Baby pipefish what do I do

That is really cool.

Start hatching out baby brine shrimp eggs, rotifers if you can find some.

 

Id love a chance to work with those! It's on my list! Here's a link to Jim Welsh's breeder's log on MBI-for blue stripe pipes... he has done some great work... and is very good about documenting the little stuff- maybe you can read through his journal and glean some knowledge on them.

I know he feeds the babies rotifers, Acartia tonsa, Apocyclops pamanemsis, Parvocalanus crassiostris, hermit crab larvae. I have never had much success keeping up with hermit crab larvae but pending on how dedicated you are you can do rotifers easily, and parvo with some dedication.

Let me know if you have any specific questions.

I'd start with putting them in a flat fish bowl (1 to 2g, 2 would be better) though and adding a gentle airline. this will get them out of your main tank to start and they need nice and gentle flow to stay suspended in. Like this: (http://www.ebay.com/itm/OLDER-GLASS-FISH-BOWL-FLAT-SIDES-ROUND-GLASS-GLASS-FISH-BOWL-1-GALLON-/161097497428) This is what I use for anything that needs a kriesel, gentle turning. I do this with my peppermint shrimp.

use a turkey baster to suck up any waste on the bottom, replace water with clean aged saltwater.

 

like I said before I'd scoop them out and put them in another dish... something round so that the flow can be circular... even a dark colored 5g bucket would work... you can try dried roti's I fear that won't work though... as they need prey movement stimulation to encourage hunting/eating. But hey you never know- give it a shot! as for filtration just put an airline down in the bucket and siphon (turkey baster) off the bottom to clean up, replace the water with clean aged saltwater. That is your sole filtration to start with. This should be done everyday, or if your feeding dried roti's I would go back after an hour or so of feeding and try and clean up then so as not to muck up your water too quickly.

 

Here's the good stuff from Jim's journal that's pertinent to you right now.

Larval Tank Details
Temperature: Ambient room temp, low 70s F
Size of Larval Tank: Initially, a 2 gallon fishbowl kriesel.
Substrate Details: None
Other Tank Decor: None
Filtration Details: Live phytoplankton (Isochrysis and Thalassiosira).
Lighting: 13 watt fluorescent aquarium strip light placed over the fishbowl, later changed to a 6500K CFL in a clamp-on reflector fixture.
Lighting Cycle: Appx. 18 H on / 6 H off.
Water Changes: Small and frequent. As I turkey baste out waste, I top off the fishbowl with clean salt water.

Larval Feeding Details
Food Types: Rotifers, Acartia tonsa, Apocyclops pamanemsis, Parvocalanus crassiostris, hermit crab larvae.
Feeding Schedule: Just keep food items of all types present at all times. Most of them reproduce by themselves, once the tank is seeded and fed live phyto.

I really would encourage you to go read through it, if your series about raising these little guys (http://www.mbisite.org/Forums/tm.aspx?m=59836) if not then at least do a search on another breeders site for pipe fish.... MOFIB or MBI will be chalk full of information for you.

 

I've still got rotifers going, although I reduced the culture size. Might be able to help out.

 

there ya go!

 

Posted By nickbuol on 11/14/2013 11:29 AM

You bought them? I told you not to. /DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default/emoticons/wow.gif




Just FYI that success in rearing them is really, REALLY low unless you are already set up to handle it.


Take it from someone who had a dedicated seahorse tank years ago. Even with the best planning, you can have entire batches of young and not a single one survive until you get the hang of it (took us until our 3rd round of babies before we had any survivors, and even then it was only 6).

 

Agreed. Food is the most critical at that young of a stage.