Candy Pipefish

Candy Pipefish, Dunckerocampus pessuliferus, also go by the name Yellow Banded Pipefish. These fish are great options for marine tanks. They display neat rows of bright red and yellow stripes down the length of their body.

Pipefish, Seahorses and sea dragons all belong to the Syngnathidae family. These ray finned fish have an odd body plan. As the name may suggest, pipefish have a long, slender body and elongated snout. Candy Pipefish use their dorsal and a small caudal fin for forward motion, while other ray finned fish use their tail and caudal fin. Not all pipefish have a caudal fin. Instead they have a prehensile tail like seahorses.

Candy or Yellow Banded Pipefish Ecology.

In the wild, Candy Pipefish occur around the Sulu Archipelago and Australia, in the Central Pacific and East Indian Ocean. Candy Pipefish live alone or in pairs in muddy areas or over coral. They are mostly found close to the substrate in deep water but have been spotted in shallow estuaries as well.

These fish, like seahorses have an unusual reproduction. A pair perform an elaborate courtship dance. The time it takes can vary in response to predator abundance. After this the female will deposit her eggs into a brood pouch on the male’s ventral side. He will then fertilise and carry his eggs until the young emerge. Some species of pipefish will have a brood patch rather than pouch. Where the females lay adhesive eggs onto.

Dunckerocampus pessuliferus in the aquarium.

It is important to have plenty of nooks or crannies where your Candy Pipefish can explore and feel at home.

Pipefish do best when fed a varied diet. Here they are eating frozen Mysis, frozen brineshrimp, frozen copepods, ocean nutrition fish eggs. We enrich all our frozen food with seachem garlic guard and Atvitol vitamins. These are great for keeping fish healthy by providing them with the nutrition otherwise lost in frozen food. In doing so, these additives support their immune system and increase longevity.

In addition, Candy Pipefish will also eat live foods, such as copepods, that can be cultivated in attached refugium. Our Pipefish are adapted to aquarium life before being offered up for sale. Meaning they are eating frozen food when they leave us.

You can keep Candy Pipefish in pairs or groups. Keepers may wish to use a feeder or tweezers when feeding their pipefish. Feel free to give us a call for advice on a Pipefish set up and keeping.