How much do pipefish eat?

livinlifeinBKK

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I was considering adding a small pipefish to my nano depending on how much they eat since I know they're pod eaters...I do have a good pod population and dose Phyto nightly but do they eat too much to be sustained in a nano? Again I'd be getting a small one only a few inches or so
 

Jay Hemdal

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I was considering adding a small pipefish to my nano depending on how much they eat since I know they're pod eaters...I do have a good pod population and dose Phyto nightly but do they eat too much to be sustained in a nano? Again I'd be getting a small one only a few inches or so

My experience has been that even a small pipefish will clean out a nano of all edible items pretty quickly, and then you would need to supplement its diet. Enriched live baby brine works pretty well.

Jay
 
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livinlifeinBKK

livinlifeinBKK

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My experience has been that even a small pipefish will clean out a nano of all edible items pretty quickly, and then you would need to supplement its diet. Enriched live baby brine works pretty well.

Jay
Ok, that's what I figured...in that case I'll probably hold off right now until I can get either a pod culture or possibly baby brine shrimp culture going...are pods or brine easier to culture in your experience? I believe both involve also culturing Phyto to feed them, right?
 

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Ok, that's what I figured...in that case I'll probably hold off right now until I can get either a pod culture or possibly baby brine shrimp culture going...are pods or brine easier to culture in your experience? I believe both involve also culturing Phyto to feed them, right?
yes, I would say pods are easier.
 
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yes, I would say pods are easier.
Ok...I'll hold off for now then but maybe in the future after I get a culture going I might try a small one...I imagine it's pretty difficult to train them to eat frozen mysis like some people do with seahorses and mandarins, right?
 

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Ok...I'll hold off for now then but maybe in the future after I get a culture going I might try a small one...I imagine it's pretty difficult to train them to eat frozen mysis like some people do with seahorses and mandarins, right?
both difficult and rare. Pipefish are very picky and not hardy. Even with a culture they sometimes won't eat that type of pods/brine or don't get enough nutrients.
 
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both difficult and rare. Pipefish are very picky and not hardy. Even with a culture they sometimes won't eat that type of pods/brine or don't get enough nutrients.
Thats a shame because they're some of my favorite fish...a school of pipefish in the wild is so awesome to me...do seahorses also eat a lot? I know they're pretty fragile but have seen some small tanks with seahorses
 

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You're going to need a copepod culture to keep up with depends. As far as BBS goes BRS sells a hatching dish that's surprisingly very effective and simple
 

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Thats a shame because they're some of my favorite fish...a school of pipefish in the wild is so awesome to me...do seahorses also eat a lot? I know they're pretty fragile but have seen some small tanks with seahorses
they are really cool yeah. Seahorse tanks are typically built from the ground up with seahorse in mind. If you are willing to do research into it and restructure the tank theres a chance it could be right for them.
 
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livinlifeinBKK

livinlifeinBKK

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You're going to need a copepod culture to keep up with depends. As far as BBS goes BRS sells a hatching dish that's surprisingly very effective and simple
Unfortunately I'm not in the U.S. though... really doubt they'd ship here haha
 

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if you can wade through PaulB's massive threads he has DIY brine shrimp hatcher and feeders he's built...or get his book...think its shorter than his thread
 
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livinlifeinBKK

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OP, you can put a WTB (want to buy) thread on here if looking for something you cannot find locally.
Thanks for letting me know! I'll look around here first to see what I can find...I really appreciate all you guys' help and advice as well as the whole community here because there's really not much of a reefing community here to speak of and most of the shops' advice on any questions I may have I definitely have to take with a grain of salt
 

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Ok, that's what I figured...in that case I'll probably hold off right now until I can get either a pod culture or possibly baby brine shrimp culture going...are pods or brine easier to culture in your experience? I believe both involve also culturing Phyto to feed them, right?
I prefer live baby brine, hatched from cysts and then fed HUFAs to boost their nutrition...easier than pods for me, more consistent. However, copepods have better nutritional value and will live better in a tank if uneaten.

Jay
 

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Blue stripes are the smallest and easiest of all the pipes, but I wouldn't put one in a nano no matter how many pods you have. It just would not end well



 

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