fishmanstan
New member
Yep mine is a voracious eater as well-mysis, reef chili, nori, etc
Leopard Wrasse Primer
- Thread starter BrianD
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living_waters
In Memoriam
Hey guys just got mine 2 days now it was eating mysis when I got her I acclimated for about an hour and droped her in my refugium my fuge is only about 7" wide 9" tall with a 3" sandbed I have zero pods idk why I've tried everything to introduce them in the system except a bottle of them so I fed her live brine and frozen mysis yesterday she's been missing all day today hope for the best any advice?
just got what?
fishmanstan
New member
Leopard wrasse I guess. Not sure the species.
fishmanstan
New member
Why did you put the fish in the fuge? Leopards are stressed upon being introduced to a new aquarium, so they bury themselves in the sand. They can stay in the sand for couple days, weeks, maybe a month. It depends on the fish. No one can determine how long they will stay in the sand. The only thing we can do is keep a lot of pods, try to get it eating frozen and other foods, and keep the parameters clean for them to thrive in.
living_waters
In Memoriam
My parameters are spot on zero everything 5g water changes a week for the 36g and I put it in my fuge so I could spot feed it which was working great until it submerged....i don't know what species it is its the one that looks like a rainbow I did alot of research before the buy sorry for not knowing the specific species from my research the only thing I'm missing are pods but if I feed right I won't need them right? Also I bought a good amount of live brine to try and substitute the live pods I know there not nutritious but it was eating mysis before the submerging occurred.
fishmanstan
New member
By "submerging" you mean the leopard diving into the sand I assume. How long was it before the wrasse went into the sand? That is not correct that you can have one without pods. Without a healthy and stable population of copepods, the leopard will almost definitely starve. That's all they eat in the wild and that's all they eat when first introduced to fish tanks usually. Thats why its important to train them to eat frozen so you can supplement their diet and fatten them up. They hunt pods naturally like a mandarin does. That's good if it was eating a little mysis, but you REALLY need pods in your tank for long term sustainability IMO. Hope this helps
FWIW, I actually think putting Leopard wrasses into a fuge attached to the main display is the best way to have success with these fish - it has been for me (approx. 15 leopards to date). One of the things Kevin K. of LA suggests is to feed new leopards almost continuously for the first few weeks, or even months, and this is simply not possible in the main display.
I do think having a good population of pods really can help with acclimation, but I have been able to pretty consistently get leopards eating live brine, and then frozen Mysis, without necessarily having a lot of pods. I have not ever attempted the choat's leaoprd, but the meleagris, baipartitus and potters have worked for me.
I do think having a good population of pods really can help with acclimation, but I have been able to pretty consistently get leopards eating live brine, and then frozen Mysis, without necessarily having a lot of pods. I have not ever attempted the choat's leaoprd, but the meleagris, baipartitus and potters have worked for me.
living_waters
In Memoriam
The wrasse has gone under 2 days now :|
I have known these fish to stay buried in the sand for as much as a three weeks. With my current Bipartitus male, he went under the moment I freed him from the shipping bag (so quickly, in fact, that I had to double check the bag to make sure he wasn't still inside), and I didn't see him for almost four days, at which point he emerged for about an hour per day. After about two weeks, he began to lengthen his time out to the point now, five weeks in, he's out for most of the day. Patience is the order of the day with these fish.
fishmanstan
New member
Patience applies to the whole hobby, really.
Weird thing today .... one of the female Bipartitus I have in my fuge (that by all appearances is thriving) failed to emerge from the sand today. I can see her wiggling through the bottom of the tank, but not coming out. I have never had this happen before, has anyone else? No reason to think she is sick, and she has been eating with consistent enthusiasm.
fishmanstan
New member
Never heard of that behavior
Agree that it is most curious. Two females and one male by themselves in my refugium. All have been eating very well for the last three weeks. Male and one female are out, but not the second female. Doesn't bode well.
living_waters
In Memoriam
5 days now still nothing
iamwrasseman
New member
yes boda its ponytail Dave, how you doing my friend ?living waters ,as stated many times here dont worry as they can disappear for weeks and then just pop out like nothing has happened . you can't see your tank 24/7 and he may very well be coming out when your not around so please let nature take its course as stirring them up will only stress them more and they will simply just go back under the sandbed .
I have not used my acclimation box yet with leopards. Do folks put some sand in a tray in the bottom or just leave it bare figuring they'll not be in there for very long?
i use my acclimation box bare so as to not have to wait for the fish to be awake or unburied to transfer as you don't want to bother a nestled leopard to risk further stress. i guess it also depends on how long you plan on having the fish acclimating. if you have tank bullies and it's going to be a while then i would suggest using some type of small basic with sand to make it easy to remove later or sand in the box itself.
Am thinking that perhaps the reason one of the females has stayed in the sand is that the male has become quite boisterous in the somewhat narrow confines of my fuge. Not ideal, but I am going to move the male up to the DT but leave the females in the fuge to put on a bit of size. Hopefully the second females will re emerge - I can see her wiggling through the bottom so she is still alive.
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