Leopard Wrasse Primer

[rgentry123]

well i just got in my female bipartitus and it doesnt look so good right now, i opened up the packaging and saw her laying on her side, shes still in the bag but swimming oddly like she has a swim bladder issue. unfortunatley i'll be very surprised if she makes it through the night. can somebody chime in and tell me this is completely normal behavior so i can stop worrying even though i know better?

 

[iamwrasseman]

blennielove ,whenever you purchase from your LFS you certainly should watch them carefully to see which looks like the best choice for you .they should be free swimming without clamped finns . free of sores or bad bruises or scrapes and the must be eating for a good purchase . there may be shipping stress related issues that you really cant see so you really never know and i also know there are some more things to be though of before purchase but the must fit in with your other fish size,temperment and marking similarities can all contribute to a good fish purchase gone bad . we never can think that a fish will live on looks alone but thats all we have so dont get discouraged .i hope you have a better outcome next time .
steve i may of come across as if price were an issue but you must know its not like that for me either .the comment about the diamond in the rough was just a bad attemp to say if nobody else wanted it i did because i love the wrasses that look that way reguardless if its a true leopard or not . sorry for the confusion .

 

[Ralph ATL]

heres my new guy , if they send him

moved it and now hes here to stay ,sorry for the bad display of computermenship for the lack of better words .

good luck! I thought about him for a minute, but passed.......nice catch!

 

[iamwrasseman]

thanks im just dripping hi right now . looks good so far but ya never know .

 

[snorvich]

thanks im just dripping hi right now . looks good so far but ya never know .

Keep us posted. We all want to know. Best of luck!!

 

[Tylt33]

I'm having my last try with leopards, beginning today. Three female m. bipartitus, one female m. meleagris.

 

[rgentry123]

hopefully everything works out for you this time. i just got my female bipartitus in last night and in the bag she was swimming around like she had swim bladder issues. i havent seen her come out at all today but i guess only time will tell.

 

[iamwrasseman]

thanks Steve i appreciate the good wishes ! hey Tylt33 what are you doing to ensure positive results of such delicate fish ? within this tread there is so much helpfull info but none helps if you dont start off with properly handled fish because of how difficult they are . have you used the same LFS ,that could be a problem if they dont properly acclimate them . i really feel strongly that alot of sucess comes from starting off with live food such as live brine or live mysis shrimp .also do you QT the new fish ,that also in my eye is not good because of their special needs for sleep and also stress relief . i have had great results with every wrasse except the ever elusive choati leopards and they all go directly into the display tank ,its much more like their home and relieves stress IMO . i could go on and on with what is already in this tread and most of it is very good information for such a delicate fish . how do you acclimate you fish ?how much people "traffic"is surrounding your tank ?especially for the first few weeks it may help to cover the front of the tank when there is high traffic . water peramiters are also key ,so make sure your tank is well maintained . the aquascaping also may be subject to conversation as it can help to have plenty of seperate terratories and also plenty of open swimming area within the same tank . i certainly wish you the best of luck with your new guys and gals but please read this tread and really try to figure out what might be missing . you very well may have all the bases covered but simply are getting bad stock . i have purchased four leopards that all were mac certified and none made it past a few days ,leads me to believe even though they are mac certified that something wasnt right with part of the collection process . just my 2 cents and please im not critisizing any one in any way just trying to help you . thats what this is all about ,the exchange of information .keep us posted .
hope all goes well in your piece of the ocean Dave

 

[Tylt33]

hopefully everything works out for you this time. i just got my female bipartitus in last night and in the bag she was swimming around like she had swim bladder issues. i havent seen her come out at all today but i guess only time will tell.

That's how my male meleagris was.... fine the first two days, and then swimming around upside down after that, looked like a swim bladder problem. You got your bipartitus from DFS?

 

[iamwrasseman]

they all need a rest after fed ex gets done with them .hopefully he will get his bearings back !

 

[Tylt33]

My last order was from Blue Zoo, my new order was from Live Aquaria. I acclimate over a two hour period, temperature first, and then adding ~2 ounces of tank water every 5 minutes. I offer live black worms, small mysis, PE mysis, Rod's Food, and Spectrum Pellets. Frozen foods are soaked in a mixture of Selcon, Kent Garlic Xtreme, and Vitachem. The fish are not QT'd, and are added straight to the DT. There is a nice sized sand bed (120g), and non-aggressive fish. I treat with Prazipro at slightly above the recommended dosage. Water parameters are good, as I protein skim heavily, change 10%+ water weekly, and have a 30g chaeto refugium, a 20g all rock refugium, and a 20g sump.

So far two of the bipartitus look great and were picking at the sand bed. One was active, yet not swimming. The female meleagris was laying on its side when introduced to the tank- not looking too well.

 

[iamwrasseman]

sounds like you got it all down quite well .good luck and do keep us posted .do you have live brine available it really makes them eat fast .

 

[snorvich]

I endorse all of iamwrasseman's recommendations.

 

[Tylt33]

Looks like the female meleagris is down for the count... was partially buried earlier, and is now laying on the sand again panting. Ugh.

 

[blennielove]

Yikes! I've been keeping up with the thread and my heart goes out to you! I was planning on ordering from DFS but now, I'm wondering if my best bet would be going back with my LFS and have them order some in for me. The good thing about them is that they don't make me buy them if they don't look good. My first leopard wrasse went into the 225 reef with five other wrasses (Clown Fairy Wrasse, Filament Flasher Wrasse, Lonfin Fairy Wrasse, Lubbock's Wrasse and a Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse), they share the tank with a Powder Blue Tang, Kole Tang, and Atlantic Blue Tang. There were no aggression towards the Leopard Wrasse, everyone left her alone. That is partly why this next time I'm planning on several introductions and done with lights out so the Leopards can settle in before the next morning.
I'll chime in again when I get them.
I remember reading someone acclimating his leopard wrasse in a breeder hung in the DT so that the leopard gets to meet it's future tank mates and watch them eat. That sounded feasable.
I hope that everyone has success with these beautiful creatures!
BlennieLove

 

[Tylt33]

The female meleagris is dead. No bodies of the others, so I'm hopeful they're doing ok. Did a Prazipro treatment last night. I think I've given up on the meleagris. I'll stick with the bipartitus and see how I do.

 

[Ralph ATL]

Hey EVERYBODY! Liveaquaria just got a suggestion page on facebook on what you want to see in DD!!! I put any Leopard Wrasse!!!
Let's make it happen!!
Ralph

 

[snorvich]

I remember reading someone acclimating his leopard wrasse in a breeder hung in the DT so that the leopard gets to meet it's future tank mates and watch them eat. That sounded feasable.
I hope that everyone has success with these beautiful creatures!
BlennieLove

You absolutely do not want to socially acclimate leopard wrasses. Let them dig in until they feel comfortable.

 

[iamwrasseman]

Steve is 100% correct the best place for a stressed or harassed wrasse is in the sand bed , let him burrow its his safe haven .he will come out when he feels comfortable .

 

[blennielove]

I stopped over at my LFS today to pick up some food and there he was, the male Macropharyngodon meleagris that I passed on two weeks ago - alive, looking a little scared, in that cubicle without sand! I went over to give him a good look over and spoke with a trusted employee. I told him how surprised I was because we both didn't think he would make it over the female I took home. He shared with me that he was surprised too but he's been feeding him live ghost (?glass) shrimp everyday and he loves them. Hummm... I'm thinking of getting him if he is still alive after a few more weeks and just add him into by DT after lights out. They want $130 for him, but I'm thinking that if he can survive in those conditions for a month or so, he should be out of the woods?!? I'm going back there sometime this week and just study him for a while. Maybe I'll have them put a hold on him until my Tang is done with his ich :eek1:
I'll not do the breeder tank thing as you said. With these delicate creatures, I'm starting to learn that stress is a big thing!
Thanks everyone and KEEP THE INFORMATION COMING!:wave:
BlennieLove