Leopard Wrasse Primer

Leopard Wrasse Primer

  • Macropharyngodon bipartitus

    Votes: 67 28.4%
  • Macropharyngodon choati

    Votes: 12 5.1%
  • Macropharyngodon geoffroy

    Votes: 24 10.2%
  • Macropharyngodon meleagris

    Votes: 78 33.1%
  • Macropharyngodon negrosensis

    Votes: 29 12.3%
  • Other

    Votes: 26 11.0%

  • Total voters
    236
I got a Meleagris (4 years) and a Ornate 1 (month). Both ended up as CArpet food. I love my carpets so will not add any more wrasse to my reef. Both of my wrasse was tiny when I got them. The Meleagris was full grow when she was killed by my carpets.
 
A little update for mutt black leopard. She is doing quite well eating great still in quarantine. I treated with paracide-d after the first week to ensure no internal parasites. No negative side effects at all. I plan to do a ttm prior to adding her to the tank.

I have a bit of an issue with the ones that have been established in my main tank for quite some time now. Those include a male & female meleagris, a female? ornate, & a female bipartitus. The male meleagris has began trying to kill my bipartitus. This happened some time ago but they settled their dispute after a couple days & then ignored either for months. This time it is much worse. Relentless chasing & to the point that the bipart has been buried for a few days straight now. I see her getting harassed for a couple minutes early when lights first comes on. But she is forced into the sand. Can't get food to her at all. Nothing I can do. Tank too big to catch either&I know a trap won't work for them. Very bummed, I'm pretty sure this will be the end for her. I'm assuming she must have tried to turn male. Idk what else would cause this. They've been together for about 10 months now I would say.

Also makes me even more reluctant to add the black one.
 
I'm in a similar place. I still have a pair of Bipart females in my refugium. They've been there for many months. The idea was to have them put on some size before moving to the DT. Trouble is the leopards in the display have also grown. Will just have to do it soon though. Also have a black that I had given up for dead that is living in my invert QT, even though the tank is supposed to be fish less.
 
I've had good success with introducing new wrasses and other fish as well by placing them in an acclimation container in the DT in the morning and then releasing them just before lights out at night...I haven't lost a Leopard yet using this method and I have a large dominate male Ornate. If I do loss a Leopard it's during the QT process...
 
The biggest issue I'm having now is the female bipart that has been with the male meleagris for a long time. Perfectly fine for a long time. All of a sudden the male wants it dead.
 
I just picked up a female meleagris from my LFS. She was ordered for a customer who never came and picked her up. They had her for 3 weeks. I watched her eat frozen while I was there. She appears to be healthy and active. This is my first try with a leopard. Wish me luck! I will not be QTing the fish. Between me really trusting my LFS, them having it for so long with me frequently obeserving it, and that fact that I do not have an established QT with a sandbed, I am choosing to go strait to the DT.
 
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Here she is...

Leopard_zps097bfa36.jpg
 
ellis* - great photo and good luck with your method of acclimation and assimilation. she looks great! i'm going to have to keep an eye out for one. keep us updated!
 
OK, a couple questions.

I am a night owl, so my light schedule matches that. My LEDs are on a SIN curve that matches the sun and runs 12 hours...from 2:30pm to 2:30am. Right now she is working on burying herself because I assume she is used to the LFS light schedule. How long should it take for her to adjust?

Also, I have Carribsea Aragonite sand which is a little heavier than what was in the tank at the LFS. She has tried a few times to dig in, but seems to be struggling a bit. I assume she will get used to it? My Scooter Blenny does not have any trouble getting buried at night.
 
I'm not familiar with brands of sand, but as long as it is sand, not crushed coral, it should be fine. Sometimes it takes them a few tries to find their spot.
 
Welp, that did not last long. She was buried in the sand 2 hours ago when I left for dinner, when I got home she was floating listlessly, still breathing, getting blown around the tank. No feeding response. I don't know where it went wrong. :(
 
I will not be QTing the fish ... and that fact that I do not have an established QT with a sandbed, I am choosing to go strait to the DT.

For future reference ... all that you need is a small 'Tupperware' container filled with sand, in the QT, and the leopards would be fine.
 
I didn't flush her last night because I was not ready to call it. I put her in a hang on rim breeders box but she was floating around in it inverted. This morning she was right side up, so I put her back into the DT and she is swimming OK. Is it possible she was sleeping like that because she could not get dug into my sand?
 
I didn't flush her last night because I was not ready to call it. I put her in a hang on rim breeders box but she was floating around in it inverted. This morning she was right side up, so I put her back into the DT and she is swimming OK. Is it possible she was sleeping like that because she could not get dug into my sand?

No, at the very least she would have wedged herself between rockwork. My M. chaoti could not find the container of sand in my acclimation box and instead slept wedged between pieces of PVC. Didn't seem to phase it too much either way. As soon as it was in the DT, it had no problem burying itself like normal. But definitely not normal to be floating around the tank. Any damage to her nose?
 
No, at the very least she would have wedged herself between rockwork. My M. chaoti could not find the container of sand in my acclimation box and instead slept wedged between pieces of PVC. Didn't seem to phase it too much either way. As soon as it was in the DT, it had no problem burying itself like normal. But definitely not normal to be floating around the tank. Any damage to her nose?

Not that I can see. I just got home and she is actively swimming. I am about to feed mysis, we'll see what her response is.
 
OK...Update. Tonight I watched her trying to burry herself and she could never get more than a little past her head under the sand. She kept getting frustrated and eventually settled in wedged between a rock and the glass. :( I guess my sand is too coarse, even though I know other people have used the same sand with leopards and did not have an issue.

Here is what I am thinking...Tomorrow I am going to pick up some fine sand, put it in a piece of 8"x5"x2" plastic tubberware I have, and place that into my sand bed so the top of the container is about flush with my existing sandbed. I am going to put in one of the corners of my tank in hopes she will find it and be able to bury in at night. Has anyone tried this before? Do you think it will work? Does anyone have any better ideas?
 
Nevermind. She is gone :( I just found her stuck to a powerhead. I am soooo bummed. I feel like I let her down somehow. I have not lost a fish in a LONG time. I guess I will stick to Fairies and Flashers...
 
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