Can i get a pipefish

[RyanMcLaughlin]

I have always wanted to get a pipefish but was warded off by the stories of how difficult they are to keep. But as i read on this forum and other places it seems that pipefish arent as hard to keep as it seemed. I see lots of people keeping them in reef tanks w/ success. I have a 70 gallon tank that has a lot of live rock(roughly 80lbs in the tank and 30lbs in the fuge) for pod growth. I have a running fuge that does well w/ my chaeto. I have a good amount of fish but they are all small non agressive fish w/ the biggest/most aggressive being the female Ocellaris clown. I have relatively low flow about 950gph which all my corals do well on which consists of a brain, frogspawn, blasto, duncan, shroom, and pectinia. I plan on getting mostly lps corals in the future such as brains and things like that. Please let me know how feasable this is? I am looking mostly at the dragonface and banded pipefish.

 

[BlackSumbel]

The concern I would have is the stinging ability of any of those corals. Beyond that your setup, combined with feeding, SHOULD work. However, "Should" is never "certainly".

 

[RyanMcLaughlin]

How much of a threat are the corals? and which ones are considered stinging?

 

[rayjay]

IMO, the stinging threat is not as much of a problem as it is with the seahorses that are always hitching on to anything available, but, as in seahorses, the temperature of a reef tank can be a problem.
While seahorses and pipefish normally experience a range of temperatures in the wild, in a tank, those higher temperatures in a closed system, help breed bacteria that threaten the species.
A lot of seahorses and pipefish are lost each year by people trying to keep them in reef conditions. Some are successful, but many more are not.
The great majority of successful keepers of seahorses and pipefish, keep their systems on the cool side for a reef, at between 68° and 74°F.
Originally, I figured I would be one of the ones that could succeed with the warmer tank temps of 78°F, but after loosing a few horses and pipefish, I lowered the temperatures and have been 3 years now without further losses.
Of course, it meant that I had to remove the corals that I kept there as they were not faring well in the lower temperature.

 

[Elysia]

It is hard to say whether or not pipes would work for you not knowing exactly what is in your aquarium.
Also, dragonface and banded are two very different types of pipes.
IMO, both BlackSumbel and rayjay are right: corals that sting are not as much of a concern with pipefish as they are with seahorses, but they still are something you need to be aware of, especially w/ dragonfaces. Dragonfaces tend to almost slither over the substrate, whatever it may be. They will hover over the rocks, over the sand, and over corals if they are there. "Brain" is such a commom name, I don't know exactly which coral you are referring to. Some brains can eat fish, however, and would not be a good idea w/ either pipes or seahorses. The frogspawn would be another coral that I would be hesitant to put in w/ a dragonface. The bandeds are a bit more free swimming and better bet for a reef set-up, but I still would limit what I would house w/ them.
I also agree that a cooler tank is a good suggestion. But you should be able to do corals in 70-74 degrees (I say, having no expirence w/ SPS, but I do have zoas, 'shrooms, and lps at 74 degrees.)
Also, a full list of all the fish in your tank would be helpful. Not all "peaceful" fish are peaceful to pipes and seahorses. In fact, not all inverts are, either. You need to consider if you have any fish that will compete with the pipes for food, like mandarins.
Finally, have you considered a nice blue stripe? They will sometimes perform fish cleaning duties, and thus many fish will be very nice to them.

 

[Jeff Trout]

I have 2 banded pipefish in my 125g mixed reef tank for going on two years now!They have been in my 180g now for 6mths,doing great.Mine seem pretty smart they stay away from the anemones and the 2 maxi-jet 1200 w/mods!mine also eat frozen mysis.I dont have alot of big fish either.I have 1 sohal tang,spotted mandarin,couple fairy wrasses,couple percs,orange spotted goby.
OH yea and a 28in zebra moray(!he is very claim unless it feeding time)