Are Pipefish compatable in my tank

[shoddyk]

I have been doing some research on Pipefish and I find them really intresting fish. I am trying to figure out if getting Pipefish is even an option for me because of the fish i currently have in my tank right now. Can anyone give me any ffedback about putting them in my tank. I currently have a 125 gallon reef tank with 60 gallon sump and 2 x 20 gallon refugiums. My fish list is 1x Yellow Tang, 1x Pink Spotted Gobie, Mated pair of GSM Clownfish, 6x Zebra barred Gobies, 3x Chromis, 1x yellow tail damsel. I have a few anemone's and lots of other corals as well. I am thinking that the fish in the tank might not be compatable but I am also thinking about getting rid of the 3 chromis and the 1 yellow tail damsel. Any feedback would be great. Thanks

 

[shoddyk]

If the fish are not compatable, another option is my 2x refugiums that are currently growing chaeto in one and calpura and gracilara in the other. Is a 20L to small for Pipefish. What is the best type of Pipefish to get?

 

[Bojan]

According to my opinion pipefish are not compatible with fish in your tank.

Refugium is better idea. 20 liter is very small refugium, but I have 2 in 30 liter refugi.

You will need to feed pipefish in such small refugium.

 

[TorryRx]

Bojan, I think he may have meant 20 Long, not 20 Liter. I see this confused in a LOT of posts!

I have heard numerous accounts of people keeping Janss Pipefish on their reef, and a close friend of mine has a pair in her 125g reef, along with most of the fish you have in yours. They do very well, but she has ridiculous amounts of pods, so they get their share of food...they even come out for feeding time. I would worry about the anenome, but my friend has an enormous BTA in her tank and it doesn't seem to cause them any harm.

Still, she is a VERY experienced and dedicated reefer, and I'm not entirely sure that I would try it. This hobby seems to have an exception to every livestock "rule," and I just tend to err on the side of caution.

Hope this helps...
Torry

 

[Bojan]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7530426#post7530426 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TorryRx
Bojan, I think he may have meant 20 Long, not 20 Liter. I see this confused in a LOT of posts!,
Torry

It is possible. What mean 20 Long ? Is this 20" long ?

 

[shoddyk]

Thanks, everyone. I am still doing alot of reading about Pipefish so I am not going to make any decisions any time soon. i would love to see a few of them in the tank with all the corals and other fish. The refugium tank is a 20 gallon long tank also. As for the number of pods in the tank haw can I tell that I have enough in there for them to eat? When I turn the lights off and shine a flashlight in there there are tons of pods crawling everywhere. Is that enough? Thanks again.

 

[TamiW]

I think you'd be asking for trouble keeping pipefish with any kind of anemone. Without the anemones, you could possibly do it.

You may have to remove the damsel. In the wild some pipes naturallyc clean damsels. However in an enclosed space like an aquarium, it can shift their behaviors quite a bit, and I'd worry about the damsel harassing any pipes.

If you were to try pipes, removing anemones and damsels, I think you'd be best limiting yourself to flagtail pipefish such as bandeds or janss.

 

[Bebo77]

i have a couple of pipe fish in my 300... so long as there is a place in your tank where they can hide you will be fine....

 

[tizme]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7530515#post7530515 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Bojan
It is possible. What mean 20 Long ? Is this 20" long ?

The 20 refers to gallon....there are two common 20 gallon tanks -- a 20 gallon high and a 20 gallon long....don't know the dimensions of either right off hand.