Multi-Banded Pipefish (Doryrhamphus pessuliferus)

Max Size: 6 inches
Diet: Carnivore
Temperament: Peaceful
Reef Compatible: With Caution. May be harmed by stinging corals and crabs.
Minimum Tank Size: 50 gallons

The Yellow Multibanded Pipefish, a type of reef pipefish or flagtail pipefish, is an agile swimmer and seldom makes direct contact with the substrate. In its natural habitat, you'll find it gliding beneath rocky overhangs, corals, or close to the reef floor.

With its elongated, slender body, tiny tubular mouth, and flag-like oval tail, the Yellow Multibanded Pipefish displays striking yellow coloration with bright red to maroon vertical rings from head to tail. Its tail boasts a vibrant red hue with a white tip and a yellow dot at the center.

Feeding this pipefish can be quite specific, as it prefers live copepods in a mature reef aquarium with abundant live rock or macroalgae. A suitable starting diet includes Nutramar Tigrio Bottled Live Copepods and vitamin-enriched live baby brine shrimp, but avoid relying solely on live baby brine as the main food source. Over time, they may adapt to eating frozen CYCLOP-EEZE®, small Mysis, and Nutramar Ova.

During courtship, the female attaches her adhesive eggs to the flat area on the underside of the male's trunk. A well-fed pair will regularly mate in the aquarium. It can be challenging to distinguish between genders, but mature males often have a flattened appearance due to the brood patch, while females appear more rounded.

In the aquarium, the Yellow Multibanded Pipefish thrives best in mated pairs or groups of its own kind within a tank of at least 50 gallons. They can coexist with small, timid fish like gobies, seahorses, dragonets, and firefish, but avoid aggressive, territorial, or fast-moving tank mates. Be cautious about housing them with anemones and corals with stinging tentacles or large corals like brain corals that could consume them. Additionally, invertebrates such as crabs and large shrimp may pose a threat to the pipefish.