Blue stripe pipe air bubble in male

[M.R Cowfish]

have a few pairs of breeding blue stripe pipes for a while now , I noticed 1 male has what looks like an air bubble in his pouch area where they normally carry the eggs . He is having trouble swimming , but is still eating . He has been coming out for food but has to go back to his cave to stick to the rock . Is this a normal thing ? Is there a fix , or do I just sit back and pray ? /.thanks in advance

[ThRoewer]

I noticed that males often have this when carrying eggs. It's rather rare with single males. It is most likely a bacterial complication of the "pregnancy". It is also related to water quality, bacterial load, and temperature.

[M.R Cowfish]

well the breed constantly much hasnt changed in the aquarium . As for temperature is that being to high or to low?

[ThRoewer]

From what I heard from seahorse keepers the temperature should be lower for seahorses and pipefish.
Though all the "bluestripe pipefish" species are reef fish and are found in reef biotopes and not like the majority of seahorses and pipefish in the seagrass and algae medows behind the outer reefs. So would assume that they prefer the same temperatures as other reef fish.
What is definitely important is to keep the tank and water as pristine as possible.

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[M.R Cowfish]

well I care for 3 different sets of blue stripes , all mated pairs and all breed constantly . Like I mentioned nothing water quality has changed nor has temp been adjusted . So Im leaning towards a pregnancy related issue , have had these pairs close to 2 years now and have not changed or added anything since adding the paiir . He is doing better as I can no longer see the large bubble and he is swimming much better , still eating so hopefully he fully recovers .

[ThRoewer]

I had it just the same, nothing for a year or two and then the males in the system started getting bubbles.
Even if you don't change anything actively the system changes: detritus starts accumulating, some bacterial strains decline, other strains start to thrive, algae change,...
In my case I suspected it was bacterial strain shift due to a green hair algae flare-up.
I treated it by separating the affected males from the females for a while and did a deep cleaning of the tanks.


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[M.R Cowfish]

ok well I dont really have a place to move him , all 3 of my systems have a breeding pair . I will do a water change, going to slowly start removing the sandbed as its my only non BB set up as I use to have a blue spot jaw so I required sand . So I guess there could be some build up in the sandbed as I feed somewhat heavy to ensure they all stay fat . Hopefully that will help out . Appreciate the input I will keep updating my progress

[ThRoewer]

For temporary separation you could use a breeder box. It's how I did it. It shouldn't be a problem if they are established and eat frozen food well.
I also quarantined a male for over 2 months in a 2 gallon critter cage (a plastic tank found at Petco) with just a handful of caulerpa and a tiny fountain pump. And in all honesty, I was quite lazy with water changes. He is now in one of my 40 gallon anemonefish tanks while I try to find him a female.
You can also treat with antibiotics, though I found it unnecessary for this issue.

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[rayjay]

As for a sandbed, I used a gravel vacuum to suck through the full depth of the bed to remove trapped and decaying material but only did 1/4 of the bed at a time so as not to totally disturb the good bacteria. I'd repeat for the other quarters about every 5-7 days. Once cleaned up, it only takes a bit of time to do a maintenance vac on it every 4-5 weeks.