Tank size for a pair of dragon face pipes?

[leveldrummer]

Ive got a well established 60 gallon tank, Id like to house a pair of dragon face pipes in it, there are a few LPS corals, Ive heard this can be an issue that the can get stung/eaten. Would a tank this size have a sufficient pod population for a pair of these? Are they pigs like mandarins?

 

[ndnreefer]

I have never actually kept these guys but know many people who keep a pair in a mixed reef. Most of them have been 90g+ systems and all have been well established as well. Even a couple of them have actually seen them breed and have babies but none have ever survived. I do not see any problem with your set up. I would QT them first and see if you could get them trained onto frozen to supplement their diets. As for feeding them tend to graze throughout the day like a seahorse I would not think a pair would wipeout your population enough to keep it from restocking itself, but can not hurt to add pods every few months for a boost.

Good luck with your endeavor, post pics if you do get some.

 

[rssjsb]

How big is your fuge? And what else is in the tank? They are every bit as demanding as dragonets, in my experience. They hunt every waking moment.

 

[afishionado]

ndnreefer. You don't see any issue, with his setup, in housing a pair of Corythoichthys haematopterus ? You don't know/have any details of his system/setup, other than he has LPS corals in a 60G tank ...

Nothing about his pod populations(s), the flow rate, feeding regimen, his personal knowledge/care level, etc ... Nothing.

So, how can you give someone a potentially devastating (yes, potentially devastating ... to the pipefishes individual lives), good luck go ahead to someone who you know nothing about their setup ... ? Would you condone sending your mother, her life/well being dependent, to a nursing home where you know nothing about their care level/medical responsibility, practices, cleanliness, other than they say to you, over the phone, that they have a nice large facility that the only issue may be there's several flights of stairs your mom may fall victim to one day, possibly injuring or killing herself.

This is the problem with this site, and more importantly the hobby(ists) in general ... Nobody seems to hold the lives/well being/quality of life, of these amazing species/organisms/specimens, with the appropriate amount of seriousness !

Level drummer. Its great to see that you are seeking information/"intelligent/informed" advise/information regarding these wonderful species ... However, you should ultimately be considering whether or not you would wish to house a pair of mandarin dragonets in that system, and would be able to properly care for them to ensure they thrive in their survival, as the pipefishes feeding requirements are nearly identical ... If not even more demanding. They should really be kept in a "species specific biotope" ... Please provide more detailed information about your system, personal level of care/knowledge, etc and I would be much obliged to help further

 

[leveldrummer]

Thanks for the concern afishionado, I seriously doubt my setup would keep a pair of mandarins for long, thats why I asked for the comparison for their feeding habits, Im not sure if the pipes will eat as much/more/or less then the typical dragonette.

My system is a typical mixed reef, a few large LPS corals (hammers, frogspawn, duncan) many SPS, and some zoas/ricordea. 60 gallon, no fuge, just a skimmer. well maintained/relatively clean tank, standard pod population. Heavy load of 8 small fish, well fed, but not over fed to cause nuisance algae.

Ive been in the hobby for about 10 years, kept various sized reef tanks. at the end of this year I plan to upgrade for the 60 to a 190-250 tank which will eventually house a pair of mandarins and the pipe fish. I was asking if my tank would suffice simple incase I ran across a pair at a local store I could take the opportunity to get them since they are harder to find then the mandarins.

If you have any thing else youd like to know, just ask.

 

[JLynn]

They do need as much food as mandarins and other syngnathids. If you get some, you should wait until you upgrade. Also, if you are willing to order offline, Live Aquaria sells Dragonface Pipefish.

 

[NatureNerd]

Just as a little more input. I have a very old, well established 75g mixed reef with a fuge and a huge population of pods. I have a dragon faced pipefish that I got around five years ago. It has never eaten any food I have tried to feed it. It only eats what it can hunt. I am not sure my tank could support two of these fish.

Please also note that if you have any other fish in the tank that eats pods, you will not be able to keep a DFPF alive in anything but a large tank. Many of the wrasses and other species would out-compete the pipe and it would perish. They are great fish and very hardy but only in a tank with lots of pods. In that way they are tougher than dragonettes who can be taught to eat frozen foods.