Black-Stripe Pipefish (Doryrhamphus melanopleura)
Fish in the family Syngnathidae. Hard care. Reef Safe.
Quick facts
Appearance
A slender, elongated pipefish with a distinctive black or dark stripe running along the body from head to tail. The body is predominantly tan, yellow, or brownish with a characteristic curved snout typical of syngnathid fishes. Adults rarely exceed 7 inches in length.
Diet and feeding
Black-stripe pipefish require frequent feeding of small live foods, primarily copepods and amphipods. In captivity, they may accept frozen copepods, small frozen mysid shrimp, or specialized prepared pipefish food, but live cultures are strongly preferred for consistent feeding success.
Difficulty and care for the Black-Stripe Pipefish
This species is challenging for most hobbyists due to its specialized small-food diet requirement, dependence on live copepod populations, slow movement and competitive feeding disadvantage, and sensitivity to aggressive tank-mates and water quality fluctuations. Best suited for established reef aquaria with stable conditions.
Common health issues
Starvation (failure to accept prepared foods), emaciation, parasitic infection, loss of appetite in competitive environments
Origin and habitat
Indo-Pacific region from Indonesia and the Philippines west to the Great Barrier Reef and Australia. Found in coastal coral reef and seagrass habitats.
Log Black-Stripe Pipefish in your reef tank
Reef Trak gives you the full record on every species in your tank: acquisition date, source, photos, parameters at time of stocking, and links to maintenance and feeding events. Track Black-Stripe Pipefish alongside everything else in your reef.
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