Fish suggestions for tank w/ Dragon Face Pipefish

[malacoda]

I'm thinking about starting a 120g (4'x2'x2') reef tank (with 20g fuge) this coming fall built around a mated pair of Dragon Face Pipefish.

Am looking for suggestions for fish that would make suitable tank mates in their 'peaceful' little reef...

Some of the potential candidates I've come up with so far are:

pajama cardinals
royal gramma or some chalk basslets
zebra dartfish
either a tracey's damselfish or a rolland's damselfish

Would love to hear some additional suggestions of others I should add to my research list.


BTW - Tangs and wrasses are out of the running. As stunning as I find some the sailfins to be, I do not want them confined to 120g tank. And it is my understanding the wrasses would be to voracious a copepod eater for the pipefish to compete with.

 

[Stevenliu9]

I personally don't find royal gramma very peaceful but thats me. Maybe gobies and blennies? Get a school or threadfin cardinals they are peaceful and like to stick together.

 

[A sea K]

[welcome]

malacoda, if your considering a Basslet then I highly suggest a Yellow Assessor, very bright yellow and IMO the most peacefull of all basslets, can also be kept in a small group. These are outstanding fish and a perfect addition for a peacefull reef set up.

A few others I would consider (as Stevenliu mentioned) would be a Tailspot blenny and and a Sharknose or Neon goby.

All of these will do well in a peaceful set up and the Yellow Assessor will add a splash of color that can't be beat in such a small fish.

 

[malacoda]

Thanks for the heads up on the gramma Steven, I'll definitely have to research the royal gramma a little bit further. What little I've seen so far only mentioned it being a bit aggressive toward conspecifics -- didn't realize it had fair potential to be a bit non-peaceful in general.

Once I get the 'list of potentials' filled up, I plan on much more thoroughly reviewing and vetting the candidates before making a final decision...

And thanks for pointing me toward the Yellow Assessor and Tailspot blenny - two very cool looking fish that I'd not come across in my research yet, both are definitely going on the list.

Would love to hear more suggestions if any one has them!

 

[reeferstace]

I would try a jawfish. They are very cool fish and typically peaceful.

 

[o2manyfish]

You need a good stable and prolific pod population. The Dragon Faced keep to themselves and just like to hunt for food. I have had my pair of Dragon Faced Pipes for years. And have been keeping Dragon Faced Pipes in my tanks for about 15 years now.

I have over 125 fish in my tank. Including 5 other pipefish. And the Dragon face keep their tummy's full and just keep prowling for food.

They are very cool additions to a tank. And I run a high flow system, including a 2 story surge tank, and they don't mind the current as long as the areas they hunt (along the bottom and lower rock) has some mild flow areas.

Dave B

 

[A sea K]

Another Goby would be any of the shrimp gobies with a symbiotic pistol shrimp. I find the Randalls or Orangestriped to be my favorite, matter of fact I have one on hold at my LFS right now.

 

[malacoda]

Thanks for the added pipefish info Dave. Given that my hope is to build the tank around the pipefish, pod population is one of my primary concerns. My hope is that, with the LR in 120g DT and a bit of additional LR or LR rubble in the DSB refugium - along with chaeto - it will provide enough consistency in pod population to keep the Dragon Face pipefish well fed and content when paired with regular Cyclops (or similar) feeding.

My initial thought/plan is to go with live rock and live sand (for both the DT and fuge) from Tampa Bay Saltwater. I'm attracted to how teeming with life it appears to be out of the gate, and also figure dealing with any hitchhikers it may have will be a good way to get my feet wet with facing some of the 'unexpected' challenges running a reef tank could produce. As a side benefit, given how 'live' it is, it may also accelerate the initial foundation of a pod population.

Once it's all set up and finished cycling, I intend to keep it fish free (e.g. clean up crew only) for 10 weeks as a QT period in order to ensure an ich or other parasites/unwanted pests die off (or present themselves and can be dealt with) before the introduction of fish - starting with the pipefish. This should also give the pod population a chance to take root.

These are just preliminary thoughts and plans though...

Being a newb to marine tanks, I definitely intend to do MUCH more research before committing 100% to my desire plan the tank around the pipefish. Fortunately, I won't have the space or ability to start the tank until late Aug/early Sept when the last of our children moves out -- giving me plenty of time to do MUCH more research and planning.

 

[malacoda]

Another Goby would be any of the shrimp gobies with a symbiotic pistol shrimp. I find the Randalls or Orangestriped to be my favorite, matter of fact I have one on hold at my LFS right now.

I've been tempted to consider a goby/pistol shrimp pairing. Since I plan on essentially running a Berliner set-up (with DSB macro-algae fuge added on) though, I'm little concerned the pistol would wreak havoc on my CUC... as well as introduce the potential for my LR in the DT to shift or fall. I'm going to have to search the forum threads a bit more to find out if my fears are unfounded...

 

[A sea K]

They are quite industrious when it comes to digging so a little care needs to be taken when aquascaping that is certain. I simply placed all my LR on the bottom of the tank prior to adding sand, simple yet effective solution.

If you do decide to go with a pistol/goby pair I would suggest choosing the Candy Cane pistol (Alpheus randalli), they stay quite small and I cant see them ever being capable of any serious harm to other tank inhabitants. I had one for quite a few years and never an incident that I was aware of with anyone in the tank.