Pipefish Rock!!!

Bob Burhans sent me this, too! I gotta get a pipefish!


PIPEFISH HUSBANDRY AND PROPAGATION
 
Robert A. Burhans, Aquarium Curator
Birch Aquarium at Scripps, Scripps Institution of Oceanography,
UCSD
9500 Gilman Drive • Dept. 0207
La Jolla, CA 92093-0207
Ph. (858) 534-7188/Fax (858) 534-7114
 
 
INTRODUCTION
 
     Professional and home aquarists alike have long shared a
tremendous interest in the husbandry and propagation techniques
required to keep seahorses. Their unusual body shape and their
uncanny facial resemblance to terrestrial horses are two key reasons
for the great popularity of these animals. Often overlooked is the
fascinating cousin of the seahorse, the pipefish.
 
     Together with seahorses, pipefishes belong to the family
Syngnathidae. Pipefishes inhabit warm and temperate seas, and
several species are found in fresh water. These unusual fishes
possess a long, tubular snout, terminating in a cylindrical mouth,
and an elongated body, which ranges in length from 2.5 to 46 cm (1
to 18 in.) and is covered with rings of bony plates. Pelvic fins are
absent, and the remaining fins are minute. Pipefishes feed on tiny
crustaceans and may change colors in response to varying light
conditions.
 
     Pipefishes are, like seahorses, collected from the wild for the
Chinese medicinal trade, although apparently in somewhat smaller
quantities. Pipefishes are considered more medicinally potent than
seahorses; ground and mixed with various herbs, they are used for
“whole-body”  treatment, whereas the less-potent seahorse is
generally used to target specific ailments.
 
     Most public aquariums displaying pipefishes do so as part of a
major seahorse exhibit, portraying the pipefish as a potential
evolutionary predecessor of the seahorse. Some other aquariums
display local species of pipefish to illustrate “cryptic” behavior, the
ability to camouflage themselves by changing color to blend into
their surroundings.
 
METHODS
 
     A pipefish questionnaire was prepared and sent to approximately
220 professional aquarists, amateur aquarists, and researchers.
Areas covered in the questionnaire were husbandry, morphology,
water quality parameters, food requirements, tankmates,
propagation events, and disease observations and treatments.
 
     Follow-up calls were made to questionnaire respondents, and
additional contacts who had been recommended by respondents
were interviewed by telephone.  Internet searches and searches of
scientific publications located in the library of the Scripps Institution
of Oceanography turned up very little useful information. Word of
mouth continues to be the aquarist’s most valuable source for useful
information about specimen care in captivity.
 
RESULTS (Husbandry)
 
Feeding
 
     The husbandry requirements of most pipefishes are similar to
those of seahorses. Display tank sizes are kept relatively small to
ensure that food concentrations can be maintained at sufficient
levels for the animals to easily obtain adequate amounts. This is
especially important for the smaller genera Corythoichthys,
Doryrhamphus, Dunkerocampus, and Halicampus. These genera are
usually maintained in coral sand with rubble habitats. This
environment allows them plenty of areas in which to hide, and in
addition helps promote the growth of amphipods and other
crustaceans, which provide an important alternate food source for
the pipefish.
 
     One of the most difficult tasks in maintaining pipefishes is to
provide foods that they can readily consume and which provide
adequate and appropriate nutrients. In the wild, these fishes
consume large quantities of planktonic crustaceans. It follows that
pipefishes maintained in captivity prefer live foods. Obtaining these
much-needed live foods can be difficult, and to provide them
exclusively and consistently is not always possible.  Thus, Artemia
are often provided, but Artemia, both juvenile and adult, must be
soaked with nutrient enrichment formulas before feeding them out.
Even with this enrichment, specimens fed only Artemia quite often
deteriorate after a few months. With a little effort, pipefishes, like
seahorses, can be trained to feed on frozen mysis shrimp and krill.
These foods provide a more beneficial nutrient base and resemble
the pipefish’s natural prey. Many frequent feedings are required and
the food must be kept moving to simulate live plankton.
 
     Pipefishes, like seahorses, do not compete well for food against
the more agile finned fishes. These shy animals rely on their cryptic
ability to avoid predation and to approach their own prey. It is very
difficult to provide enough food to sustain pipefishes while
displaying them with other more active specimens. Even other
somewhat slow moving species such as gobies and killifish easily
out-compete the pipefish. On the other hand, pipefishes tend  to
out-compete their slower-moving seahorse cousins. Most of the
facilities responding to the questionnaire have had success with a
combination of live and frozen mysis shrimp and live and frozen
Artemia (Table 1).
 
     Proper nutrition is critical to the young pipefish’s survival. Many
facilities raise phytoplankton and rotifers as primary feed for the
young. There are many additives now available to enhance the
nutritional value of rotifers. These additives can be very effective at
increasing the survival rate of the young. This is especially true for
those species that are tiny at birth. Care must be taken not to allow
excess additives to accumulate in the grow-out tank. They can easily
pollute the tank and lead to a toxic tank syndrome, and total tank
failure.
 
     There should be two to three scheduled feedings per day,
depending on the size of the young. It is important not to overfeed,
as this can cause undue stress to the young and pollute the tank.
Between all feedings, the bottom of the tank should be siphoned to
prevent a build-up of waste materials. It is suggested that chopped
pieces of mysis shrimp be added to the grow-out tank each day to
stimulate the animals’ production of enzymes needed to digest
mysis shrimp later in life.
 
Disease
 
     Pipefishes are subject to many of the same diseases, parasites,
and other maladies as the seahorse. It is suggested that all routine
quarantine protocols be strictly followed when working with these
specimens. Outbreaks of Cryptocaryon irritans and Gyrodactylus sp.
have been reported. Fortunately the normal treatments for these
parasites have proven to be successful on adult specimens. Juveniles
and smaller specimens should be treated with reduced doses. Fish
TB was diagnosed at the London Zoo and treated with malachite
green. This treatment was only successful on adults. Fungal
outbreaks have been treated successfully with copper sulfate at the
Birch Aquarium at Scripps.
 
     The presentation of frozen foods can also lead to health
problems. The Vancouver Aquarium has found that even a slight
rancidity of the food can lead to immune system compromise, the
results of which may not be observed until much later. Disease and
treatment information provided by questionnaire respondents is
presented in Table 2.
     
Tankmates
 
     It is best to maintain pipefishes in tanks that closely simulate
their natural environment. In the natural environment, however, food
does not often present itself as occurs in a controlled setting; the
pipefishes must forage for themselves using specialized feeding
strategies. The specific techniques which have evolved to help the
pipefish find shrimp in rocky coral rubble or seagrass beds may
place the pipefish at a disadvantage in the confines of the display or
research tank. The relatively sedentary pipefish does not compete
well with the fleeter and more agile finned fishes.
 
     Most facilities contacted do, nevertheless, display pipefishes in
community tanks. Tankmates in coral reef habitats tend to be
invertebrates such as soft coral, snails, cucumbers, shrimp, scallops,
and hermit crabs. Vertebrate tankmates included other pipefishes,
seahorses, angelfish, surgeonfish, and anemonefish. Tankmates in
temperate waters were algae, snails, seastars, tunicates, seahorses,
surfperch, and other pipefishes (Table 3).
 
     Pipefishes are susceptible to aggression from tankmates that nip,
bite, or sting. Injuries caused by crabs, other fishes, and anemones
can be very serious. For a fish born with poor mobility, any injury
can be life threatening. Care must be taken to avoid the loss of
pipefish specimens as a result of tankmate aggression.
     
Propagation
 
     There is very little information available on the subject of captive
pipefish propagation (table 4). The key to successful propagation of
syngnathid specimens is in maintaining a healthy brood stock.
Natural habitats and deep tanks that allow ample vertical space for
the pipefish’s courting dance are also important. Providing adequate
nutrition, as previously discussed, leads to the production of larger,
healthier offspring that are more likely to prove viable.
 
     Once the offspring have been produced they should be removed
from the adult tank and placed in grow-out tanks. If they are not,
these tiny replicas of the slow moving adults will most likely end up
in a filter system. The grow-out tank should be fairly small. This will
ensure that the food remains concentrated. A mild filtration such as
a sponge filter or its equivalent is recommended. At the Birch
Aquarium at Scripps we use 25-liter pseudokreisels to raise the
young. The psuedokreisel keeps the young pipefishes and their food
supply constantly moving, simulating a planktonic environment.
 
     Most pipefish propagation successes have occurred with the
larger genera Syngnathoides and Syngnathus. Juveniles of these
genera can feed on newly hatched Artemia. At the Birch Aquarium at
Scripps we have the greatest success when the Artemia are hatched
after just one day. The percentage of Artemia hatching is lower at
this early stage, but they are smaller upon hatching and much easier
for the newborn pipefish to swallow.
 
SUMMARY
 
     In conclusion, it is painfully obvious that very little research has
been done to determine the requirements for the propagation of
pipefishes in captivity. What work has been done has involved only a
small percentage of the approximately 190 known species.
 
     When I questioned Mr. Pan Quong, Ascidian Aquarium Systems,
Australia, on the subject of captive pipefish propagation, he said,
“I’m sure we can propagate the pipefish, but at this time, I’m not,
because there is no demand.” He currently focuses on the
propagation of the more lucrative seahorse specimens.
 
     The demand for pipefishes is currently being met by collection
from the wild. If this practice continues, we may see the same
decline of pipefish populations that we have seen with seahorses. At
this time it is not feasible for aquaculturists working for profit to
attempt their propagation. As home aquarium systems and amateur
aquarists become more sophisticated, and as more and more people
explore alternative health care, we will almost certainly observe a
dramatic increase in the demand for pipefishes, and hence in their
collection from the wild. Captive propagation programs can reduce
the impact on wild populations of the increasing demand for
pipefishes in the pet and healthcare industries. The time is right for
public aquariums and researchers to perfect propagation techniques
for this fascinating pre-evolutionary relative of the seahorse.
 
 
REFERENCES
 
Garrick-Maidment, N., 1997. Seahorses: Conservation and Care.
Kingdom Books, England.
 
Lourie, S.A., Vincent, A..J., and Hall, H.J., 1999.  Seahorses: An
Identification Guide to the World’s Species and their Conservation.
Project Seahorse, London UK.
 
Michael, S.W., 1998. Reef Fishes: A Guide to Their Identification,
Behavior, And Captive Care. Microcosm Ltd, Shelburne, VT