Need "Oddball" Fish Recommendation!

[ThRoewer]

Love this idea. Have you kept them?

Dr's say only eat live pods....I have a fuge but wonder if that'd be enough.

I have several pairs of Bluestripe Pipefish (D. excisus) in reef tanks and while they also go after pods, their favorite food is frozen mysis and other frozen foods and they can easily live of that even in an otherwise sterile tank.
Even better, because out more, are D. janssi. Those are very active hunters for food in the water column. I posted a few videos of mine in the Seahorses and Pipefish section.

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[ThRoewer]

Here my second D. excisus pair during feeding while still in QT.
They are clearly not afraid off bigger and more agressive fish and quite capable to get their share of the food.

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The two D. janssi in my 20 gallon IM Nuovo Concept Abyss:

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They turned out to be both males, so I had to move one over to my 100 gallon reef tank:

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A thing that makes D. janssi even more oddball is the fact that they prefer to swim on their back.

 

[ostrow]

Thanks!

I feed Rods but if need to PE Mysis is easy enough!

 

[ThRoewer]

PE mysis are likely too large. I feed Hikkari, the large plates.

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[ostrow]

I also feed Rod's Pacific Plankton..... those are smaller than PE. But Hikkari it will be since we know that works...

 

[DeepSeaReefer94]

PE mysis are likely too large. I feed Hikkari, the large plates.

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I've always been worried about adding pipe fish to my reef. Always wanted some just didn't think a reef was a good thing (due to the amount of current in the tank). Is that something that I'm over thinking?

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[ostrow]

Lots of threads on that.... current isn't an issue. These guys live on reefs.

 

[ThRoewer]

My pipefish are still out during the high flow periods when all other fish are seeking shelter.

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[DeepSeaReefer94]

Good to know. That might be the next fish I add to my tank. Would they be ok with my current stock list.
1x Yellow tang
1x Sailfin tang
2x 4 bar damsels
2x firefish
1x yellow head jawfish
1x diamond goby
2x ocellaris clowns
2x pj cardinals
1x emerald crab
3x peppermint shrimp
1x scarlet skunk cleaner shrimp

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[ThRoewer]

I have never noticed any fish attacking these pipefish. That might be due to the fact that they moonlight as cleaner fish.

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[fishguy2501]

Maybe a small puffer from the Canthigaster family, those usually stay small. Also something else cool would be a pair of angels from the genicanthus family such as bellus or watanabe or swallowtails. Those angels are the most reef safe. Maybe try a magnificent fox face and a few wrasses like Cirrhilabrus or Halichoeres.

 

[ostrow]

Current inhabitants, all of whom I prefer to survive:

Desjardin Sailfin
Foxface Lo
Radiant Wrasse
Blue Spot Goby
3x Royal Gramma
Clown Goby
6x peppermint shrimp
2 starfish
snails/crabs
Acropora and Montipora of various makes and models

I recently removed a mystery wrasse implicated in the disappearance of several peppermint shrimp

I recently lost a cosmetus wrasse to old age who also was implicated earlier in the loss of the shrimp. Due to intermittent aiptasia blooms, the pepps are needed.

By "oddball" I'm thinking in the cow/frog/leaf/trigger/puffer fish range, but I need not be locked into those categories. Those seem all to have "problems" with my requirements!

Maybe try a magnificent fox face and a few wrasses like Cirrhilabrus or Halichoeres.

So, halichoeres are out. I don't think those puffers work either for the same reason.

Hadn't thought of the angles will look into that.

 

[ostrow]

How about pipefish?
Doryrhampus species do well in reef tanks and are not at all afraid of other fish.
And pipefish are about as oddball as it gets.

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So over two weeks in and that suggestion of Janssi pipefish was brilliant! Love these guys. They gobble up the hikari, even the small one. I have a bunch they will eat Rods Food and am going to try tomorrow.

Still impossible for me to discern gender but behavior suggests I may have gotten lucky and have a pair.

 

[ThRoewer]

Glad they worked out for you. I found them to be perfect for a reef tank.

Sexing is easiest by having a close look (if necessary with a magnifying glass) at their snouts. Females have a smooth back of their snout while males have a row of needle like structures along the back of their snout (see pictures in my thread about them in the Pipefish and Seahorse forum).

 

[ostrow]

I know what to look for, in theory. That's not the issue! The snouts are so tiny and these guys don't hold still. Tried photos and magnifying glass. Impossible so far.

Didn't touch Rods Original or Pacific Plankton.