NEW PIPEFISH

[Fish_are_fishfood]

Hey guys check out this little beauty which I was able to catch today. This is the first time that I have had a pipefish in my tank...Hope it lasts long
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=2/medium/IMG_4751.JPG
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=2/medium/IMG_4757.JPG
^ha, you can see a little mud crab in the stick behind him, which I also added today^

He is fully grown to, may just fatten up a lil, but 8" is about the max.

[Mourinho18]

:thumbsup: , very nice, im starting to really like our native fish

[Vitaliy]

Great looking fishy! :) Congrats!

[teleost]

Thats a pretty cool setup. I'll have a native brackish setup soon and wish I lived closer to the coast to get my own fish! If you want to swap fish from the midwest, let me know!

[sohfatfish]

Ive reared those before and they are really a pain in the ass when it comes to food. They are very picky and would only eat live foods that are small to fit into their mouths.

[Fish_are_fishfood]

Yeah, I am having a hard time trying to find him things to eat. HIS MOUTH IS SOOOOOOOOO SMALLLLLLLLL, they are like the size of a pecil tip. I know there are some small shrimps and such in my tank, but I don't know how long he will be able to last on that. I am going to try a brine shrimp set up, or see if I can get them frozen.

[guppy]

Many lfs sell brineshrimp in 1/2 - 1oz portions live.

[sohfatfish]

I think they can take daphnia and mosquitoe larvae as well...

[Fish_are_fishfood]

Many lfs sell brineshrimp in 1/2 - 1oz portions live.

Yeah, the only thing is, the closest fish store to me is about 1hr away. I am thinking that I may just return him, although he is awesome, I am not sure if I have the time to make sure he is eating. Getting brine shrimp to him will aslo be impossible unless I seperate him, because the minnows I have in there never get full and will eat up anything I put in there. There is another girl at my school though whos mom has a simialiar tank to mine, with a pipefish in it, so I may just see if she would liek it.

[mbhw]

I've kept them, they really need a peaceful tank and live/frozen brine, cyclops-eeze, things like that if you want them to eat.

[seighten]

exactly where in the states do you live that pipefish are natives??

[Fish_are_fishfood]

The east coast, Massacheusetts. I think they are all over New England, but I got rid of him, I wasnt sure how well he was eating and I didnt have the time to make sure he was...

[mbhw]

Fish are fishfood, I'm taking a page out of your book, I converted my 75 to sand and saltwater today, all I have to do is catch the sea robin! I'm thinking possibly a lizard fish, sea bass, or porgy as a tankmate.

[guppy]

There are 13 species of pipefish listed as native to US waters, between them they cover our coastal waters from Alaska to Maine, the 2 found commonly in the north east are the S. fuscus and less commonly the S. pelegicus., Almost every salt marsh or eel/turtle grass bed has them. this is the Northern pipefish which gets to 13" and lives from Canada to Florida.

[Fish_are_fishfood]

Fish are fishfood, I'm taking a page out of your book, I converted my 75 to sand and saltwater today, all I have to do is catch the sea robin! I'm thinking possibly a lizard fish, sea bass, or porgy as a tankmate.

In the great words of Lil John YEAH. :headbang2 Ha, you wont be disapointed, I think that our native saltwater fishes are highly under rated, they really are natural beauties and I am glad that you are setting one up yourself. I love it because there are always new things to add.
I just want to follow you now and upgrade to a 75 gallon. :grinyes:
Here is one of my latest pics of the tank...
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=2/medium/fishhhh_5_.JPG
Lately I have been seeing one needle fish down at the river that is always just out of my reach that I want to catch so badly, but I just dont have the time to get him...


And about what guppy was saying, the type that I see and caught was a S. fucus. Related to the pipefish, which is the Sea Horse, I would like to see if I can get one of these bad larrys. The Striped Seahorse is native to teh coast and although I have never seen it, one of my friends says he sees it when he goes snorkeling at a local beach, so maybe one day I can get a sea horse...

[mbhw]

The needles are cool, but so spooky I won't bother with one. I have so many off my dock all I would need is a cast net to get them, but I think the nervous nature of the needle would leave you with a broken jawed fish. Cool looking though! If I could get one of the tiny ones I occasionally see, that would work. I'm also debating sea bass, porgy, blackfish, bergall, flounder, and whatever else pops up.