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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5qcfIVT8Tc">Dragonface Pipefish Video</a>
The above video is not mine, although I do have video's the quality pretty much suck. You might have seen my avatar & some pics, yet there are very few members attempting to keep pipefish. I understand that Seahorses would be much more popular, however, they need their own "species only tank". Pipefish do not necessarily need that! Sweet!
In my tank, when non-reef keepers first see it, they look at the fish, of course! Then, the coral, clams, snails, urchins, etc. However, once I point out my pipes, they usually become mesmerized by them. like crazy. They are definitely my favorite fish to watch, barring something new (until the newness wheres off).
The point of this thread is to state that with the proper care, these unusual fish aren't as impossible as they seem! They are much easier than Seahorses in the sense that you don't need to have a tank just dedicated strictly for them. I've had this pair for about 3 years now, albeit they are difficult, they are far easier than most reefers are aware. Here are some tidbits:
1) you must purchase healthy specimens
2) your LIVE rock REEF tank must be at least one years old
3) you must have a huge & healthy fuge
4) your parems must be rock solid
...........so far, your tank basically needs to be setup up to support sps corals along with a few Mandarin's, but without the mandarin's.............
5) no fish that eat little fish! duh! ALL fish must be passive except for fish that mostly eat algae. At one time, I had a huge Yellow Tang, huge Royal Gramma, Talbot's Damselle, and Chromis and the pipes were all under their "radar range"! No issues at all! But please, no aggressive fish that eat fish! hawkfish, groupers, etc.
6) no aggressive inverts!
No aggressive crabs, anemone's, Aiptasia, aggressive shrimp, etc.
[IMG]http://www.chucksaddiction.com/hitchanemone.html">http://www.chucksaddiction.com/hitchanemone.html</a>
7) no corals that eat fish! no elephant 'shrooms, most lps, duncans, chalice's, etc.
8) The whole feeding concept is to take care of your pod population. Leave one wall of your tank untouched/ unscraped. Please restock Cheato, restock pods now & then, supplement LIVE phyto, have a pile of of rocks/shells in a low flow corner.
9) always feed some frozen cyclops & occasionally breed & feed baby live brine. very simple to do for under 20 bucks.
10) although reef water flow is fine, just make sure it's not maxed out all the time and shut it off for 10-20 minutes 3 to 4 times a day
OK, with all that said, my tank has had an infestation of Aiptasia, aggressive fish, fluctuations in temp, ph, Alk, and oxygen! I've had at least 3 power outages including a 4 hour 2 nights ago. I have 2 Tunze 6000 on a controller, so they don't get sucked in them. These guys are smart, very smart, so as long as you keep the food stocked, and they aren't part of the food chain, you are ok.
Other species of pipes are not so forgiving!
Post or PM with any questions!
The above video is not mine, although I do have video's the quality pretty much suck. You might have seen my avatar & some pics, yet there are very few members attempting to keep pipefish. I understand that Seahorses would be much more popular, however, they need their own "species only tank". Pipefish do not necessarily need that! Sweet!
In my tank, when non-reef keepers first see it, they look at the fish, of course! Then, the coral, clams, snails, urchins, etc. However, once I point out my pipes, they usually become mesmerized by them. like crazy. They are definitely my favorite fish to watch, barring something new (until the newness wheres off).
The point of this thread is to state that with the proper care, these unusual fish aren't as impossible as they seem! They are much easier than Seahorses in the sense that you don't need to have a tank just dedicated strictly for them. I've had this pair for about 3 years now, albeit they are difficult, they are far easier than most reefers are aware. Here are some tidbits:
1) you must purchase healthy specimens
2) your LIVE rock REEF tank must be at least one years old
3) you must have a huge & healthy fuge
4) your parems must be rock solid
...........so far, your tank basically needs to be setup up to support sps corals along with a few Mandarin's, but without the mandarin's.............
5) no fish that eat little fish! duh! ALL fish must be passive except for fish that mostly eat algae. At one time, I had a huge Yellow Tang, huge Royal Gramma, Talbot's Damselle, and Chromis and the pipes were all under their "radar range"! No issues at all! But please, no aggressive fish that eat fish! hawkfish, groupers, etc.
6) no aggressive inverts!
No aggressive crabs, anemone's, Aiptasia, aggressive shrimp, etc.
[IMG]http://www.chucksaddiction.com/hitchanemone.html">http://www.chucksaddiction.com/hitchanemone.html</a>
7) no corals that eat fish! no elephant 'shrooms, most lps, duncans, chalice's, etc.
8) The whole feeding concept is to take care of your pod population. Leave one wall of your tank untouched/ unscraped. Please restock Cheato, restock pods now & then, supplement LIVE phyto, have a pile of of rocks/shells in a low flow corner.
9) always feed some frozen cyclops & occasionally breed & feed baby live brine. very simple to do for under 20 bucks.
10) although reef water flow is fine, just make sure it's not maxed out all the time and shut it off for 10-20 minutes 3 to 4 times a day
OK, with all that said, my tank has had an infestation of Aiptasia, aggressive fish, fluctuations in temp, ph, Alk, and oxygen! I've had at least 3 power outages including a 4 hour 2 nights ago. I have 2 Tunze 6000 on a controller, so they don't get sucked in them. These guys are smart, very smart, so as long as you keep the food stocked, and they aren't part of the food chain, you are ok.
Other species of pipes are not so forgiving!
Post or PM with any questions!
