Pipefish? I'm about to have an empty tank...

[Russel P]

I've got a 55 gallon that the current resident (clown trigger) is outgrowing. I really want to do something different with it when I buy the new tank for the trigger. I've researched octopi, sea dragons (PRICEY!), cuttlefish and many other oddballs, all seem to have their pros and cons. But pipefish and those orange spotted filefish really seem like a fun project. And catch my eye like few others...
The tank is healthy and mature (six years old), the only issue will be slowing the return pump's rate (easy enough to get a smaller return).
I have so many questions I don't know where to start... but I'll try.
1) Do any of you here have experience with pipes? Files?
2) Can they be kept with mandarins, seahorses, or other slow feeders? The idea of that tank containing pipefish and (hopefully) a filefish could keep me enthusiastic for ages.
3) Can pipes be weaned onto frozen foods?
4) Are they fun?!? By that I mean, are they reasonably showy, out in front often, any responsive behaviours?
5) Will they be like my seahorses, which were eating frozen food great until I fed them live a few times and then went Ghandi on me?
6) Is breeding seahorses a project you'd try with an empty 55, and simply scrap this idea?
7) Just for fun, if you guys moved a fish from a mature drilled 55 with great filtration, what would you do?

Thanks in advance!

[CarmieJo]

I don't know much about pipefish so I can't answer any of those questions. But, I am fascinated by cuttlefish and would get one in a heartbeat if the 55 was suitable for them.

[saxman]

you'd never be able to keep seadragons in a tank that size even if you wanted to spend the money, and could find them. cephs are cool, but have short lifespans...typically like 1-2yrs max.

as for the orangespotted file, they're obligate polyp eaters (SPS IIRC), and unless you can get one onto prepared foods, they typically starve in captivity.

now, PIPEFISH would be a good thing...if you keep any of the Doryhamphus sp., they will even tolerate the flow you have now. we keep D. janssi in our reef setup with no problems at all. they hunt pods as well as take frozen mysis. the only issues you'd have is keeping multiple males together, especially with the bluestripes, as they will fight to the death. a harem, or multiple females is fine.

another pipe that would work in a reef-type setting are the dragonfaced pipes. they'll slither around all over the place, and do well in groups.

if you change up the flow, you could keep alligator pipes, or any of the others. the alligators spend lots of time out in the open. they will actually sometimes hitch like a seahorse, and are sometimes reffered to as a "pipehorse", altho IMHO they REALLY are a pipefish.

[Seahorsedreams]

What happened with the seahorses? They converted back to live? Wanna tell me about what was going on? Do you still have them even?

[Russel P]

No, I traded the 5 of 7 surviving seahorses (maybe Kudas?) for some coral frags. It was bad timing since it was in July '05 (a HOT summer in these parts) when they mostly went off feed, and I don't have a chiller. I had high hopes and had seen breeding activity. I bought them as tank-bred from a LFS, but they were finicky feeders from the start. I kinda figured out that offering a little food all the freaking time seemed to be effective, even though clean up was way too much effort.
My LFS sold live everything: brine shrimp, vinegar eels, fruit flies, etc. so I bought some for my fish and couldn't resist treating the equestrians. I set up gallon jars for the BS (sorry for that abbreviation!) I threw everything at them that seemed an appropriate size, and they seemed to hunt with enthusiasm! It took several days before I could run out of brine, and I bought more. I recall one female greedily eating frozen without a thought after switching back and most others still ate if it drifted right by them. But in such a still tank, overall their feeding response really dropped off when a food item was just slowly drifting downwards.
Last time I talked to the guy I swapped them out with they were all alive and doing well and he had a pregnant male. I'd like to try them again, but the wasted food, frequent feedings, water changes, and cleanings has me worried. And, it gets really hot here in the summer so I'm skeptical about my chances of having success like I'd want.
For the record, the two that died had light patches on them and were the most "puny" of the bunch. I really enjoyed them, and knew them apart from each other within a week of bringing them home. I'll definitely keep them again one day. They are such cool specimens, and kids and visitors loved them.