Pipefish are relatively hardy, but, in order to be healthy, require slow-moving water and plenty of branching gorgonias, algae, or coral decorations.
The biggest problem with pipefish is making sure they have enough to eat, as they are finicky about frozen food. Be careful to cover all openings to pumps and filters too, otherwise the pipefish may slide in to find a hiding space and become trapped. They are also susceptible to bacterial infections, but cloudy skin, fins, or eyes can be treated with antibiotics.
Despite their size, they are very active and need a lot of space to swim. They should have a tank size of at least 30 gallons per pair, and need plenty of spaces to hide when spooked. These fish are sometimes fussy to keep alive when first introduced to a tank, but once established, they are relatively hardy.
They can be in tanks from gallons as long as you are supplementing their food, but will need larger tanks if you are counting on the natural larvae spawn to feed them. They get along well with each other, and will not fight like the Bluestripe.
A healthy Dragonface should be moving around and actively looking for food, so keep watch for this when you go to purchase. A new breed of hardy and captive-bred pipefish, these are a good variety for enthusiasts. They are a brightly-colored variety of the Banded Pipefish, which normally has black bands or rings. They grow up to eight inches long, and do well in pairs or small groups within a tank of 30 gallons or larger. This kind of pipefish are bred by Ocean Rider, and may need to be ordered directly through them instead of bought at a local store.
Many wild-caught pipefish are very sensitive and stressed due to the change in conditions, so if you can find captive-bred variety, they are more likely to be healthy and ready to transition into your aquarium.
When picking out your favorites, look for those that have clear skin and eyes, and if it is breathing rapidly, that is usually a sign of distress, either from fear or possible fungal or bacterial infections. As with all fish tanks, the water, substrate, and decorations should be cycled in the tank before fish are introduced.
Many pet stores offer salt water ready to go, but you can also mix your own salt water, which requires more work and precision. The water in the tank should be kept at a temperature between 72 and 77 degrees Fahrenheit, with a PH between 8. Specific gravity should be between 1. The rest of the water requirements should be about the same as any other salt water tank; low ammonia and nitrates, and nitrites less than.
The water should also be slow-moving, as pipefish are poor swimmers and could otherwise be caught in the current and pushed into objects that will hurt them. If you already have fish in your tank and want to introduce a pipefish, the best way to do so is in a quarantine tank first. This not only keeps a potentially sick fish away from the others, but allows the new fish to get used to the water and food you are providing, reducing stress.
Pipefish are very picky eaters, so avoid keeping them in quarantine for longer than necessary, or they may not eat enough to stay healthy. Before you remove your pipefish from quarantine, ensure that the tank has plenty of areas where the pipefish can hide. Rearrange the current layout of your tank to distract the existing fish and remove any established territories.
Feed your current fish right before introducing the new one, which will make them less aggressive. It is also better to introduce more than one new fish at once, as it reduces the chances of one new fish being singled out and aggravated. Finally, as always, make sure your water is clean and appropriately balanced to reduce stress in all of the fish. Once a tank is set up and the fish are happy, water changes are the best way to maintain a healthy tank. Smaller tanks require more frequent water changes because toxins such as ammonia and nitrates build up more quickly compared to larger tanks.
In the wild, pipefish eat tiny crustaceans, smaller fish, and even parasites off of larger fish. Since they are predators, they can eat live or frozen food. Newly-hatched brine shrimp are the best bet, and once they are used to eating frozen, copepods or prawn roe are a good option. If this is their only food source, they will need to be fed multiple times a day. If you have a diverse cleanup crew, this can help give your fish a varied and healthy diet, but you should still supplement with live or frozen food.
Although these delicate fish are unusual and more difficult to find than other species of saltwater fish, they can soon become a prized and funny addition to your aquarium. They are great for keeping your reef healthy, and create beautiful pairings with seahorses and soft corals. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
Freshwater pipefish have been recorded to live for over 10 years in captivity if cared for properly. Some pipefish have recently been captive-bred at fish farms. These individuals are much easier to care for than their wild-caught counterparts.
An aquarium for freshwater pipefish should ideally be heavily planted with a sandy substrate. Dimorphism: Some sources have stated females are darker than males. Additionally, after spawning the male's brood pouch will be visible. Fecundity: Although freshwater pipefish have been bred at certain fish farms, breeding this species in the home aquarium is seldom achieved.
The male will carry at least eggs in a pouch under his tail. They feed on a variety of foods, and it is best if the food chosen has originated from a marine environment and it is rich in highly unsaturated fatty acids.
The food which is rich in such fatty acid is Vibrance which also contains vitamin C and other minerals as the freshwater organisms lack such acids. The pipefish, in general, prefer to have baby brine shrimps, amphipods, brine shrimps, copepods, ghost shrimps, isopods, red shrimps and more.
The pipefish should be fed small amounts of food, at least three times a day. The water tank for the pipefish should have saltwater with plenty of grass, rocks, and coral to hide in. There should also be caves for hiding and overhangs to provide shelter, and it should also be colorful to replicate the natural environment which these fish are used to. It is best to keep them in groups or pairs, and as such, it should be a species only tank, but it can include seahorses as well. The water temperature should be maintained at 72oF — 77oF as the pipefish originate in tropical waters.
The pH balance of the water should be around 8. The pipefish requires alkaline water as pure water has a pH level of 7. They are generally not easy to care for as the pipefish is one of the few fish which do not handle the transition from the wild to captivity well. One of the reasons why they take the time for this transition is usually because they are not fed well during transport. When you do select your pipefish, you must check for possible signs of bacterial infections.
There should be no cloudiness in its fins, skin or eyes. You must also ensure that it is not breathing rapidly, which can signal distress in the fish and may even be a symptom of bacterial infection.
Generally, the males and the females appear to be eager to mate with each other when they come into contact. Before the process of mating can happen, there have to be various rituals that need to be followed for the courtship. The male and the female have to be moving at the same speed and in the same movements before the female can pass the eggs to the male.
There is a spongy area around the tail that is present in the males, and that is where they carry the eggs in. Some pipefish species even have a pouch where they carry their eggs in. The gestation period of the pipefish however varies, depending upon the number of young ones that are going to be born as well as on the subspecies. There are also those species of females that may mate with several males, and the female can deposit eggs with all of them, and this way, the number of young which are produced increases.
The male carries the young, and right after they hatch from the eggs, the young ones are left to fend for themselves.
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