Flake-Eating Pipefish And Angels? Quick Help Please!

[PrincessKiara]

Hello! As some of you may remember, I have a 240L tank with a 100L sump setup, filled with bio-balls. Here are my tank stats:
Planted: Somewhat (corkscrew Val, Amazon Sword, hornwort thicket, Elodea, some sort of creeper plant); far more to come soon
Decor: One lava-rock arch. No driftwood as of yet.
Substrate: Sand
Inhabitants: 2 young angels, 1 male betta, 1 zebra danio (going to be rehomed soon), 1 male guppy (also going to be rehomed soon), 2 orange swordtails, 20+ ramshorn snails, 3+ small apple snails
Filter medium: 'Sock' filter, bio-balls
W/C's: 20-60L a week, depending on how often my parents allow it
Food: Wardley Tropical Flakes, BettaColor Micro Pellets
 
Here's the thing. My LFS finally got a pipefish, and I've been wanting to get one for the longest time! Problem is, I've read pipefish only take brine shrimp and worms at first, and can eventually be trained to take guppy fry or freeze-dried foods. But my friend at the LFS claims that her father feeds the thing flakes!
Can I buy this fish, assuming of course that I see it eat the flakes before I do so? It's the closest I'll ever get to owning a seahorse, at least while I don't have a SW tank, and I'm dying to get it, but I will not make any fish sick or unhappy.
Should they be in groups? How big do they get? I don't even know what type of pipefish this is; my LFS hasn't told me, but in any case, there's a knowledgeable fish guy here who'll take the fish if for some reason it doesn't work out. Still, I don't want to move the poor fish around unnecessarily.
What do you guys say? Please respond soon

My dad might be taking me that way today, and I must hurry if I am to get the pipefish before someone beats me to it.

Thanks (or, should I say, tanks? 

 ) in advance!

 

[Tongue_Flicker]

Get her to put a feeding video up on youtube so you can verify it yourself

 

[Donya]

Flake eating aside, if freshwater pipefish are anything like their saltwater counterparts, I would not put one in with active community fish like danios and adult swordtails, as the pipe likely wouldn't stand a chance at getting the food even if it wanted to eat some. I'd also worry that semi-aggressive fish like angels would bully it. I would guess that, like the sw species, fw pipes are probably better suited to a species tank or a tank with fish that eat totally different foods and therefore will not offer competition.

 

[Tongue_Flicker]

Agreed. I would think that sticklebacks and half-beaks are the only suitable tankmates for them