Pipe fish should I try one.

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tailgate1979

Guest
Was woundering if yall had any advise on pipe fish? I been in the hobbie for little over a year. I have a 30gal that has been up and going for 6 weeks now, and a 55 gal reef tank up and going for a 18 months. the 30 gal has a purple fire goby, 1 blood fire shrimp, 2 camel shrimp, 1 sexy shrimp, choclate chip star fish, I do want to add a McCosker's Flasher wrasse. It crossed my mind about a pipe fish can I get some advise on the two fish I want to add thanks.
 
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smartorl

Guest
Pipes really should be in a species only tank. They do better in groups largely because of the need for enough food saturation within the water column and I have noticed that they do interact and are pretty social.
If you are interested in pipes, you would need to build a habitat similar to one used for dwarf seahorses.
They are not good swimmers and spend more time drifting than actively swimming. The slow currents needed in a seahorse/pipe tank, in addition to the covered filter intakes, and inability to use skimmers make keeping these species very difficult even for the most dedicated.
I have found the pipes to be a bit more difficult than the dwarf seahorses. They seem to react worse to a decline in the water quality.
There is no way possible to keep pipes with your stock list, they would out compete for food, not to mention they would all pick at the pipe and kill it.
 
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tailgate1979

Guest
Thank you I thought that it would be a crazy idea. I do what the wrasse put need to think of another fish to add, not sure what I really want something that has alot of charcter and color.
 
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smartorl

Guest
They are amazing! I have been dabbling with breeding them for a few years. They can be a little touchy, I think more so than the dwarf seahorses.
I have one that I've had for about a year and a half now that if I put my hand in, he swims up and lays in my hand. I'm sure there is a logical reason, I think he likes me!
If you really like them, I think they are worth the effort to set up a tank for them. They are a little more active than seahorses so it's not like watching horses hitched all the time.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
I had a couple in my regular reef tank, they need lots of copepods...I do mean lots too. They are awesome and not as timid as the seahorses, other fish didn't seem to bother them at all, they just hung out on the rocks looking for pods.
55g tank, My stock list at that time:
Tiny Hippo tang
Lawnmower blenny
Royal Gramma
purple Firefish
They did not last more than 3 months, because once they ran out of pods they died. I think you must have a refugium to keep them stocked with pods to eat, I don't think they ate anything else.
 
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saxman

Guest
It really depends on the type of pipe you're interested in. For instance, flagfins do very well in reef-type setups. I recommend either bandeds (Doryhamphus dactylophorus) or Janss' (D. janssi). You'd need to wean them onto frozen mysis, esp. since your tank isn't mature. I'd also have some live pods or mysids available ahead of time to get them "over the hump" as I guarantee you they'll come in needing a good meal.
These are your best bet for a community-type setting.
If you want to go for more of a sea grass setup, you can keep alligator pipes (Syngnathoides biaculeatus), northern pipes (Syngnathus fuscus), or gulf pipes (S. scovelli) but I recommend keeping them on the cooler side (74*F max).
Dragon-faced pipes (Corythoichthys sp.) can be kept at "reef temps", but are difficult to wean and feed due to their small snout size, but if you're up to the challenge they're great fish.
HTH
 
marinebiofreak

marinebiofreak

New Member
Yeah definatly treat them like dwarf seahorses.
They can't tolerate high water flow so put a sponge over your filter. If nothing else, cut panty hose down to size and slip them over the filter. Small pipes have the potential to get sucked into the filter.
Hope this helps
 
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saxman

Guest
Flagfins can handle full reef conditions, and flow is not an issue with them as they are reef fish.
The others simply need to not be blown around, but unlike lazy little zots (H. zosterae), pipes will move around a lot more and as long as the flow is handled properly, "low flow" is kind of an old school technique (basically meaning before folks had any idea about them and they were still being studied) for keeping Syngnathids.
 
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