Freshwater Pipefish

One listing, three tiers, and this is the collection where the honest answer is usually no. Freshwater pipefish are syngnathids — the same family as seahorses — and they feed through a tube of a mouth that only takes small live prey. They graze continuously, which means a mature tank with a live population of copepods and a steady supply of live baby brine, not a feeding twice a day.

Buy one only if you already culture live food and can give it a species tank with slow flow, fine plants to hitch on, and no fast tankmates competing at feeding time. If you cannot commit to that, a quarantined anything else is the kinder purchase. Most pipefish that die in home tanks starve; they rarely look sick doing it.