what size the tank should be for pipefish?

[PaulKlein]

Hi, just new on the forum. Live in the netherlands/europe.

I'm keeping 1 pipefish all ready but like to set up a special tank for fish like pipefish , mandarins and alike.
What size should the tank be? Should keep the species in seperate tanks?
Thanks,
Paul:)

[hcs3]

hi paul

[welcome]

mixing pipefish is OK, provided you can supply enough food for all the fish involved. as always, the larger the aquarium the better off the fish will be. however, if you have to supplement feedings, it will be more difficult to get the prepared foods to the intended fish with the increased tank size. i found a well-aged 30g tank to be sufficient for 2 pipefish with supplemental feedings.

HTH

henry

[PaulKlein]

Henry, thanks for your reply.
The pipefish i have, a Doryrhamphus melanopleura according to your article and a D. excisus according to the books i have, lived together with 2 mandarins in a 260liter tank. They had plenty of food collecting from the 'live rock'. They rarely accepted frozen food like artemia because of the 3 Apogon leptacantus.
Unfortunately,1 mandarin died because a Fu Manchu died and posioned the tank, i guess. The second looked bad and transferred it to the reeftank in the living room where i'll probably will not see her (they were both females) because it is packed with fish but plenty of food from the rock. In that tank is also another dragonet, here we call them the LSD-dragonet, and that want has a big belly.
Paul