Not a seahorse, but awfully close!

G

GraviT

Premium Member
I was inspired by Jorge's talk at Next Wave to try my hand at keeping a sygnathid in my reef. Being afraid that a seahorse wouldn't be able to move quickly enough should one of my fish decide to pick on it, I started reading about pipefish. After observing some in person, this one found it's way home to my tank. :)

So far, none of my other fish seem to mind that he's around, which is a good thing as there is no way he could defend himself. Thought I would share a little pic...

pipefish.jpg
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Thanks guys, I'm kinda fond of him myself! I found it and a few others at Fish Gallery in Dallas. I'm going to give this one a week to see how it does, then consider getting it a friend.

So far, so good. It's been cruising around, eating pods and such since introduction to the tank. Tonight, it ate some small, frozen mysis and a product sold by H2O called Cyclops.

Unfortunately, when I got home with him lastnight and did a few tests on my QT, I found the water conditions in that thing to be horrible and would have probably killed the poor little critter. Having little choice, I acclimated him to my display. I hope (fingers crossed) that everything works out okay. He seems to be happy and healthy. I know he was in FG's tank for about 2 weeks with other pipefish and seahorses.
 
Oooh. I like it. It looks so sweet and friendly. I do hope you'll continue to update this thread with your observations and experiences.
 
Sweet and friendly as it was, the pipefish passed away this morning. I'm not sure why, but it stopped eating a couple of days ago and was overtaken by the cleanup crew lastnight. :cry:

The only thing that stands out is the night before it stopped eating, I dosed some Tropic Marin Bio Calcium as I discovered my levels were in the 200's :shock: I still see lots of mini mysis and pods running around, so there wasn't a lack of live food if it decided to turn it's nose up at the frozen.

The LFS where I purchased him said they will order some more, but I'm not sure if I want to take the chance again. I hate losing fish...
 
Dang, sorry to hear about it.

My girlfriend loves the Dragonface Pipes. We got a Banded Pipe last weekend, so far so good.

Don't give up yet!
 
Okay, so I didn't give up. I got a pair to replace the one that I lost. I only hope that I didn't make a mistake and kill two.

So far, so good with the new ones. The first one really just scooted along the bottom of the tank and never showed a great deal of energy. The new guys swim all over the place and I even caught one of them "hitching" to a montipora confusa tonight to catch some Cyclops. They both eat like pigs and really seem to enjoy each other's company. Again..fingers crossed!

I'll try and get a good picture up tomorrow.
 
I got them from Fish Gallery in Dallas. They have had blue stripe pipes in the past and may be able to order more. Just ask for Webb or Zack if you call or stop by..either one should be able to order/find some for ya.
 
Sorry Marc, I never got a chance to shoot good pictures of the pair. I've been working some pretty late hours lately and usually don't get home until the halides are off.

Unfortunately, as of today, both pipefish have died. The first of the pair passed away about 2 weeks after I brought them home. It was still eating fine, but it's breathing became shallow and rapid, then died quite quickly. The second one, which was quite healthy, active and eating as of yesterday, has been missing all day. Guess what has happened between then and now...I dosed Tropic Marin Bio-Calcium in my system to get my levels back up again. Everything else in the tank seems fine, but an otherwise healthy pipefish has apparently died. I'm really wondering if something in the stuff is toxic to this particular species of pipefish. :cry:
 
Okay, it's been confirmed...I found the body being consumed by the cleanup crew and removed it from the tank. :cry:
 
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