Dragon Face Pipe Fish

[stephenthefish]

Hello i just got my first pipe fish today and after 45 min of dripping he is in the tank perched up breathing normal (compared to the rapid breathing of when he first entered the tank. But he has been in the same spot for 20 min now just looking around not moving any more than his head. is this normal?

 

[stephenthefish]

update: he moved three inches haha

 

[kydizzle41]

sorry i have no idea if thats normal or not but when i read the title i had to comment i saw one of these in my lfs the other day and i just have to say congrats

 

[teresaq]

Its probable just getting acclimated. I have never had pipes, I am sure someone will be here soon.
T

 

[zeppelin]

Got a pic of the new guy?

 

[novahobbies]

They're more active than that, but still not very active. Mine usually stays in one spot for a few hours, swims to a new spot, explores that one, and moves on again. He only gets really active when he sees the baster tube filled with cyclopeeze......then he gets really happy. I'm guessing yours might just be getting used to a new environment. Did you QT him at all? What else is in the tank?

 

[stephenthefish]

ok thanks for the reply! i have a scopas tang sixline wrasse 2 blue chromis and a maroon clown. He is now in a totally new spot today right up against the glass so i guess thats good. I need to get a better way to feed him could u post a pic of what you use?

 

[lulabulla]

i have a dragonface pipefish as well. i sadly just lost one of them

. as for keeping them, they have the same needs as a seahorse. meaning low water current, only non aggressive and non competitive feeding fish or other tank mates!!!!!
i dont know if yours is trained to eat frozen, but if he/she does its a big bonus. mine ate frozen till a few days later they got spoiled in my tank and eat only live now, so now i have to seed and stock my tank with pods or they could starve.
good luck with your dragonface they are beautiful and fun to watch. i'll help with any question you have if i can.
got any pictures?

 

[novahobbies]

Originally Posted by stephenthefish
http:///forum/post/2824146
ok thanks for the reply! i have a scopas tang sixline wrasse 2 blue chromis and a maroon clown. He is now in a totally new spot today right up against the glass so i guess thats good. I need to get a better way to feed him could u post a pic of what you use?
Not really that much to take a picture of: it's just a dollar store turkey baster tube. I thaw a little cyclopeeze in saltwater by swishing the bar in a cup of saltwater for a couple seconds, then draw that up in the baster and gently squirt it down around him. He goes nuts for it.......so does the anthias, who is by nature a zooplankton feeder. I feed him a small amount of cyclopeeze twice a day, but you have to be careful with this stuff -- it can cause nitrate spikes.

 

[stephenthefish]

thanks so much for the help guys. and careful as in... how much should i use i dont want a spike!

 

[novahobbies]

well, I hate to sound unassertive, but it's hard to say really. cyclopeeze is essentially frozen freshwater copepods, so it's impossible to "count" how many you're putting in the tank. Just swish it a couple times in a cup of saltwater, and draw some up. If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say 50 or so per serving....just watch and see how your pipefish goes after them on the first try, and gauge how many you wanna put in after that feeding!