Network Pipefish
Corythoichthys flavofasciatus
| Stock | Variations | Price | Quantity |
|---|
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Full guarantee terms →Ships Monday – Thursday for next-day arrival at your nearest FedEx Hold location — typically ready by 9 AM. We monitor every delivery.
Shipping details →
Monday – Friday 8 AM – 9 PM
Saturday 12 PM – 4 PM
Sunday 12 PM – 9 PM
Healthy, stable animals from vetted suppliers — inspected before packing, shipped overnight. Decades of experience built this model so we can deliver premium livestock at 30%+ less than you'd pay elsewhere.
| Care Level | Expert |
|---|---|
| Temperament | Peaceful |
| Reef Safe | Yes |
| Functional Benefit | Ornamental Only |
| Diet Type | Carnivore |
| Mininum Tank Size | 20 gallons |
| Max Size | 5 inches |
| Temperature | 72–78°F |
| pH Range | 8.1–8.4 |
| Specific Gravity | 1.022–1.025 |
The Network Pipefish (Corythoichthys flavofasciatus) is a slender, bottom-oriented pipefish with a yellow-banded “reticulate” pattern and a long tube snout used to pick tiny prey from rockwork and macroalgae. It’s a reef-safe choice for mature reef aquariums where it can browse and hunt throughout the day.
What You’ll Observe:
- Slow, deliberate cruising along live rock, coral bases, and macroalgae edges
- Frequent “pause-and-peck” hunting as it targets tiny moving foods
- Regular use of sheltered lanes and overhangs, especially between feedings
- Pair-like behavior in calm setups, often staying in the same zone together
Provide mature live rock, sheltered pathways, and low-to-moderate flow areas so it can move and feed naturally. Offer small meaty foods in frequent portions (for example enriched brine, copepods, and finely chopped mysis), and use a feeding station or gentle target-feeding to keep food in front of it longer. Choose calm, non-competitive tankmates so it can feed at a steady pace and settle in predictably.
Will a Network Pipefish eat frozen food right away?
Some individuals transition quickly, but many do best when frozen foods are introduced in the same spot at the same time each day so they learn the routine.
Can it live with wrasses or other fish that hunt “pods”?
It does best when it doesn’t have to compete with fast pod-hunters; in mixed reefs, many keepers plan feeding so the pipefish gets first access in its preferred zone.
Why does it “rest” or line itself along rock and coral bases?
That perched posture is normal pipefish behavior and is part of how they hunt—staying steady, then striking at tiny prey as it passes.
Does it need hitching posts like a seahorse tank?
It doesn’t need formal hitching posts, but it often uses branching rock, macroalgae, and calm corners the same way—structured areas it can move through slowly.
How can I tell it’s actually getting enough food?
Look for consistent day-to-day hunting behavior, regular interest during feed times, and a gently rounded body profile rather than a pinched look behind the head.
Each fish is checked for strong appetite and activity before we approve it for your tank.
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