Question: Are Pipe Fish Reef safe?

[NYWinter]

Are Pipe Fish Reef safe?

[keckles]

i read about some and it says they will not harm corals, but corals will harm them and that they should be kept in seperate species only takes for the best results, however im sure the experts will have more in-depth information and opinions for you, good luck

[ozadars]

Some corals, most anemones and some other inverts will harm them. High flow is not also good for them. However you can keep them in a reef tank specially created for them which doesnt house inverts and fish thats harmful to pipes.

[monkey21]

they are mainly found in macro
no corals or rock really in their natural area
also the macro offers hiding that they need
no macro would probably put stress on them

[mellen]

In a long/large tank, could give them their own zone on one side. Caulerpa prolifera or turtle grass in deep area of live sand, minimized flow. Plants will keep it clean, use up detritus byproducts and neither those two species likely to "go sexual" or migrate from the sand bed. Still would research to make sure other fish, inverts are not keen enough to wiggle in there to snack on pipes. They tend to freeze;"we're just plant fronds, really!", when confronted by a threat. Very smart fish, stomatopods, crabs, and cephalopods are not fooled for long, and get bored enough to take the time/trouble to get at pipefish & seahorses.

[NYWinter]

Thanks all for the good information

[coralnut99]

I've had 2 Jans pipes in a mixed reef for about 2 years now. They are very smart indeed and do just fine swimming primarily through the bigger openings in the rock. If your live rock is very tightly stacked, they may have trouble finding their comfort zone. Also have a dwarf pipe (forget sp.) in a prop. tank for about a year. No ill effects to corals certainly, and as said above, some LPS can grab hold of them. If you have a "mystery crab" he may do them harm. In any case you can say goodbye to any pods in your tank.

[xcreonx]

some pipefish will help your SPS corals by eating the 'red bugs' people seem to dread.

The Dragonface Pipefish (Corythoichthys haematopterus) eats these bugs:

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...=21&pCatId=282

incidentally, i've had a dusky pipefish in my reef for a year and no issues at all. i have a section for him with macros, seagrass and other plants. lots of pods. he's very happy.

[Fredfish]

xcreonx. Do you find that the pipefish sticks to the area you created for it or does it wander all over the tank.

I have this fixation with setting up a larger (130 to 180g) tank and having one end as a seagrass bed. The other side would be a higher flow rock rubble area with zoos and possibly some sps. There would be an open sand area between.

I have been wondering if pipes and seahorses would stick to the lower flow seagrass side.

Fred.

Oh yes, when I went diving in Oz, we found pipes at 30 metres at the bottom of a coral bomie with not a blade of seagrass in site. I never asked the dive master about it, but he didn't seem surprised that they were there.

[Bluetangclan]

I have done alot of research on pipes. There is no one environment they come from. They can be found in sandy lagoons with little to no water flow to seaward sides on reef faces in high turbulence, from rocky bottoms to sagassum rafts offshore in deep water. You just have to do your research on the individual type of pipe. The ones that are local here in GA I find dont care about high current and swim just fine in it. Personally I find them much easier to take care of than sea horses now that my wildcaught is eating frozen mysis and I do not have to target feed them.