Blue stripe pipefish and rotifers

[Fretfreak13]

I'd like to get a couple of blue stripes for the 12g I'm working on. I've kept sea horses and dragon face pipefish before, but never blue stripes. Their mouths are so tiny and they're so shy I'm worried about feeding. They will be the only fish in the tank, unless my lfs gets in a few trim a gobies that I can't pass up.

I have access to live rotifers constantly, could I feed these exclusively to adult blue Stripes? I really like the idea of not putting any "dead" frozen food in the tank, especially something that would have to be so small that I couldn't remove it if it went uneaten.

Thoughts?

 

[Paul B]

I have been keeping pairs of bluestripes for decades. I would not rely on rotifers as they are to small. They need larger food such as pods or better yet, new born brine shrimp which I hatch every day. They also spawn easily if you feed them correctly. Don't get two males or they will kill each other. Here is a pregnant male.





Dragons



And the bluestripes visit this feeder full of new born brine shrimp

Video

 

[rssjsb]

Depending on the size of your tank, how established it is, and what else is in there, bluestripes may not need a lot of supplemental feeding. Having said that, they can eat bigger food than you think. Paul is right that they'll take baby brine, but also small or chopped mysis. Tiggerpods also work.

 

[Paul B]

Robin is correct. An old, established tank should support one bluestripe. But it depends what else you have. Supplimental feedings is better with them

 

[rssjsb]

Supplimental feedings is better with them

Agreed. My blue stripes wouldn't eat frozen for the longest time, but I think that's because it was getting everything it needed from foraging. I still felt much better when they started eating mysis.

 

[rlpardue]

I have a pair of bluestripes in my 150g SPS tank. They stay in the rockwork where the flow is low until the evening when the pumps wind down. They love eating lobster eggs. (Good luck finding this product right now though, unless you're in Texas and come pick some up from me or some other people in the area).

Honestly, even though I went to great lengths to import this lobster egg product, I think my pair gets more excited about Hikari mysis. I just watched one of them wolf down a mysis that was 1cm long, piece by piece. Kind of funny to watch, but eventually he swallowed all of it.

I recommend picking up a pair that is already eating cyclops or Hikari mysis (which is smallish), then you won't have to worry about live foods. It is not difficult to find a pair already eating prepped foods.

 

[ThRoewer]

My bluestripe eats what the other fish eat: frozen Cyclops, brine shrimp, Mysis. Of course they will also go after all kinds of pods in the tank. They don't need a lot of food and will usually do well in a reef tank with live rock.

It's a shame they are so rare around here - I would still need a female for my by now pretty large and fat male.

 

[rlpardue]

LOL! I just watched a blue-stripe pipefish snick at a 1-inch long PE mysid and tow it back into his little crevice in the rocks! I wish I had a video. He is competing for food with anthias and a couple tangs! Sorry for spewing a story in your thread, but watching it made me remember the rotifer discussion. If you want to feed live foods only, I'd suggest newly-hatched baby brine shrimp.

 

[Fretfreak13]

Update: I have him and he's adorable. My lfs got three originally and put them together. They quickly became two, and the two stayed together happily for about a month. When I went to pick them up, there was only one left so I have a single. I bought a pack of the PE mysis/calanus combo. My dragonfaces used to love cyclopeeze, but PE switched the product on me. The LFS tanks are established and have been running for over ten years so like previous posters said they weren't needing to be fed additional food there, but for sure they need it in my tank.

My pipefish (husband named him Dorian) hates the calanus but low and behold just like the above poster said, he eats the PE mysis and looks hilarious while doing it! I feel bad for him though, eating shouldn't be this difficult haha I want to get him something easier to nom.

Anyone try Reef Nutritions ROE? I don't have access to lobster eggs, but they're eggs of sone sort.

Also I know how to hatch baby brine as I used to keep h. zoesterae, but my hubby doesn't want our dining room to look like a meth lab again. Anything to avoid that would be great lol

Thanks for the comments everyone.

 

[rayjay]

How long has it been since it last looked like a meth lab?:clown:

 

[rlpardue]

ROE is ok. Anthias enjoy it as a first food. My blue-stripes enjoy Hikari mysis above all other foods.