pipefish

anthias

anthias

Member
I just purchased a striped pipefish. The lfs said they had just gotten it in this week. They said to feed live brine shrimp. So I bought some. How do I get her to eat? I put it in near her, and she just swims around it. LFS said they hadn't had it but a day or 2 so didn't know if it was eating.
 
rykna

rykna

Active Member
I would put your pipe fish into a small quarantine tank. When you feed your pipe fish, turn of the pumps. Do you have a garlic food enhancer? My seahorses found that irresistible. It also helps strengthen their immune systems.
Your LFS was giving you the WRONG info about how to feed pipe fish. Seahorses and Pipe Fish need to be fed frozen mysis fish that have been soaked in some type of vitamin enhancer for 10-20 minutes. Brine shrimp have no nutrition quality what so ever for seahorses and Pipe Fish. Neither of them have a stomach. Their digestive system is a simple elongated intestine which they absorb nutrients from as the food passes through. Hence why seahorses and pipe fish produce a lot of waste and need to be fed 2-3 times a day.
Are you certain that the pipe fish was captive bred? It would also be extremely helpful if you could post some pics of your pipe fish.

How long have you had your pipe fish?
How old is your tank?
How big is your pod population?
 
zeke92

zeke92

Active Member
mine doesn't usually touch live brine. he sometimes goes for the really tiny ones. he mostly eats pods which i would suggest building a big population of. adding phytoplankton every once in a while really helps the pod population.
 
anthias

anthias

Member
I have had my pipefish since Friday. My lfs said he got it from his supplier. Don't know if captive bred or not. He told me he had just gotten it in on Thursday, didn't know if it was eating or not, and said to feed it live brine shrimp. So I bought a small aquarium and bought live brine shrimp. LFS told me today to feed her about twice a week. As for copepods, not sure. I have a 45 gallon cube that has been set up since last July. All fish. In it, I have 2 fireshrimp, a pistol shrimp and candycane goby, prilosepsis goby, a German goby, can't think of the right name right now, a blue dot jawfish, and a small maroon clown, and a couple of starfish. I have an over the back Rena 30 filter, remora c protein skimmer, and a phosguard reactor. T5 lighting. I do have frozen mysis shrimp, as that is part of what I feed everybody else. Do you know what type of vitamins? Can she eat any of this live brine, as I have 3 teaspoons full of it?
 
rykna

rykna

Active Member
Pipe fish and Seahorses have no stomach, just one long intestine, their body takes in what nutrients it can before the food is passed as waste. Water quality is the #1 must in a seahorse tank. Because of their ineffcient digestive tract their waste is double the amount of other fish. With no stomach a seahorses or pipe fish must be fed at least once a day; hence why I brought all my seahorses to thanksgiving vacation at my M&D's...I couldn't find a fish sitter. If left alone for 4 days with out food there is a 99% chance that your seahorse(s) would starve to death, even if it was still alive when you returned home, in it's weakened state seahorses are extremely vunerable disease and stress, and the end result would be death.
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/261262/seahorse-foods-and-feeding
 
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