jumpinjoker November 21, 2011 Share November 21, 2011 I just got a dragonface pipefish. Any advice on feeding care etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan November 21, 2011 Share November 21, 2011 Same as a mandarin and all other dragonettes. They need an established tank with lots of copepods or they will starve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumpinjoker November 21, 2011 Author Share November 21, 2011 Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad November 21, 2011 Share November 21, 2011 Same as a mandarin and all other dragonettes. They need an established tank with lots of copepods or they will starve. +1, this is a reasonable starting point. I just got a dragonface pipefish. Any advice on feeding care etc? Questions that I HIGHLY suggest you know the answer to BEFORE you bring them home. ESPECIALLY for special needs species like these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt LeBaron November 22, 2011 Share November 22, 2011 Not to seem like a jerk or anything but as jumpinjoker already has the pipe fish advice other than "You're basically screwed" might be a bit towards the helpful side of things. There is an EXCELLENT article in the latest Coral magazine about getting mandarin fish to eat frozen food, I would highly suggest trying to find that article as I believe you could use a very similar method with a pipefish. Beyond that find a LFS that carries live adult brine shrimp. (not sure where you live but House of Tropicals in Glen Burnie and Aquarium Depot in Randellstown both do) I keep a 2 gallon bucket that I keep a supply in and feed them phytoplankton to keep them alive until feeding. The phyto also helps to enrich them although I would HIGHLY recommend getting some Selcon and putting the adult brine shrimp in a small cup with some Selcon for 20-30 minutes before feeding. Ideally you target feed the pipefish, get a turkey baster and squirt them near him and monitor him to make sure that he is eating. You'll need to do this at LEAST twice a day, three would be best initially until you can be sure he is eating regularly and then you can go back to twice a day. In the long term you want to get him to eat frozen but in the short term to keep him alive and fatten him up a bit (he probably hasn't eaten properly in weeks during capture and transit) adult brine shrimp that have been enriched might work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watson_barrett November 25, 2011 Share November 25, 2011 I have had a mated pair for over two years and did nothing but pu them in a well est tank Like others have said it should be fine if plenty of pods are in there and a lot of rockwork Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gizmoody November 26, 2011 Share November 26, 2011 Pods of course and also oyster eggs worked. Mine didn't eat red bugs :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now