Hairy pipefish

Where they come from

Hairy pipefish (Urocampus carinirostris) show up in shallow coastal areas where fresh and salt water mix - mangroves, estuaries, seagrass edges, that kind of place. They spend their lives pretending to be bits of algae or seagrass, swaying in the current and waiting for tiny prey to drift by.

That "hairy" look is those little skin filaments that break up their outline. In a tank, it means they do best in a setup that lets them vanish and perch, not a bare glass box with a powerhead blasting them around.

Setting up their tank

These are not beginner brackish fish. Think of them like finicky seahorse cousins: slow, deliberate, and not built for competing at mealtime. If you want a real shot at keeping them long term, give them a calm, mature tank that is basically made for pipefish.

• Tank size: I would not do less than 20 gallons for a pair, and bigger is easier because it stays stable.
• Maturity: 3-6+ months old with lots of micro-life (pods) is your friend.
• Flow: gentle to moderate, with calm zones. They like to hang and hunt, not fight current all day.
• Filtration: stable biofiltration plus a prefilter sponge on intakes (they will get pinned otherwise).
• Aquascape: lots of hitching posts - macroalgae (real or fake), branching rock, seagrass-like decor, mangrove-style roots. Give them vertical and horizontal perches.
• Substrate: sand is nice. Bare bottom works but looks stark and gives them fewer "natural" spots.
• Lighting: whatever your macros tolerate. They do not need reef lighting.

For salinity, keep it steady. They can handle a brackish range, but swings are what get you. Pick a specific gravity that matches where yours were kept (ask the seller), then stick with it. Top off with freshwater (not saltwater) so evaporation does not creep your salinity up.

What to feed them

Feeding is the whole game with hairy pipefish. Most of them ignore flakes and pellets. They want tiny moving food, and they hunt by sight with that little vacuum-snout.

• Best staples: enriched live brine shrimp (adult or nauplii depending on fish size), live copepods, live mysis if you can get it.
• Frozen options (sometimes accepted): small frozen mysis, Cyclops, finely chopped krill - but do not assume they will take it.
• Enrichment: use HUFA enrichment (or at least feed the brine well) so it is not just empty calories.
• Frequency: small feedings 2-4 times a day beats one big dump.

Target feeding helps a lot. I have had the best luck using a turkey baster or pipette and gently releasing food right in front of their hitching spot. They learn where the "food cloud" appears and start picking.

How they behave and who they get along with

Hairy pipefish are calm, observant little weirdos. They spend a lot of time hitched or hovering, making tiny corrections with their fins, then snapping at passing prey. You will not see constant swimming like a molly. If yours is racing around the glass, something is off.

• Good tankmates: other slow, non-competitive fish that will not steal every bite. In practice, I like species-only or pipefish with a couple of very chill, small companions.
• Avoid: fin nippers, aggressive feeders, anything that will perch and ambush them, and anything that treats them like a snack.
• Inverts: small shrimp can be ok, but remember shrimp also steal food. Crabs are a hard no.

They are usually peaceful with each other. Give them enough hitching spots so they are not forced to share one favorite corner. If you see persistent chasing or one fish keeping the other from food, separate or rearrange the tank.

Breeding tips

Like seahorses, the males carry the babies. If you have a healthy pair and you are feeding heavy, you may see courtship: synchronized swimming, tail-to-tail hovering, and the male looking a bit "full" in the brood area.

• Keep the tank calm and consistent. They do not like constant rescapes, big water chemistry swings, or new pushy tankmates.
• Feed more, not less. Conditioning is mostly calories and variety.
• If you get fry: plan ahead. Newborns need tiny live foods (rotifers/copepod nauplii) and clean, stable water. Most people lose them because the food size is wrong.

Common problems to watch for

Most losses come from slow starvation, stress from flow/tankmates, or infections that get a foothold because the fish is run down. They are tough enough to survive "almost right" for a while, then they crash.

• Starvation: belly pinching, weak hunting response, hanging in odd spots. Fix by increasing feeding frequency, switching to live/enriched foods, and reducing competition.
• Intake accidents: they can get stuck to filter intakes. Use sponge guards and avoid strong suction near their perches.
• Snout injuries: bumping decor or getting spooked can damage the snout, which means they cannot feed well. Keep the layout smooth and give them quiet zones.
• Bacterial issues (tail/snout rot): fraying, redness, or fuzzy patches. Quarantine helps a lot, and clean water plus early treatment makes a huge difference.
• Gas bubble problems: can show up as buoyancy weirdness. Often tied to stress, supersaturated water, or poor husbandry. Improve aeration, reduce microbubbles, and stabilize conditions.
• Acclimation shock: they do not like fast salinity changes. Slow drip acclimation is worth the time.