Bluestripe pipefish, active swimmer or not?

fullmonti

now is the time
I'm working on a nano 16" bubble vase & was wondering if that would be enough room for 2-3 bluestipes. If they are slow swimmers like seahorses & don't move around a lot then think they would be OK. But if they are very active fish might not be enough room for them. What do you think? I have never even seen them in person, but think pipefish are interesting fish & these seem to be a nice size, small but not so small it's hard to feed them.

Thanks
Jim
 
Flagfins are active swimmers when they're out and about.

If you want pipes in a small setup, your best bet would be dwarf pugnose pipes (Bryx dunckeri) in a seagrass setup.
 
Not trying to be negative but I would say this is an absolute terrible idea. I myself have a mated pair of bluestripes (for about 2 years now) and they are fairly active. The small tank is a bad idea because they need a lot of copepods and other microfauna. Mine are now eating frozen brine but it took well over a year for them to accept these. just one of these guys could decimate a pod population in any tank under 40 gallons very quickly (depending on the size in a matter of days or weeks). IMHO they require a 40 gallon or larger WELL ESTABLISHED tank atleast until they will eat frozen. Also male pipefish will fight to the death. to keep more than one you either need 1 male and 1 female or 1 male and multiple females or just a bunch of females. If you do have a large reef, though, try putting them in there. From my personal experience they do well with higher currents and fish just out right ignore them (although I wouldnt put them with any hardcore predators such as groupers or triggers).
 
Ya I have been reading about them & my new tank would just be too small. I have decided to put NPS corals in it with a pair of firefish & some sexy shrimp.

Thanks for the response

Jim
 
Sorry it took so long for me to respond. Yeah, way too small for one of these guys. I have one in a 58g reef with a lot of liverock and I think that might even be pushing it as far as too small of a tank. Mine eats frozen mysis, otherwise he probably wouldn't get enough food. And although he is secretive, he is a very active swimmer.
 
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