Dragon Pipefish
From Microcosm Aquarium Explorer
Pipefishes are closely related to the seahorses and need live foods and expert care. Scott W. Michael
[edit] Overview
Like their close relatives the seahorses, these fishes require live food and often have a difficult time competing with fish tankmates. While some species can be kept in reef tanks with productive refugia, most perish in the home aquarium. Best reserved for experts only.
Family: Syngnathidae
Other common name(s):
- Messmate Pipefish
Native range:
Habitat: Quiet shallow areas with sandy or rubble-strewn bottoms near reefs and in lagoons.
Maximum length: 19.8 cm (8 in)
Minimum aquarium size: 38 L (10 gal)
Water: Marine 24 °C (297 K, 75 °F) - 28 °C (301 K, 82 °F)
General swimming level: Bottom.
[edit] Feeding
Be ready to offer live foods, such as enriched adult brine shrimp, juvenile ghost shrimp, or mysid shrimp. They will do better in a large, well-established reef system without direct competitors for bottom-dwelling small crustaceans such as amphipods.
[edit] Aquarium Compatibility
Must be housed with passive tankmates that tend to stay in midwater or the upper reaches of the aquarium.
[edit] Special Care
Before purchasing a pipefish, be sure the tail is intact and the integument of the bony body is not sloughing off (bacterial infections are often seen in specimens that have had a rough time in transit or that have been picked on by tankmates).
[edit] Breeding/Propagation
Adults are usually seen in pairs and should be acquired in the same way. Males carry the eggs in brood pouch located under the tail.
| Common name | Dragon Pipefish +, and Messmate Pipefish + |
| Family | Syngnathidae + |
| Genus | Corythoicthys + |
| Image credit | SWM + |
| Maximum length | 8 in + |
| Minimum aquarium size | 10 gal + |
| Native range | Indo-Pacific + |
| Reference | 101 Best Saltwater Fishes + |
| Specific name | haematopterus + |
| Swimming level | Bottom. + |
| Text credit | SWM + |
| Water max temp | 301 K (28 °C, 82 °F) + |
| Water min temp | 297 K (24 °C, 75 °F) + |
| Water type | Marine + |