Where to get M/F pair of Bluestripe Pipefish?

[penfold2]

So I've read that these guys are very territorial and will kill others of the same sex. I really want a pair, but they have to be male and female. Does anyone know of a place that sells pairs? LiveAquaria usually has them in stock, but I've heard that they won't specify sex. Is my only option to try to get them through an LFS?

 

[rlpardue]

I want to say that it's fine to have multiple females and one male, but I'd feel more comfortable if somebody else confirmed this before you try it.

If LA won't specify sex then I'd do the LFS option.

 

[rssjsb]

I had two small specimens that I thought were both females (round bellies, no snout bumps). I added them to the same QT and the larger killed the smaller one with in a day. I took from this that (1) they were both actually males; (2) females without a male also will not tolerate one another; or (3) the dominant one was an aberration. Two seems the most likely, but I haven't repeated the test.

 

[penfold2]

I want to say that it's fine to have multiple females and one male, but I'd feel more comfortable if somebody else confirmed this before you try it.

I've heard this as well, but they still need to be sexed to ensure that I'm not getting more than one male.

I had two small specimens that I thought were both females (round bellies, no snout bumps). I added them to the same QT and the larger killed the smaller one with in a day. I took from this that (1) they were both actually males;

This also worries me. Sexing young pipes may be difficult, especially for someone like me with no experience differentiating the two.

(2) females without a male also will not tolerate one another; or (3) the dominant one was an aberration. Two seems the most likely, but I haven't repeated the test.

I've also heard of females fighting without a male. It seems that having one, and only one, male in any group is the key.

 

[rssjsb]

They're actually not hard to sex as adults. Also, DD occasionally has pairs or even trios, although I haven't seen any lately.

 

[penfold2]

Thanks. I'll keep my eye on DD and maybe see what my LFS says about getting some.