Janss' Pipefish

Janss' pipefish stands out with its three-colored pattern: the middle of the body is bright orange, the head and tail sections are bluish, and its fan-shaped tail is black with a white edge and a white blotch in the center. In the wild it lives in rock crevices, sponge-filled caves and under large table corals. It is one of the few cleaner pipefish: pairs set up a cleaning station at the mouth of a cave and pick parasites off the skin of cardinalfish and damsels. Unlike seahorses it is not listed by CITES. Specimens are wild-collected; it is not considered a hardy species.

• At least 150 liters for a pair; a mature reef with plenty of live rock and shaded caves.
• Salinity specific gravity 1.023–1.026, pH 8.1–8.4, temperature 24–27°C.
• A rich copepod population in the rocks and the refugium; pump intakes must be guarded with sponges.
• Reef-safe: It leaves corals alone; stinging corals and anemones can injure it.

Carnivorous. It prefers live copepods; over time it gets used to frozen cyclops, small mysis and enriched brine shrimp. Because it has no stomach it must be fed small amounts 2–3 times a day.

Peaceful; it may also clean the fish in the aquarium. Fast-eating fish snatch its food; some blennies and wrasses may pick at it.

Good companions: Cardinalfish, small and calm gobies, firefish, cleaner shrimp, snails.

Avoid: Dottybacks, hawkfish, large wrasses, pufferfish and triggerfish, greedy damsels.