I work at a LFS and freshwater pipefish came up on my order sheets. I expected they were a smaller species and ordered 4, because I'm an idiot. Instead I received one huge boaja. It lives alone in a planted 20 long and eats guppy fry, small neocaridina shrimp, daphnia, copepods, scuds, and mosquito larvae. All of which I'm now culturing.
This fish rules my life. I live in fear it will go one minute too long without eating. I've had to network to get cultures. I've killed so many daphnia trying to figure out how to culture them and still haven't quite gotten it down inside. I'm intentionally leaving trays of water all over my property to lure in mosquitos to steal their larvae, guys. And mosquito season is ending soon.
Do not even think about getting pipefish unless you have proven established food sources for them. They will not eat dry, they will maybe eat frozen if they mistake it for something alive. This is an incredibly difficult fish that is only worth the work because it is stunningly beautiful and has fascinating behaviors. Regardless, I do not recommend them.
Posted by fifteenlostkeys