Bluestripe pipe harem

[Moort82]

Does anyone keep these in harems as opposed to a pair? if so do you see any benefit?
I'm planning a breeding project with these and don't know whether to try a couple of pairs or a trio. I have a mature pair at the moment who will stay as they are. So could try a small harem to see how thing go.

 

[ndnreefer]

From everything I have read on flagtails pipes and my expereince with blue stripes. It is better to keep them either in pairs or singles. I know two males will attack each other. From other threads I have read when a pair forms the third party whether it be male or female is harrased.
If you are interested in breeding you should read Jim Welsh's thread on Saehorse.org or marine breeding initiative. He has an entire thread on breeding and raising blue stripes and is currently breeding the red striped pipefish.

Hope this helps.

 

[Moort82]

Thanks. I've seen the aggression male bluestripes possess first hand when an old colleague put two males together. Luckily i noticed quickly and seperated them. Nowhere near as aggressive as janss ime though.
The idea only really came up as i saw the liveaquaria photo with three in and saw they suggested pairs or harems. When i worked in lfs we were seahorse and pipefish orientated, so paired many pipes together and had several females with a male (sometimes you got more females than males or vica versa when ordering) for the short time they were there. The males always seemed more idependent and some had eggs with multiple females iirc.
Thanks for the info and the suggested reading. I did recently see he had raised the reds, only ever seen them once over here and they were a pleasure to keep briefly before they sold. Now they would be a breeding project,

 

[ndnreefer]

That sounds like a fun pet store to work at. I am actually trying to find a mate for a janss pipe that I currently have. Hopefully they will breed for me but not bakning on it lol. I believe this one is a female as far as I know. So we' ll see

 

[Moort82]

A friend is trying to breed the janss at the moment. He's had fry but they haven't lasted much more than 4 days. I had the blues to about 8 days in the shop but suffered a wipeout when the power shut off overnight. Lost the male at that time and haven't had a chance to try again until now.

You should be able to sex the Janss. Its the same way as for the blues where the male has serrations on his snout. The ones i have seen are less obvious than in the blues but still there.

 

[ndnreefer]

There is suppose to be retailer that does CB banded and janss in the UK area. That sucks about you Blue fry. I never got mine to breed when I had them. Hope you have luck with your harem idea. Good luck!

 

[Paul B]

Bluestripes spawn all the time in my reef and I have been keeping them for many years. I never had more than two at a time.