The Ghost in the Aquarium
The Weedy Ghost Pipefish is one of the coolest “oddball” fish you will ever see. They come in a full range of colors and when young can be nearly transparent, but as they age, they take on darker colors and more intricate patterns. Their body shape is a miracle of natural camouflage; they are covered in weedy looking protrusions. Ghost Pipefish in general look a lot like other Pipefish (Ghost Pipefish have a genus all to themselves), but there are a few visual differences that are going to be insignificant to most observers.
While the two are closely related (and both are also related to Seahorses) the biggest differences between them is that with Ghost Pipefish (Weedy or not), the female of the species carries the eggs. As a very cool side note, the mechanism for carrying the eggs sounds like science fiction, but it's all science. These fish are known as “external skin brooders.” The embryos are actually carried around in special skin cells called cotylephores that are on the ventral (or belly side) of the female's pelvic fins. These fins can connect to each other to form a brood pouch!
Weedy Ghost Pipefish (Solenostomus paradoxus) are sometimes seen with a couple different common names, and usually it is some combination of “Ghost,” “Ornate,” “Harlequin,” “Weedy” and “Pipefish,” or a near translation of these, in whatever order people seem to like that day! They come from pretty much everywhere that has tropical saltwater and good habitat with the notable exception of the Atlantic Ocean. They are usually associated with algae and seagrass beds and have also been found around groups of Crinoid stars and Feather Dusters.
Solenostomus paradoxus are excellent hiders in the wild, but not great swimmers. In addition, they also do best in very clean water. Usually, this would mean recommending a high rate of overturn in the display, but because of their inability to swim in such an environment, they need a more sedate flow than is the norm in many aquarium displays. As a result, it is of great importance that the display these fish are destined for be very well established and regular water changes are conducted to keep water quality pristine. You'll want a very stable pH between 8.2 and 8.4, a temperature between 75 and 78, a specific gravity within .001 of 1.025, and nitrate levels that barely register at testing.
When planning a display, these fish don't need an excessive amount of room, again, they aren't the best swimmers in the world (this will come up at least one more time, be ready). Space wise a single specimen would be just fine in a 40-gallon aquarium. This being said, we recommend giving them more space than this for two reasons. One is that larger volumes of water are much easier to keep stable from a water quality standpoint, and second is that these fish love to hunt copepods, small shrimp and baby fish, and a larger display gives the food more places to hide, and the Weedy Ghost Pipefish more places to hunt. Our recommendation is to start at 75 gallons, and this would be appropriate for up to two specimens. Larger groups can be kept together, as long as there is enough room for everyone.
This display should feature as much ornate rockwork as possible. Flow and lighting should be subdued. Ghost Pipes don't necessarily need plants, but we've found they do better in tanks that have some decorative algae or other cover for them to blend into They won't bother corals, gorgonians, feather dusters, clams or just about anything else you'd find in a reef style aquarium, but most of these things will be happier in higher flow environments. If you'd like to add some coral, we suggest utilizing soft corals, mushrooms, leathers and polyps.
The environments where Weedy Ghost Pipefish are usually found (seagrass beds etc), are chock full of little invertebrates for them to graze on all day long. As a result of this, Solenostomus paradoxus doesn't have much stomach capacity; and need very consistent meals. They have a reputation for shipping poorly, and we attribute much of this to them being sourced from long supply chains, where they aren't fed for multiple days. Sourcing fish from reputable vendors like us here at Quality Marine is the only way to go when you are thinking about getting livestock like Weedy Ghost Pipefish. We pride ourselves on having the shortest commute possible for these fish so we can keep them as healthy as possible; check out our articles on Short Supply Chains here on the website.
You may have noticed a theme here that these fish are not great swimmers, and this comes into play again when trying to feed them. They will fail to thrive in environments where there is competition for food, as such they should be kept in tanks by themselves. If other fish are desired, then very timid feeders like Dragonettes are the only reasonable choices. In the wild, Solenostomus paradoxus eats mostly invertebrates and these are great choices for food in the home aquarium too. Thawed meaty items like Mysis and Brine with additives like Omega 3, Garlic and Spirulina from Gamma Foods make good choices, Gamma Bloodworms are also usually accepted. For fish that are picky, you may have to rely on some live food to get them started eating. Nutramar offers Live Artemia Nauplii through your Local Fish Store, and that LFS may also have other live food available to you, Tubifex are a nutritious favorite (and can be cultured at home too!) Always feed live food with some thawed food and some quality pellets to help your fish segue onto nutrition that is easier to present.
If you're looking for the ultimate oddball, you're going to be looking for a long time to find something more beautiful and stranger than a Weedy Ghost Pipefish. These fish aren't for the beginner hobbyist, but for those of you who have been doing this for a few years and are looking for a show-stopping and different display, ask your Local Fish Store about Solenostomus paradoxus from Quality Marine today!