 |
|
Pipefish
Note: There is an excellent scientific paper on keeping pipefish written by R. A. Burhans of the Scripps Institute. For anyone interested in these fish, it is essential reading, and can be downloaded here.
Pipefish are relatives of the seahorses and share many of the same problems when it comes to life in the aquarium. They are slow-moving, rather shy fish that find it difficult to compete with other fish at feeding time. Moreover, while they can ultimately be trained to take dead foods such as frozen mysis, to begin with you will need to supply them with a mixed diet of live foods, including brine shrimps, Daphnia, mosquito larvae, and bloodworms. Because of the plates that cover the body of these fish, it is difficult to tell whether they are well-fed or not, and it is entirely possible that specimens offered for sale at your tropical fish store have not eaten properly for weeks.
All pipefish are sociable and should not be kept alone. When happy, they will breed in captivity, and like seahorses, it is the male that carries the eggs in a special brooding pouch.
Enneacampus ansorgii is sometimes sold under the name Syngnathus pulchellus and is known as the African freshwater pipefish. It is a small fish, reaching a length of no more than 15 cm (6 inches). Both sexes have brick-red to orange bellies. It needs clean, oxygen-rich water but is not especially picky about salinity provided the water is hard and not acidic. It probably does best with a little salt added though, for a specific gravity of 1.002 to 1.005. This is a relatively benthic species, and will sometimes rest on the substrate or among plants.
Microphis brachyurus aculeatus (also known as Microphis smithi in older books) is a large species, up to 20 cm (8 inches) long, and is comparatively robust and easy to keep. Besides small insects and crustaceans, it will also eat very small fish, including livebearer fry. In the wild, this fish can be found in fresh, brackish, and marine waters, so can adapt to a variety of conditions. Thse pipefish are active swimmers and like to swim in the upper level of the tank beneath leaves and floating plants.