You are correct in that both seahorses and pipefish swim and feed more effectively in fairly calm water.

Undergravel filters have fallen out of favor with aquarists lately, but, when properly maintained, they are extremely effective and simple to operate. I have used them as the sole filtration method on large exhibits housing adult bluegill sunfishes, bullhead catfish, musk turtles, water snakes and other creatures that are very “hard” on filtration systems with great results. A number of public aquariums still rely mainly or even solely upon undergravel filters in major exhibits.

It is important that you keep water circulating through the entire gravel bed…fine sand sometimes becomes compacted and disrupts water flow. You can avoid this by mixing in coral-based substrates into the sand.

Vacuuming the gravel bed regularly (i.e. when you do monthly water changes) with an automatic or manual gravel cleaner is absolutely essential, in order to remove detritus that has been drawn into the substrate bed. You may wish to turn your other filter on for a time after doing this, so as to remove any of the detritus you raised while vacuuming.

Be sure that your air pump is of sufficient strength as regards the size of your aquarium…outflow from the return tubes should be vigorous (the water is returned upwards, and so will not disturb the fish). As undergravel filters rely primarily upon aerobic bacterial action, and these bacteria expire rapidly without oxygen, it is a good idea to have a battery operated air pump on hand, in the event of a power outage.

Secure holdfasts are very important to seahorses…artificial coral is ideal. Local pipefishes are usually associated with eel grass beds, and need dense plantings of similar species in order to feel secure (note their body shape, they are very hard to see among eel grass). Artificial Vallisineria is readily used as a retreat by pipefishes and has worked well in my aquariums.

Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.

Selco is a fine product for nutrient-loading brine shrimp, rotifers and similar creatures.

The pipefish that you encounter in NJ are almost certainly northern pipefish, Syngnathus fuscus, as no other species regularly occurs in the area. The pipefish overlaps with dwarf seahorses in the southern portion of their range, and will do fine in the warmer temperatures needed by the seahorses. I have kept northern pipefish that were collected as adults for approximately 18 months on a diet composed largely of enriched brine shrimp. It seems to be a good diet for them…it’s often easy to find very young ones in late summer – raising some from a young age on brine shrimp would be a good way to judge the diet’s value. I did not try frozen foods with them, but that is a very good idea. The pipefish are alert predators, and might take to it. My only caution re keeping them with dwarf seahorses would be to monitor food intake carefully – I think the pipefish will prove to be more effective hunters, and may out-compete the seahorses at feeding time.

Hermit crabs are not very effective predators in general, but a very large individual might be able to overcome a dwarf seahorse. It’s more likely that the crab was scavenging an already dead seahorse, but stick to very small individuals in your tank. These should be quite easy to collect in the waters inhabited by the pipefish.

Please be in touch if you need further information, and good luck…spring collecting season will be here eventually…. Best regards, Frank Indiviglio.

We sometimes collect at a bay in NJ and often find pipefish which I believe is the northern pipefish. Your book and article mentions these as doing well with seahorses. Do you think they might live with dwarf seahorses, or do they need colder water. Also, we use mainly brine shrimp as live foos..can pipefish adjust to frozen food; is brine shrimp enough for them?

We had a few local hermit crabs as you suggested in the book, but found one eating a seahorse, and so released them just to be on the safe side. Could the hermit crab have killed the seahorse? Sorry for so many questions, thank you.