contacting them after school ends so I can get my hands on some nice pipes! I’m still kinda torn a little over which species I want... dragon faces are so dorky but bluestripe are gorgeous! I was considering one of each but idk, do they need same-species friends? Will different species fight? Kinda scared

I’m sure they would be able to answer all of your questions and concerns when you decide to make your purchase.

 

[PicassoClown04]

I’m sure they would be able to answer all of your questions and concerns when you decide to make your purchase.

Thanks!!! For some reason, that never crossed my mind!

 

[PicassoClown04]

So I've found several products that are "seahorse feeders" which seems to be a box that you fill with seahorse food with small holes in the top that the horses stick their snouts in while they wrap their tail around a bar on the side of the box. Since many of the products I'm finding are custom made, do yall think it may be beneficial to have one mounted sideways for a pipefish? This way the pipefish would swim up to the side of the box and stick his mouth straight in there. I mean, in theory, it should work because horses and pipes have similar diets and feeding habits but I'm wondering if its really worth the money. In case yall havent noticed yet, I'm worried about getting my little guy enough food and I think something like this would really help me with peace of mind that he 100% has a place he can get a few good meals out of but he will also be the only pod eater in a 45 gallon display with a 20 gallon fuge that will be re-stocked monthly. Is this a good idea? Will it help him significantly or will he be okay on his own?

 

[fishguy242]

i would highly recommend sexed pair

 

[vetteguy53081]

That sounds awesome! I’ll definitely be contacting them after school ends so I can get my hands on some nice pipes! I’m still kinda torn a little over which species I want... dragon faces are so dorky but bluestripe are gorgeous! I was considering one of each but idk, do they need same-species friends? Will different species fight? Kinda scared

Dorky ? It’s so true

 

[PicassoClown04]

i would highly recommend sexed pair

Thats what I was thinking. If the pair of blue stripes does well, I may add a dragonface to another tank after properly setting up a fuge and everything for it. My only issue is that I leave for college in 2022 and I want my tanks to be very stable before I leave. I have no doubts in my dad's ability to care for my tanks in my absence but I don't want to make it too difficult for him with a new pipefish because his job is very demanding. We'll have to see how everything turns out

 

[mort]

I don't really see any benefit to a feeding station for pipefish. I had one for my seahorses (a nice open shell that I stuck hitching posts to) and the pipefish never went near it.
They (bluestripes) are easy to train to a pipette or tweezers so you can simply hold the food in front of their snout. The are slow methodical feeders but have a really strong suck (snick) that literally disassembles the food instantly before a satisfying puff of smoke (well tiny exoskeleton fragments) emerges. This means they can take food far larger than you'd imagine. My two easily managed full size pe mysis and reasonably sized krill, which are far more filling than pods. As they also spend the day hunting for pods it's not hard to just feed them a few mysis to help keep the weight on, they truly ime aren't a hard fish to keep for a semi dedicated aquarist (and you sound really dedicated).

Dragon faces are much harder ime though.