dragonface pipes and tank size

[Kahuna Tuna]

Hello all, I am going to be setting up my mini-reef again, its a 12 gallon half hex with a built in refugium. I am going with some zoo's and shrooms and was thinking of adding a pair of DF pipes as the only fish in the setup. My previous experience with this system is that it produces a lot of pods and I wouldn't add any fish until the system was swarming with them. I will seed the system with rock and sand from my existing reef so it should cycle and take off fast.

Is this enough space for a pair of pipes? I think I had about 20 pounds of LR in the tank last time and would probably shoot for that amount again. TIA

 

[LisaD]

Honestly, I don't think it's nearly enough.

 

[rssjsb]

Agreed. You need to plan as if they will never take frozen food and will have to subsist on pods alone. A 12-gallon tank will never produce enough to sustain a pair of dragonfaces.

A pair of bluestripes would be a better choice.

 

[Kahuna Tuna]

Thank you for the replies. I was indeed wondering if the tank was just too small or it would simply never produce enough pods. My only experience with these fish was observing them in a friends 90 gallon system and they certainly never appeared to be very active. Are the bluestripes or another species a possibility or is this tank simply too small? I totally agree with the philosophy that they may never take introduced food. TIA

 

[rssjsb]

Bluestripes are the only pipes I would even consider for a tank that size. I wouldn't attempt it until the tank was well established.

The females especially are pretty resilient, and I've had good luck getting them to take frozen foods - starting with cyclopeeze and small mysis and eventually anything meaty and chopped small enough to snick. I've kept a pair in a small tank (not as small as yours, it was a 20 gallon) and they were fine with only occasional supplemental feedings. It's good that you've got a refugium, that will help.

Mine aren't shy around other fish, but I think having them alone in your tank will give you a better chance of enjoying them. I would also note that they'll be out and about more in subdued lighting. They don't seem to appreciate MHs.

Let me know if you have other questions.

 

[Elysia]

I would choose a bluestripe, or perhaps a small pug-nose pipe -- there are some pipe species from the Florida Keys that do not get very large and are somewhat sedate as they go about life. They aren't really reef animals, though (a bluestripe would fit better for that.)

 

[Kahuna Tuna]

Thank you all so much again for the replies and the info. Are the bluestripes more suitable because of their smaller size or are there other factors?

 

[rssjsb]

Yes, mostly because of size. They seem to adapt better to frozen foods and survive more easily on the available fauna in a smaller tank than dragon faces or other pipes.

I'm not familiar with the pug-nose pipes that Elysia has suggested.

 

[Elysia]

Bryx dunckeri