Leopard Wrasse

[metanis]

I added a Leopard Wrasse to my 110 reef tank on Tuesday after drip acclimation. There is only a perc in the tank right now so I didn't quarantine. Leo swam directly to the back of the tank and I haven't seen it since...
I know they bury themselves in the sand at night and when scared but even with feeding the perc, corals, nems, no sign of the wrasse. I checked the overflow and the sump without luck. It's not carpet surfing. Is this something I wait out, am I S.O.L., or might this thing come out when it's ready?

 

[BigBlueTang]

I added a Leopard Wrasse to my 110 reef tank on Tuesday after drip acclimation. There is only a perc in the tank right now so I didn't quarantine. Leo swam directly to the back of the tank and I haven't seen it since...

I know they bury themselves in the sand at night and when scared but even with feeding the perc, corals, nems, no sign of the wrasse. I checked the overflow and the sump without luck. It's not carpet surfing. Is this something I wait out, am I S.O.L., or might this thing come out when it's ready?

I have heard of leopard wrasses hiding in the sand for 2 weeks plus. Im sure he is fine, just leave him be, and under no circumstances try to find him in the sand.

 

[Tkieu78]

After my male blue star leopard wrasse died my female blue star leopard wrasse hid in the sand for Three weeks.
Recently returned fully transitioned to male. I thought both had died.

 

[metanis]

Ok, thanks for replies! Hands off it is. I just did a water change and some aqua scaping but I'll hold off on any more of that for now.

 

[Neebles]

I'm not kidding you, my leopard was missing for 21 days when I first got him. I thought he was dead for sure. I just treated the tank like it was gone, fed the other fish etc and one day, there is was. Over a year later it's still with me.

 

[ca1ore]

They can survive for surprisingly long periods in the sand - bit like hibernation I suppose. Though the longer they remain hidden, the lower the likelihood of a happy outcome, my own personal 'record' was a black leopard at 32 days. Still have her. In some cases it's a few hours, other times weeks. Driven in part by stress, also by out of whack circadian rhythm.

 

[Giovanni]

More often than not they are fine. May come out for only a few minutes when you are not looking. If you see a puff of sand in the water then it is most likely it. How long has your tank been setup?

 

[metanis]

Tank has been set up for over a year. It was set up about 7 years before I acquired it second hand so the live sand and rock are all well established.

 

[Giovanni]

That is good. You probably know the wrasse will need lots of pods to eat till you get it eating prepped foods. Mine have all been secretive feeders for the first month or two. Eventually they will dive in there with the rest of the fish at feeding time.

 

[metanis]

It was eating prepped foods at the LFS but I will add pods to the tank tomorrow so it can eat and come out when I'm not looking. Thanks for the advice.

 

[JoeVandal49]

Mine took a week to get on prepared foods but i never had the issues of it hiding for a long period like others have had. Mine has been extremely active and fearless from day 1.

She Wouldn't touch any prepared foods for a week. Figured she would start eating frozen first, but she went after the pellets and they are her favorite food still. I feed omega one small veggie pellets, formula one flakes, and my homemade frozen mix. My feeding routine is flake and pellets daily, homemade frozen mix every other day.

 

[ca1ore]

I've had very few issues getting my leopards into frozen foods as long as they are housed in a calm environment. Of the 12 that I have bought over the last two years, only 2 refused to eat and subsequently died. A further 2 that did eat, kept losing weight. One died, the other post prazipro, survived. So, if you see on that eats, but stil loses weight, assume worms and treat accordingly.

 

[toothybugs]

Derail: how much sand do leopards need? Do individual beds work in barebottom systems?

 

[GoobieGoo]

My mom had a leopard wrasse she was convinced had to be dead. A couple weeks later, I happened to see him. That made her day and she's had him for close to 3 years now. So I'd say, don't give up hope. He could very well come out of hiding one day!

 

[Giovanni]

Derail: how much sand do leopards need? Do individual beds work in barebottom systems?

I QTed on with a 6"x6" food tub with 2" of fine sand for 4 months. I did have to replace some sand often every as she would blow some out getting in. So one day when she was out swimming I cut a hole in the side of the tub. When she went to bed I put the lid on the tub. After that I did not have to replace the sand as often. Be sure to leave the tub in the same place in the tank. Mine did not want to go in if I moved it.

 

[hogfanreefer]

My leopard (Potter's) never hid but was in QT for 8 weeks and was very well adapted before introduction to the DT. Took 3 days to get him eating frozen mysis. Didn't eat day one, ate blood worms only day 2 and started taking mysis on day 3. Eats anything now (even caught it eating some seaweed in the LRS last night).

I think QT is very important to get these fish eating. By the time they go in the DT they are ready to compete for food.

 

[csharps42]

I have had wrasses hide as well. I thought they were dead then just showed up.

 

[Scubaken]

Yeah he is simply sulking, he will come out when he is good and ready.
Difficult sometimes not to interfere, but sometimes it's the only way

 

[Maxxingout]

I to had a female leopard that hid for a long time. I made a post on here because I was worried also. I was able to get a shot of her sticking her head out once in awhile but never knew it at first. Actually my daughter saw her 1st. I figured that she might be coming out at different times then my light schedule. This was partly true with the fact that she also was still very nervous. When I finally did catch a glimpse of her she'd swim around her sleeping area for a bit, pick at a rock or 2 then dive back in. This whole process lasted 2 wks for me. Just keep a eye out.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

Leopard Wrasse

When I worked in an LFS in college, we would order leopards and they would disappear literally for a month, and then pop out one day like everything's fine. They seem to get jet lagged pretty bad and I think during this time they come out at night and eat pods.