Stocking my nano. Help! Please..

Reefing8EZ · Dec 14, 2012

I am beginning to stock my 24G nano.
I want to do either:
1) Pair of BlueStripe Pipefish and Pair of Yellow Multibanded Pipefish. Will this work?
2) One male BlueStripe or one Yellow Multibanded with several females. Will this work and how many females will he accept?
Also want to add other inhabitants like:
Goby, Dragonet, or Firefish?? Maybe some inverts, like pistol shrimp, harlequin shrimp? Idk!
Please any advice or suggestions will be appreciated! Thanks in advance!

Pkunk35 · Dec 14, 2012

I'd say in a 24 the bluestripes are better choice just because they are smaller. Multibands are larger but also can be trained onto bigger frozen foods too. I did once keep 2 multibands in 24 cube but moved them out because I thought it was too cramped (they ate cyclops and mysis), whereas 2 bluestripes in a 20 did just fine (could only eat cyclops). I think a dragonet would compete with pipes for same food source so probably one or the other.

For inverts i think a white spot anemone shrimp would look pretty sweet in a corallimorph tank. I'm also partial to white anemone crabs as well.

Reefing8EZ · Dec 14, 2012

Bump!

Sfgiants55 · Dec 14, 2012

I wouldn't add a mandarin unless it eats prepared foods since the tank is new and not very big.

Reefing8EZ · Dec 14, 2012

Sfgiants55 said:
I wouldn't add a mandarin unless it eats prepared foods since the tank is new and not very big.

Pods are plenty. And lots of room, the pipes are very small. Im more worried about compatibility.
I really want to do two diff pairs of pipes but dont know if it can work? If it wont i want to try one male and several females of the same species. Then i want tankmates that are compatible with my main inhabitants.. Thanks for the reply!! :xd:

Reefing8EZ · Dec 14, 2012

Originally my plan was to do a nem only tank with a pair of either picasso or snowflakes but my wife loves the pipefish and mandarins. She also love yumas and rics. So, happy wife = happy life.
Would really love some help from the fish experts about compatibility.. :kiss:

Reefing8EZ · Dec 15, 2012

One last shameless, BUMP!! :nerd:

Mstansbery · Dec 15, 2012

Did you get my PM?? There shouldnt be any compatibility issues between Pipefish and Dragonets. They are probably well suited as tank mates IMHO.

Reefing8EZ · Dec 15, 2012

Mstansbery said:
Did you get my PM?? There shouldnt be any compatibility issues between Pipefish and Mandarines. They are probably well suited as tank mates IMHO.

I did, thanks! What about two diff pairs of pipes?

Bry · Dec 15, 2012

Can't give much input on the pipefish.. But following along because I love Pipes and want to keep them in the future. Can't wait to see some pics once you get them!

Mstansbery · Dec 15, 2012

Reefing8EZ said:
I did, thanks! What about two diff pairs of pipes?

YW! I think hobbyists tend not to mix species of seahorse for pathogenic reasons. (meaning one species may not be immune to a pathogen the other is carrying) I would guess the same philosophy would be applied to pipefish..? -Maybe some Syngnathidae breeders will chime in!![h=1][/h]

JuanGutz · Dec 15, 2012

Two pairs of pipe fish shouldn't be a problem, only thing is I don't think you know just how many pods they go through in a day your nano's population of pods wouldn't be able to keep up with 2 pair. You could do a weekly or biweekly dose of pods though to help replenish. Even with one pair I would dose pods monthly. I had a spotted mandarin in a 10g and dosed every month it was always fat and happy but that was just one. Just my .02 cents

good luck!

Reefing8EZ · Dec 15, 2012

Bry said:
Can't give much input on the pipefish.. But following along because I love Pipes and want to keep them in the future. Can't wait to see some pics once you get them!

I will be sure to post pics. Check out my tank thread in the corallimorph forum.

Mstansbery said:
YW! I think hobbyists tend not to mix species of seahorse for pathogenic reasons. (meaning one species may not be immune to a pathogen the other is carrying) I would guess the same philosophy would be applied to pipefish..? -Maybe some Syngnathidae breeders will chime in!![h=1][/h]

I have heard that about mixing pipefish and seahorse but no info on mixing 2 different species of pipefish. But all i read is that they are very peacedful and need peaceful tankmates. Hmmm..

JuanGutz said:
Two pairs of pipe fish shouldn't be a problem, only thing is I don't think you know just how many pods they go through in a day your nano's population of pods wouldn't be able to keep up with 2 pair. You could do a weekly or biweekly dose of pods though to help replenish. Even with one pair I would dose pods monthly. I had a spotted mandarin in a 10g and dosed every month it was always fat and happy but that was just one. Just my .02 cents good luck!

Thanks for the reply. I am going to give it a try, and i will make sure i have plenty pods for them all. Thanks!