Should I feed my dragonface pipefish?

xxkenny90xx

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So I just picked this guy up the other day and for now he's the only fish in the tank. I added a bunch of chaeto to his tank (from the fuge on my reef tank) and have witnessed him picking at the copapods that are now swarming his tank. Does he need any additional feeding or should I just leave him be? Thanks!
 

SuncrestReef

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Dragonface pipefish typically only eat live copepods. In rare cases they can be trained to eat frozen foods. It's best to have a larger mature tank with plenty of live rock and a refugium allowing a self-sustaining population of pods for the pipefish to graze on. They have a very short digestive tract and eat constantly.

See https://www.fishkeepingworld.com/pipefish/ for more details and advice.
 
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xxkenny90xx

xxkenny90xx

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Thanks for the quick reply. While I understand the need for a mature tank with lots of pods my plan is to keep this newer tank stocked with pods from my fuge on my big tank by swapping out chaeto on a regular basis (at least until I get my chaeto reactor up and establish for the new tank). Do you think that will be good enough? Worst case he could be added to my other tank which is crawling with pods
 

vetteguy53081

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Live baby or small brine would also be great
 
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xxkenny90xx

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I was thinking about hatching some brine shrimp actually, but wasn't sure if it was necessary with all the pods. I have a huge Berlin skimmer I want to make into a chaeto/pod reactor. If it's needed I can try out the brine shrimp as well, could be a fun project.
 

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Definitely try and feed it.
Fish that graze on pods all day will go through way more than you would think.
Maybe even consider adding pods from a vendor such as Algae Barn.
 
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xxkenny90xx

xxkenny90xx

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Hey mfinn what's the reason for buying new new pods rather then stocking from my fuge on my other tank? You thinking I'll exhaust my supply?
 

mfinn

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Hey mfinn what's the reason for buying new new pods rather then stocking from my fuge on my other tank? You thinking I'll exhaust my supply?
You would surprised at how fast a small fish like that will go through the population.
Stock from your refugium and supply new pods ( maybe different species) at different growth levels.
Plus get it trained to eat prepared food too.
Every little bit helps
 

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Thanks for the quick reply. While I understand the need for a mature tank with lots of pods my plan is to keep this newer tank stocked with pods from my fuge on my big tank by swapping out chaeto on a regular basis (at least until I get my chaeto reactor up and establish for the new tank). Do you think that will be good enough? Worst case he could be added to my other tank which is crawling with pods
I agree with suncrestReef and mine only eat pods. I also feed live brine monthly that I think he eats. The eating habits are like mandarins they require live pods to munch all day
 

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