Bluestripe Pipefish lethargic and poor swimming

[OPUMILIO318]

Hello! I received 2 bluestripes yesterday and one is doing super well and the other has been super lethargic since arriving. He floats mostly on top and seems very unsteady, he can barely right himself. If I turn any flow at all on he can't swim well enough to control himself. He would stick to the intake if I didn't intervene. He looks physically ok and has no skin lesions, mucus, spots etc. And no obvious injury. Please help! Any idea what could be the issue and anything I can do? Thank you!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Start off with verifying the water quality and parameters. They are not picky but require a certain range with the tank parameters. Hopefully youre not relying on API test kits which are known to produce false readings hence the very low price for a master test kit.
Pipefish are tropical species; therefore, they prefer a bit of warm water. Try to maintain a temperature between 74° F (22° C) to 77° F (25° C).
Pipefish need alkaline water to survive. The pH level of the water in the fish tank that houses your Pipefish should be between 8.1 and 8.4.
The water has to be saltwater as that of its natural habitat. The gravity of the water should be between 1.021 and 1.025. It should have low ammonia and nitrates and the nitrite level should be less than 0.2 ppm.
The carbonate hardness of your water should be between 8-12 dKH. Try to check on the hardness of your water on a weekly basis. You should check the water quality of the water at least once a week. Do not change the entire water all of a sudden as doing so will remove all the beneficial bacteria as well as creating a lot of difficulties for your pipefish to adapt. Replace 10-20% of the total volume of the water every two to four weeks.

How were they acclimated and for how long ?

 

[OPUMILIO318]

Start off with verifying the water quality and parameters. They are not picky but require a certain range with the tank parameters. Hopefully youre not relying on API test kits which are known to produce false readings hence the very low price for a master test kit.
Pipefish are tropical species; therefore, they prefer a bit of warm water. Try to maintain a temperature between 74° F (22° C) to 77° F (25° C).
Pipefish need alkaline water to survive. The pH level of the water in the fish tank that houses your Pipefish should be between 8.1 and 8.4.
The water has to be saltwater as that of its natural habitat. The gravity of the water should be between 1.021 and 1.025. It should have low ammonia and nitrates and the nitrite level should be less than 0.2 ppm.
The carbonate hardness of your water should be between 8-12 dKH. Try to check on the hardness of your water on a weekly basis. You should check the water quality of the water at least once a week. Do not change the entire water all of a sudden as doing so will remove all the beneficial bacteria as well as creating a lot of difficulties for your pipefish to adapt. Replace 10-20% of the total volume of the water every two to four weeks.

How were they acclimated and for how long ?parameters are

 

[OPUMILIO318]

Start off with verifying the water quality and parameters. They are not picky but require a certain range with the tank parameters. Hopefully youre not relying on API test kits which are known to produce false readings hence the very low price for a master test kit.
Pipefish are tropical species; therefore, they prefer a bit of warm water. Try to maintain a temperature between 74° F (22° C) to 77° F (25° C).
Pipefish need alkaline water to survive. The pH level of the water in the fish tank that houses your Pipefish should be between 8.1 and 8.4.
The water has to be saltwater as that of its natural habitat. The gravity of the water should be between 1.021 and 1.025. It should have low ammonia and nitrates and the nitrite level should be less than 0.2 ppm.
The carbonate hardness of your water should be between 8-12 dKH. Try to check on the hardness of your water on a weekly basis. You should check the water quality of the water at least once a week. Do not change the entire water all of a sudden as doing so will remove all the beneficial bacteria as well as creating a lot of difficulties for your pipefish to adapt. Replace 10-20% of the total volume of the water every two to four weeks.

How were they acclimated and for how long ?

Parameters are all in check, the tank has been established for a long time. In addition the other Bluestripe, other pipes, and seahorses are all doing great and no else is having issues. The blues were 1st temp acclimated for 30 min and drip acclimated 20min. Temp is 74. Do bluestripes have any common pathologies that present like this?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Parameters are all in check, the tank has been established for a long time. In addition the other Bluestripe, other pipes, and seahorses are all doing great and no else is having issues. The blues were 1st temp acclimated for 30 min and drip acclimated 20min. Temp is 74. Do bluestripes have any common pathologies that present like this?

swim bladder or internal infection is a possibility. Acclimation should have been well over an hour

 

[bherbold8]

I probably got lucky. I drip acclimated this guy for probably 20 minutes and he's been doing great. Seems to like frozen baby brine shrimp as well, and I've heard fish eggs are a favorite .

 

[bherbold8]

See if this works....been having trouble posting videos on this site

 

[ThePurple12]

Controversial opinion, but I believe acclimating fish for more than 20 mins is completely unnecessary. I’ve even seen no ill effects from just dumping the fish in the tank straight from the bag. Pipefish are no exception.

Vetteguy, what makes you say pipefish need high pH?

OP, how’s the bluestripe doing? I don’t know if there’s anything you can do/could’ve done.

 

[thecodingart]

swim bladder or internal infection is a possibility. Acclimation should have been well over an hour

You’re not supposed to do anything beyond temperature acclimation with seahorses — pipefish are pretty much the same.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hello! I received 2 bluestripes yesterday and one is doing super well and the other has been super lethargic since arriving. He floats mostly on top and seems very unsteady, he can barely right himself. If I turn any flow at all on he can't swim well enough to control himself. He would stick to the intake if I didn't intervene. He looks physically ok and has no skin lesions, mucus, spots etc. And no obvious injury. Please help! Any idea what could be the issue and anything I can do? Thank you!

Please provide video if still thriving