Keeping Harlequin Ghost Pipe fish?  4/7/08
Dear Bob
<Brett>
I am wondering if it is possible to keep Harlequin Ghost Pipefish - Solenostomus paradoxus in a reef tank.
<I've wondered about this as well... have rarely seen Solenostomids offered for sale in the trade, nor kept in public aquariums...>
I have yet to set up my tank, so I want to make sure I set it up to support a mix of SPS and corals such as gorgonians, and then stock suitable fish. I am aiming for around 40 x tank volume of flow using a closed loop and Vortech pumps. I am wondering though what kind of flow these pipefish would encounter in the wild as they inhabit the same areas that gorgonians do.
<Not much flow in the areas I've encountered all species, specimens... lagoon-ish... in "muck" areas invariably>
Will my tank have too much flow for these fish?
<Maybe... I'd make sure the circulation was "diffuse" if heavy/large>
I have a good access to rotifers and small live foods which I plan to slowly feed over a long period.
Many thanks
Brett
<Please do report on your findings... FWIW, I'd ask re the practical husbandry of these animals on the various Seahorse bulletins... including OceanRider (.com)s... Cheers, Bob Fenner, who has some really nice pix of S. robustus from the last couple of weeks in Borneo to share with all.>