African Freshwater Pipefish

[GobyMaster]

I want to set up a 36 gallon tank that will have a community of Enneacampus ansorgii, and a pair of Bristlenose Plecs.
Does anyone have any experience with these fish?
Here's a picture in case nobody knows what they are:

The best information that I have about this fish isn't great, but it'll do, but I just want to know if anyone knows what they are and how keep them.

Thanks for any help in advance.

GobyMaster

 

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Here's a picture in case nobody knows what they are:

Nice fish!

Thanks for posting the pic.

 

[Esfa]

Freshwater
pH range: 7.0 – 7.5
They get to 5" - 6"
They need a sandy substrate and a well planted tank.
They eat live foos like guppy fry and bloodworm.
A 0.5% addition of salt is recommended. Add 4 TSP of salt to every 10 gallons

 

[Straydum]

yeah i've seen them in my LFS and they seem to move real slow. probably not a good choice with fast moving fishes.

 

[three-fingers]

I doubt the part about the salt is necessary either, unless it's marine salt to change the water chemistry, even in that case such a small amount would make little difference (even if it did, the bristlenoses wouldn't like it) .
Personally I'm not sure a tank with bristlenoses would be the best option to begin with, since from the fishbase profile they appear to inhabit brackish water sometimes too. I'd try keeping them in freshwater with pH 7.5-8 (based on german and french websites) for at least a few weeks before adding the bristlenoses. That way if everything doesn't appear to be going well within that time, you can try adding marine salt to eventually make it low-end brackish - where it's possible you may have more success.

 

[The-Wolf]

demersal; freshwater; brackish; pH range: 7.0 – 7.5; dH range: 10 - 18
tropical; 24 – 28°C
Africa: Gambia river drainage to the Cuanza river, Angola.
Occurs in coastal rivers and streams (Ref. 4127). Ovoviviparous (Ref. 205). The male carries the eggs in a brood pouch which is found under the tail

I've highlighted the relevant parts to emphasise the need for brackish conditions, I'm sure NMonks will provide additional details
from fishbase

 

[PoPoV]

We have those at my work. they are pretty interesting. we also got fresh water moray eels today although they are brakish, nice none the less! Our odd balls seem to all come in at the same time.