Pipefish tank size and conditions

[MondoBongo]

i've been starting to look in to adding a display refugium to my rig, well, when i say "display refugium" what i really mean is a second tank plumbed in to the sump with my mixed reef.

i was starting to consider the inhabitants. the main reason for starting this is that i recently bought a harlequin shrimp, and think the main tank would be far too chaotic for him, so i am looking at the secondary tank of probably 10 - 25 gallons, tied in to the main sump.

as i've been looking at pipefish, most of the ones on LA are saying a 50 gallon tank size. what i wasn't sure of, was if this was because of required swimming room, or because of their specialized feeding requirements?

ideally i would like some soft corals, macro, starfish, and other inhabitants not suitable to be in a high flow SPS/LPS environment. i'm trying to gauge if any kinds of pipefish fit this bill.

thanks!

 

[vlangel]

Hi Mongo, I too have a 2nd tank plumbed into my sump, a display refugium of sorts for my 2 banded pipefish and 2 seahorses. Mine is a 30g XH, (the height is for the seahorses). The pipefish came from Ocean Rider, (seahorse.com)and are captive bred which is a plus because they eat frozen mysis. I'll include a picture of the tanks and also the pipefish. BTW, I am also in the Pittsburgh area. Go Pens and Steelers!

 

[MondoBongo]

fantastic! thank you for the reply, and go Pens/Steelers indeed. i'm so glad it is hockey season again.

those banded pipes are way cool, and one of the species i was thinking about keeping. i figured with a display fuge, or second tank really, i could have the benefits of the stability and pod production of a large water volume and sump area, but keep some more delicate things that would get chopped in my vortech's or stung by my LPS.

i've watched the pipes at Oddball quite a few times, and they don't seem to be big time swimmers, so i assume the suggested tank sizes have more to do with providing them adequate grazing area for benthic invertebrates.

 

[Betta132]

@vlangel, what is that adorable little pufferfish thing next to the pipefish? It's so cute and teeny!

 

[vlangel]

@vlangel, what is that adorable little pufferfish thing next to the pipefish? It's so cute and teeny!

Ha ha, it does look like a puffer in that pic but that is the face of one of my seahorses looking straight on at you.

 

[vlangel]

fantastic! thank you for the reply, and go Pens/Steelers indeed. i'm so glad it is hockey season again.

those banded pipes are way cool, and one of the species i was thinking about keeping. i figured with a display fuge, or second tank really, i could have the benefits of the stability and pod production of a large water volume and sump area, but keep some more delicate things that would get chopped in my vortech's or stung by my LPS.

i've watched the pipes at Oddball quite a few times, and they don't seem to be big time swimmers, so i assume the suggested tank sizes have more to do with providing them adequate grazing area for benthic invertebrates.

Yes, that is what I was thinking as well. I seeded the tank with pods for months before I added the seahorses and pipefish. The pipefish although trained on frozen mysis only ate pods for a month. They are a cool fish. I especially like watching them at night when the moonlight leds come on, they are more active then.

 

[Betta132]

Ah, now I see it. Seahorse.
I wish there was a puffy-thing that size, though.

Minimum tank size for a bluestripe pipefish is about 30 gallons. They're tiny and skinny and don't eat much. They also have these pretty flag-tails. I highly recommend one!