We are talking potters leopard, right? I would toss it into the DT, my survival rate with leopards have gone up drastically and it does depend on the condition in which they're received as well. I had a very small (1"-1.25") black leopard not make it recently.
As you can see, RC is torn with qt on these, but I see better survivability by tossing them into the DT.
Also, although it's adult, they have more fat on them to last them a while. I bought a large (5-5.5") wild caught ornate and male (3-4") and female (4-5") vermiculate and they are out more and take to Frozen mysis quickly. I wouldn't worry about an adult sized one.
Thanks for the reply, so i just realized by reading through some threads that these will munch on pods. Will they decimate a pod population like a mandarin would? I ask because i am on the waiting list for a mandarin pair, should be getting them in like 2-3 weeks:bounce3:. I dont want to add anything that is going to destroy their food source.
There's a good primer on Leopard Wrasses with a great amount of information that I would check out. It's a very long read but the short version is that these fish did the best when put directly into the DT or put into a QT that was set up like a smaller version of the DT instead of a typical PVC and a powerhead. While throwing it straight into the DT may have benefits for the wrasse it will be worse for all if it takes some velvet with it.
Like eatbreakfast said, QT gives them the time to acclimate to captivity without established tank mates intimidating them at feeding time. The also, may not come in on the same day/night schedule as the rest of your fish and QT is the bests time to adjust timers for your lighting to slowly correct this (this is due to them burrying). I plan on purchasing one this fall and will be putting it into a 50 gallon with live rock for a six week observation period along with a treatment of Prazi (it can be safely used in the DT but I prefer QT for all meds).
Yes it will eat up the pods and I don't know the size aquarium, amount of live rock and how large/efficient of a refugium would be needed to maintain the Wrasse and a pair of Mandarins. I'm not sure if continually purchasing pods is an option for you as well or the notion of trying to get the Mandarins on frozen and conditioning them to a feeding station.
Good Luck
Mike