dragonface pipefish

[fl_izzy]

where can i get them reasonably priced? do they really eat some of the bad stuff like red bugs?

 

[JennyL]

Dragonfaced pipes are a beautiful species but in my opinion should only be attempted by very experienced keepers.

Pipes are carnivores and need meaty foods. Some may accept frozen foods but you would need to be prepared to feed live foods for the life of the fish.

They are a very peaceful fish and should be kept in a very calm tank, set up specifically for their needs. They cannot be kept with any stinging coral, the same as any species of seahorse.

If you are going to attempt them, I would suggest you do some really indepth research on their specific needs and keeping requirements first. Of course we should always do this before we aquire any live creature.

HTH

 

[thorsen]

Sorry, this may be a little off topic, but I was hoping to get some dragonfaced pipe fish for my own tank and was wondering how possible it is. I know that many people and websites say the same thing you do but then I have noticed that a number of the "tanks of the month" have pipe fish in them and their tanks are nothing like the necessary tank you describe. Are they keeping some other sort of pipefish or there tanks simply so healthy they can bend the rules?

 

[Canarygirl]

Ummm, what do you mean by "can not be kept with any stinging coral?" All types of coral are stinging corals, aren't they? And I know a few people keeping these fish in their mixed reefs with lots of various corals....

 

[bpd964]

I would say to use extreme caution when having pipes/horses in a tank with stinging coral.. I know they survive in the wild in reefs but they also have a lot more room to navigate in and around them.. It's a "space" thing..

 

[Canarygirl]

but the question is still unanswered....how are you defining "stinging" corals?

 

[Dustin JOHNSON]

pipe fish

pipe fish

I have 3 in my 120 gal sps reef and i see them picking on the corals all the time so i hope they are eating red bugs

 

[ann83]

Not all types of corals will sting a fish. You cannot keep seahorses with corals that will sting them, because they WILL hitch to them and get stung. So, for example, you can keep Kenya Trees with seahorses fine, but you cannot keep frogspawn with them. If you can feel the sting, imagine what the seahorse feels.
Pipefish are different, some pipefish will "hitch" also or will rest on corals, those need to be kept away from stinging corals in the same way seahorses do, but reef pipes like the flagfin pipes will usually be okay with a wider variety of corals, so long as you don't have fish-eating corals.
This is a good place to start http://www.seahorse.org/library/articles/tankmates.shtml

 

[Canarygirl]

I plan to add 3 dragonface pipefish to my 120 gallon reef tank...I do have a colony of frogspawn at the bottom corner of my tank, though. This is the most stingy-type coral I have in there (except for the odd majano anemone). Is this going to be a problem for the pipefish?

 

[ann83]

I don't keep dragonfaced pipes so I can't say for sure, but I think they have a tendency to rest on surfaces and swim along very close to surfaces so the frogspawn may be an issue. To be safe, if you want to add pipes, I'd add a flagfin species like bluestripes or banded pipes instead.

 

[Canarygirl]

I already have the dragonface pipefish, so those are the ones I'll be adding. I may consider getting rid of the frogspawn though, or moving into my anemone tank....

 

[Canarygirl]

bump

Does anyone else have experience with dragonface pipefish in a tank with frogspawn? Are they really going to be hurt by trying to sit on it and getting stung?

 

[jgonzz]

I have 1 rose anem. 60 sps 1 hammer 1 frogspawn, 2 dragon pipes no problems. The pipes crawl around like snakes they seem to like the burrow of the jawfish, and he don't seem to mind.
Sometimes Dr. F&S have them for $20 or so I got mine from my LFS.

Josh

 

[Canarygirl]

thankyou, Josh.

What do you feed them, by the way? My 3 are in a qt tank at the moment with some live rock and I've been feeding them live baby brine shrimp a couple of times a day. I've got lots of tigger pods in my display tank though.

 

[rssjsb]

Josh, how long have you had them? I really would worry about an anemone becuase these guys love to slither around on top of corals and could easily end up in the nem. Otherwise, I agree that they don't seem bothered by anything in a typical reef tank.

 

[danfrith]

I agree that pipefish have no problems with corals exept for maybe the very large carpet anenomes. My dragon face rest on my corals all the time, lps and sps. And they do it all the time in nature too: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2007/6/travel_album/DSC01220.jpg

 

[jgonzz]

they eay cyclopeze I've seen, and also I see them pick at pods all the time. the other day my friend said he seen them tangled together and they do seem to follow eacher around alot. I will try to post some pics on sunday.

Josh

 

[MADtanks]

i just got my pair today, the male already hatched a batch of eggs int he bag, i am not home yet but should be there within the next 2hrs!! looks like the other pipes in my tank will have fresh live food hopefully they keep hatching babies to keep the food source up even though there are tons of cope pods in my tank right now i would def suggest against frog spawn with dragons as they tend to hitch in a sense since they stay on the rocks most of the time, and wrap around corals so to speak..... i feed my pipes a mix of live tigger pods, and cyclops along with frozen mysis.... i am also getting live mysis pretty soon so the smaller babies will be food for the pipes as well good luck.

 

[nano_reefer2010]

Would flow be a concern in a typical reef tank?

 

[jgonzz]

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and this is the tank 210 aga sps dominated

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