Bluestripe Pipefish

The bluestripe pipefish is a small, colorful species from the same family as seahorses (Syngnathidae). On both sides of its pencil-thin orange–yellow body, a bright blue stripe runs from the tip of the snout to the tail; its tail opens like a small fan. It catches small crustaceans by sucking them in with its tubular snout. It is a shy fish that hides in rock crevices and under overhangs.

Legal note: unlike seahorses, pipefish are not listed by CITES. Individuals are usually collected from the wild; choose a fish or pair that you have seen eating frozen food in the store.

It lives in lagoons and on outer reefs at 2–50 meters, in rock and coral crevices and under overhangs. It is often seen in pairs. It feeds on small crustaceans and plankton; it has occasionally been observed cleaning parasites from the skin of other fish.

• Volume: at least 100 liters for a pair; a mature reef or nano reef with plenty of live rock.
• Water: salinity 1.023–1.026 specific gravity, pH 8.1–8.4, temperature 24–27°C.
• Live food source: a population of copepods and amphipods living in the rocks and the refugium (a separate algae compartment) makes a large contribution to its diet.
• Flow: moderate; pump and overflow intakes must be protected with sponge.
• Reef compatibility: reef safe; it leaves corals and shrimp alone. Stinging corals and anemones, however, can injure it.

Carnivorous. Offer frozen cyclops, copepods, small mysis and enriched brine shrimp; the pieces must be small enough to fit in its mouth. Because it has no stomach, it should be fed small amounts 2–3 times a day. Offering food near rock crevices, at a spot with gentle flow, makes things easier for it.

Peaceful and shy. Fast, greedy fish snatch its food, so it should be kept with calm tankmates. Two males of the same species may attack each other.

Good companions: small, calm gobies, firefish, cardinalfish, small blennies, cleaner shrimp, snails.

Avoid: dottybacks, hawkfish, large wrasses, puffers and triggerfish, damsels and tangs that snatch food quickly, stinging corals and anemones.

Keeping it as a pair is recommended; it is monogamous and pairs stay bonded. Several pairs can be kept in a large aquarium, but two males may fight.

As in seahorses, the male carries the eggs: the female attaches her eggs to the brooding area on the underside of the male's body, and the male carries them until they hatch. Males carrying eggs are often seen in the aquarium; because the fry need very small live food (rotifers, copepod nauplii), raising them is difficult.

• Starvation: the most common cause of loss; do not buy one without seeing it eat.
• Internal parasites and bacterial infections: seen especially in wild-caught fish.
• Pump injuries: it can get caught on unprotected intakes.

A male carrying eggs is easy to recognize by the egg cluster on the underside of its body. At other times it is difficult to tell the sexes apart externally.