Likely Reef Tank Suitable
Likely Fish-Only Tank Suitable
Range: Indo-West Pacific Ocean: Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.
Size: 6 inches (15 cm)
Natural Environment: Inhabits shallow seagrass beds, mangrove areas, and inshore stony coral growths where it may occasionally be found clinging to hard coral growths. Feeds on minute crustaceans.
General Husbandry: Quite attractive, having a white to pale yellow to pale brown body, with reddish brown spots and lines on or around the snout.
Occasionally seen in the trade and requires an environment that is well-suited to these slow moving fishes, i.e., having slow moving water currents, preferably low light, and structures or large microalgae growths that can be used to grab-on and support itself.
As to diet, meaty foods consisting of enriched live adult brine shrimp and/or enriched frozen mysis shrimp, and fed several times daily.
Taxonomy:
Order: Syngnathiformes
Suborder: Syngnathoidei
Family: Syngnathidae
Genus: Hippocampus
FYI: Often dried and sold to the Oriental medicine trade.
Tankmates should be limited to species such as pipefish/mandarins.
Experience Level: Intermediate
Temperament: Peaceful
Diet: Carnivore
Coral Safe: Yes
Fish Safe: Yes
Invertebrate Safe: Yes
Acclimation Time: 30 minutes+
Aquarium Environment: Their own private environment/special tankmates
Tankmates: Peaceful
Minimum Tank Size: 30 gallons
Temperature Range: 72 - 80°F (22 – 27°C)
Specific Gravity: 1.020 - 1.026
pH: 8.0 - 8.5