ok I am still in the process of fixing up a 20gal long aquarium its been at least a couple of months now and i haven't put any live stock in yet.. I can never choose what fish i want to keep or much more important then that its hard for me to come up with money as a college student. Pipefish are so cool.. does anyone know any readings i can read about them or good resources. also would they do good in a 20 gal long if it were FOWLR. I really need to find a job :p

it depends on which pipes you decide to keep. the "flagfin" or "reef" pipes of the genus Doryhamphus or dragon-faced pipes (genus Corythoicthys) would do fine in a FOWLR setup. we keep D. janssi in our reef, and she does wonderfully, swimming in and out of the rockwork and overhangs. she even exhibits the cleaner behavior when she's in the mood. dragon-faced pipes are a bit tuffer to get onto frozen food than flagfins.

for "grassbed" or estuary pipes such as the gulf pipes or alligator pipes, a grassbed-type setup with macro algae such as C. prolifera is a better choice.

either setup does best with a fuge, as this will provide a food source thruout the day between feedings. even a HOB fuge or converted HOB filter helps.

as for reading, there's not really much out there...even less than good, up-to-date info on SH. most pipe keepers are blazing new trails, altho many lessons learned from SH apply to them.

HTH