Please show your dragon face pipefish!

dantdodge

Member
I have been thinking about getting one of these for a mangrove tank that I will be setting up along with my sps tank. There was a thread started awhile ago in the pipe seahorse section and it seems that dragon face pipefish are becoming more popular in sps reefs aswell. Needless to say not a lot of pictures over in the other forum. if you have them post some pics and the region they are from! Thanks:dance:
 
You didn't happen to have red bugs and thinking of using this fish as natural control, did you? :)

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This guy even tried 2 types of dragonface and both completely ignore all red bugs just like the above:

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I think the dragonface is a fascinating fish but it seems to be more or less a hit or miss (more to the miss) when it comes to red bug controls.
 
You didn't happen to have red bugs and thinking of using this fish as natural control, did you? :)

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This guy even tried 2 types of dragonface and both completely ignore all red bugs just like the above:

dragonface-pipefish.jpg


I think the dragonface is a fascinating fish but it seems to be more or less a hit or miss (more to the miss) when it comes to red bug controls.

Lol no I have read many things about that and dont plan to use them for red bugs. I am very cautious about that and QT corals for four weeks before introducing them. I just wanted to see how many people out there actually keep them in an sps reef and have success. You dont know the regions the ones you showed me hear are from do you? I just think some are prettier then others. Thanks!
 
i have one in my 75 gal reef and he does just fine.he's been in there a year now. i do not know what region he came from, and sorry i would have to take a photo as i do not have any of this one.
 
Here is my old one. I had him for over three years. I did a semi-scientific study on Redbug populations when I had him. The short answer is that he did eat them but, there was not a significant difference in RB populations 3 months after he was added:

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Here is my new one, I have had him almost two years:

PipefishBlackWhiteS.jpg


Thankfully I have no more RB's but that is not because of him. DFPF are great fish, and a favorite of most of the people who come to look at my tank. They need a good pod population to thrive. My second one does not eat anything but pods. He won't even touch cyclopeeze. My first one loved it.
 
Those guys are awesome! What other fish are you keeping them with? I might have to look into one for my 180gallon! They are very cool
 
They are pretty cool. I had one in my 58 SPS tank and it eventually starved as there just wasnt enough pods/rock for him.
 
I am really interested in the region they are collected as I think some are much prettier then others, however any species are beautiful. Thanks for the responses guys if you come across where they might have come from shout it out here. Thanks again.
 
Here is my old one. I had him for over three years. I did a semi-scientific study on Redbug populations when I had him. The short answer is that he did eat them but, there was not a significant difference in RB populations 3 months after he was added:

DFPF3S.jpg


Here is my new one, I have had him almost two years:

PipefishBlackWhiteS.jpg


Thankfully I have no more RB's but that is not because of him. DFPF are great fish, and a favorite of most of the people who come to look at my tank. They need a good pod population to thrive. My second one does not eat anything but pods. He won't even touch cyclopeeze. My first one loved it.
Agh red bugs can be horrible, just from my own experience. See I think your first one is sooo awesome looking then your new one no fence. Thanks and awesome pictures.
 
i have a pair of dragon pipefish pinktail, i hardly see them eating all those foods im feeding to my fish all i know they survived in my tank for almost 4 months now. i don't even know what's their food in my tank all i know they control the RB's that's what they do in my tank.
 
i have a pair of dragon pipefish pinktail, i hardly see them eating all those foods im feeding to my fish all i know they survived in my tank for almost 4 months now. i don't even know what's their food in my tank all i know they control the RB's that's what they do in my tank.

Do you have any pictures or know where they were collected? If not get us a picture to look at. It sure does seem that they are hit and miss with the RB looks like you got a hit. Thanks for the post.:fun4:
 
Yes, these are very cool fish. They are very active and do not hide. They constantly hunt. Please read up on them if you are considering getting one. They are not for every tank. They almost always refuse anything that is not alive. They need to eat constantly. Sort of like a dragonet, but harder to get to eat frozen and they only eat the smallest of pods. Cyclopeeze is the largest food they can handle. Most won't touch it and only eat what they hunt.

Do not get one if you don't have a large and stable population of pods. Do not get one unless you have a lot of live rock and do not get one for a small tank. Do not get one if you have any other pod eating fish in your tank unless you have a very large tank. They will starve in those environments.

I think my 75g is just barely big enough for one and I have no competing fish, only herbivores and planktivores. I also have a very old and established tank. I would love to have a pair but I don't think my reef would support it.
 
A couple more things...

Both varieties are nice looking. My family likes the whiter version better but it is much harder to make look good in a photo. Trust me, both are cool looking.

Second point...

They don't control RB's. They may eat some, but not enough to make a difference. If you have RB's don't get a pipefish. You will eventually have to do the interceptor treatment and that hurt my pod population so badly that I lost my first pipe. I waited almost a year until I was convinced the pods had stabilized enough to get a new pipefish. Don't make the same mistake I did.
 
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