{"title":"Freshwater Pipefish","description":"\u003cp\u003eOne 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBuy 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 \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/quarantine-program\"\u003equarantined\u003c\/a\u003e anything else is the kinder purchase. Most pipefish that die in home tanks starve; they rarely look sick doing it.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"freshwater-pipefish-medium-large-4-5","title":"Freshwater Pipefish","description":"\u003cp\u003ePipefish are straight-bodied seahorse relatives, close enough that males of both groups carry developing eggs in a dedicated brood pouch rather than leaving the job entirely to females — a genuine role reversal in the parenting department. Like seahorses, pipefish also lack a true stomach altogether, running food through a straight digestive tract instead, which is exactly why they need small live foods offered frequently rather than one or two larger meals a day.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCare level: Difficult · Temperament: Peaceful · Max size: ~6\" · Min tank: 20 gal, low flow · Diet: Carnivore, live\/frozen baby brine shrimp, frequent feedings\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"YoCamron's Aquatics","offers":[{"title":"Medium\/Large (4-5\")","offer_id":50338069315821,"sku":"FNBRA2255","price":8.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0806\/1032\/8813\/files\/Microphis_brachyurus_01.jpg?v=1785167571"},{"product_id":"qt-freshwater-pipefish","title":"Quarantined | Freshwater Pipefish","description":"\u003ch3\u003eWhat “Quarantined” means\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEvery animal sold under this listing goes through YoCamron’s Aquatics full quarantine program — treated preventively for the common pathogens, observed daily, and confirmed eating — before it goes home with you.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMost livestock losses in this hobby aren’t bad luck. They’re pathogens that arrive with a new animal — ich, velvet, gill and body flukes, internal parasites — and stay invisible for the first 1–2 weeks while the animal is stressed from shipping. By the time you can see the problem, it’s in your display tank, and every animal you own is in the fight. Quarantine exists to run out that clock in our tanks instead of yours.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eOur process\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDedicated quarantine systems\u003c\/strong\u003e, separate from our display and sale tanks.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePreventive treatment\u003c\/strong\u003e for the pathogens that actually kill new arrivals, instead of waiting for symptoms.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDaily observation\u003c\/strong\u003e — breathing rate, body condition, behavior — so problems get caught while they’re still small.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFeeding confirmation.\u003c\/strong\u003e Nothing goes home until it’s eating in front of us. An animal that eats is an animal that travels well.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003ch3\u003eQuarantined to order\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNothing we sell online is pre-quarantined and waiting on a shelf. Every quarantined animal is quarantined to order — your purchase starts the process, and the clock starts the day your animal reaches our facility.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor a freshwater animal like this one, plan on \u003cstrong\u003eup to 60 days\u003c\/strong\u003e before it goes home.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAdd up to two more weeks in front of that.\u003c\/strong\u003e If we do not already have the animal in-house, sourcing it is the first step — and that time sits on top of the window above.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is not a rush purchase, and it can’t be turned into one — the entire value of quarantine is time. If you need your livestock by a particular date, contact us before you order and we’ll schedule the arrival around it. If you need something this week, the \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/non-quarantined-livestock\"\u003enon-quarantined listing\u003c\/a\u003e is the honest choice. The full process — and how to decide which tier is yours — is explained in \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/quarantined-vs-non-quarantined\"\u003eQuarantined vs Non-Quarantined\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe guarantees\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eShipped orders:\u003c\/strong\u003e 48-hour live guarantee from delivery.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIn-store pickup:\u003c\/strong\u003e 28-day live guarantee — bring a water sample from your aquarium so we can test it before your livestock goes home with you.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMaintenance clients:\u003c\/strong\u003e 60-day live guarantee on any livestock you buy from us, for as long as we service your aquarium on a plan of at least twice a month — weekly, every 10 days, or biweekly. Monthly plans carry 28 days. Nobody else in the trade puts that in writing.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003ch3\u003eWhy quarantined is the right choice\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf you have an established display tank, the math is simple: the premium on a quarantined animal is small next to the cost of treating — or losing — everything already in your tank. It also means you can skip running a hospital tank at home, which done properly is its own aquarium, its own months of patience, and its own chance to get something wrong.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe honest caveat: many of these species are also available from us non-quarantined for less. Those carry a 1-hour DOA guarantee when shipped — 24 hours with a water sample if you pick up in store — and no refunds, returns, or credits beyond that. There is also a middle rung: the \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/lightly-medicated\"\u003eLightly Medicated listing\u003c\/a\u003e gets one short prophylactic course and is covered for 24 hours shipped or 7 days on pickup with a water sample. If you already run a proper quarantine setup at home, that’s a fair trade and you should take it. If you don’t, this listing is the right one. (You’ll sometimes see “quarantined” abbreviated as QT — same thing.)\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"YoCamron's Aquatics","offers":[{"title":"Medium\/Large (4-5\") \/ Wild-Caught","offer_id":50549536227565,"sku":"FNBRA2255","price":22.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0806\/1032\/8813\/files\/Microphis_brachyurus_01.jpg?v=1785167571"},{"product_id":"lm-freshwater-pipefish-medium-large-4-5","title":"Lightly Medicated | Freshwater Pipefish","description":"\u003ch3\u003eWhat “Lightly Medicated” means\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis is the same animal as our non-quarantined listing, held briefly in our systems and given one short prophylactic course — a light treatment for ich and for internal and external worms — then observed eating in front of us before it goes home.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA light course knocks the parasite load down. It does not guarantee full removal, and we will not pretend otherwise.\u003c\/strong\u003e Ich is only killed in its free-swimming stage, and a short treatment window can miss cysts entirely; worm burdens can survive a single dose. Clearing an animal takes the full quarantine window — 40 to 90 days depending on the species — which is exactly what the \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/quarantine-program\"\u003eQuarantined listing\u003c\/a\u003e is for. This tier buys you a lower parasite load and a fish we have watched eat, not a cleared animal.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWe condition the fish on our end.\u003c\/strong\u003e Every animal we medicate is brought back onto prepared food on our own systems and is eating before it leaves — in practice it is rare for a lightly medicated fish to ship out and arrive sick. Do the same at your end: get it eating in your aquarium before you count it settled.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eWhen it ships\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003ePlan on \u003cstrong\u003e3–5 days\u003c\/strong\u003e on our systems for the treatment course, and it does not leave until it is eating. \u003cstrong\u003eIf the animal is not already in our systems we source it first — allow up to two weeks for it to reach us before that clock starts.\u003c\/strong\u003e From the day you order, plan on roughly two and a half weeks in total.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe guarantees\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eShipped orders:\u003c\/strong\u003e 24-hour live guarantee from confirmed delivery.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIn-store pickup:\u003c\/strong\u003e 7-day live guarantee — bring a water sample from your aquarium so we can test it before your livestock goes home with you.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eWant the full program — treated, observed, confirmed eating, and covered for 28 days on pickup? That is the \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/quarantine-program\"\u003eQuarantined listing\u003c\/a\u003e. Run your own quarantine and just want the fish this week? The \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/non-quarantined-livestock\"\u003enon-quarantined listing\u003c\/a\u003e is cheaper still. The whole ladder is explained in \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/quarantined-vs-non-quarantined\"\u003eQuarantined vs Non-Quarantined\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003cp\u003ePipefish are straight-bodied seahorse relatives, close enough that males of both groups carry developing eggs in a dedicated brood pouch rather than leaving the job entirely to females — a genuine role reversal in the parenting department. Like seahorses, pipefish also lack a true stomach altogether, running food through a straight digestive tract instead, which is exactly why they need small live foods offered frequently rather than one or two larger meals a day.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCare level: Difficult · Temperament: Peaceful · Max size: ~6\" · Min tank: 20 gal, low flow · Diet: Carnivore, live\/frozen baby brine shrimp, frequent feedings\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"YoCamron's Aquatics","offers":[{"title":"Medium\/Large (4-5\")","offer_id":50613697806573,"sku":"FNBRA2255","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0806\/1032\/8813\/files\/Microphis_brachyurus_01.jpg?v=1785167571"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0806\/1032\/8813\/collections\/Microphis_brachyurus_01.jpg?v=1786967950","url":"https:\/\/www.yocamronsaquatics.com\/collections\/freshwater-pipefish.oembed","provider":"YoCamron’s Aquatics","version":"1.0","type":"link"}