About Bluestripe Pipefish
Small, peaceful pipefish that picks at copepods and amphipods. Best in mature systems with established pod populations and no aggressive tankmates. Will not compete for prepared foods — feeds on what it can find.
Doryrhamphus excisus is a species of flagtail pipefish from the genus Doryrhamphus. Its common names include blue-striped pipefish and blue-and-orange cleaner pipefish. The fish is found throughout much of the Indo-Pacific and tropical East Pacific.
Notes from the editors
What it looks like. Slender, pipe-shaped body with horizontal blue and orange stripes. Among the smaller pipefish kept in home aquariums.
In your tank. Peaceful, slow-moving, and quietly cleans parasites off larger fish. Best in mature systems with established copepod populations and no aggressive tankmates that would outcompete them at feeding.
Care notes. Will not compete for prepared foods — relies on hunting copepods and amphipods. A refugium or deep sand bed with thriving pod populations is effectively required. Pairs more reliable than solitary specimens.
Sourcing and feeding. Captive-bred specimens are commercially available (ORA, others) and dramatically more successful than wild-caught. Mid-priced ($30–80 per fish; pairs $80–150). Carnivore — copepods, baby brine, occasional accepting of mysis.
Care info is a starting point, not a guarantee. Individual specimens, water chemistry, and tankmate dynamics vary. Verify against multiple sources and adjust to what you observe. See our terms & disclaimers.
Related fish
Sources & attribution
- Taxonomy and accepted name from the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS AphiaID 218002).
- Description content adapted from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photo: zsispeo · CC BY-SA 2.0 (via iNaturalist or Wikimedia Commons).