2 quick questions on leopard wrasse QT

dbrewsky · Jun 7, 2017

Hello,

I am preparing to bring in a Leopard wrasse and sand sifter goby for my next quarantine cycle and wanted to get some clarification/confirmation on two questions.

1. I will be providing sand for the leopard wrasse to sleep in and the goby to sift. I have read of people withholding sand for a couple days to allow the wrasse a chance to shake the jet lag. Is this method have a better success rate or is this step likely to have a detrimental effect?

2. I was considering administering a safety-stop bath (Formalin and Methylene Blue) prior to adding these fish. Is this a beneficial step in reducing pathogens prior to qt entry or more likely to increase stress? Is there any known aversions in leopard wrasses with these chemicals?

safety stop info http://www.melevsreef.com/catalog/safety-stop-rapid-fish-quarantine

I will be treating these fish with prazi pro and cupramine following humblefish's qt schedule regardless. Any suggestions or experiences are appreciated

melypr1985 · Jun 7, 2017

I've never withheld sand from a leopard and they've done pretty well. At the store I have an 80% success rate with them. Usually if they die it's within hours of arriving and usually do to poor shipping, or a disease that they came in with and succumbed to quickly. If they hide right away I let them.

dbrewsky · Jun 7, 2017

melypr1985 said:
I've never withheld sand from a leopard and they've done pretty well. At the store I have an 80% success rate with them. Usually if they die it's within hours of arriving and usually do to poor shipping, or a disease that they came in with and succumbed to quickly. If they hide right away I let them.

Thank you for the quick response you all are amazing!!!!

I am lucky and my local reef store has been bringing them in recently in good health and will have an opportunity to inspect the fish prior to purchase and will hopefully avoid some of the jet lag issues. Are your experiences with prazi/cupramine consistent with other wrasses? I have read a spectrum of experiences especially pertaining to the leopards.

ngoodermuth · Jun 7, 2017

I wouldn't withhold sand. I also like to put a little piece of LR in for the first week or so, until my leopards start eating well. Just make sure you take it out before medicating and you don't return it to your DT after unless it's been acid bathed or left fallow in a separate container.

I've never used safety stop, but I personally don't treat with formalin unless it's absolutely necessary since it's a carcinogen. If I was going to do an "entry" bath I think I would use methylene blue alone, or acriflavine, personally.

Coppersafe (chelated copper) is recommended for sensitive fish, however I've been using cupramine without issues with my own wrasses. Just ramp it up slowly, at least half as fast as the package states.

Good luck! Leopards are some of my favorite fish!

melypr1985 · Jun 7, 2017

dbrewsky said:
Are your experiences with prazi/cupramine consistent with other wrasses?

I prefer coppersafe as I find it more gentle than cupramine. I have much better success with it at the store than I used to with cupramine. Cupramine is still a good product, but you do need to be careful with how fast you raise the levels - extra careful with sensitive fish like leopards. I've never had problems using prazi with any fish, though some do lose their appetite.