Acclimating a Kuiter's Leopard Wrasse

cancun · Dec 20, 2019

stklaw said:
She's still happy. Eating like a hog. Prefers frozen bloodworms, then brine w/ spurlina, then reef frenzy. If any of you decided to get a Kuiter's Leopard after this let us know about it. Happy Holidays!

That is great too hear! Glad she is doing well!!!! Keep us updated! Happy Holidays to you as well!!!!!

jordan10 · Mar 23, 2020

stklaw said:
2nd night update: took frozen brine, frz bloodworms & reef frenzy tonight after a day of snacking on copepods and nano brine. Ate a reasonable amount; seemed excited with food in the water.

So how did you end up acclimateing? I have couple leopards come tomorrow first time dealing with shipped fish. I just don't get everyone says just temp acclimate. But I would think the people selling the fish would no about the ammonia build up bin the bag and not tell u to drip acclimate? Sry know this is kinda old

stklaw · Mar 24, 2020

jordan10 said:
So how did you end up acclimateing? I have couple leopards come tomorrow first time dealing with shipped fish. I just don't get everyone says just temp acclimate. But I would think the people selling the fish would no about the ammonia build up bin the bag and not tell u to drip acclimate? Sry know this is kinda old

Hey there. So since starting my 2 setups 6 months, ago I've added 12 fish from live aquaria. 12 for 12. I found that I like getting fish from live aquaria through overnight shipping because the fish are bagged up late in the day and theyre flown overnight in a dark box when they'd normally be sleeping anyway. By the time you get them and start the acclamation it's about the time they would wake up. So I believe the stress is less than what people think, and the fish are coming from like the most quality LFS you could find anywhere...everyone there is a fish expert, not just "pet store employees", so I feel the fish at LA are well taken care of because that's all they deal with. At an LFS, most of the retail workers will know less, the fish are having to go through one extra acclimation process which as we know is a rigorous/stressful thing, one less water chemistry transition, -1 being netted, and then swim in their tanks with other fish being constantly added and scooped out in front of strange people... I just don't think its the best acquisition/acclimation for the fish -- although I have nothing against it either...theres a lot of good caring SW people too at LFSs. But I can avoid netting it here at home through acclamation and keep that healthy slime coat on the fish. And I can get him in his new environment instead of a strange fish hotel petshop first, and seeing the people they will recognize (because they will recognize you) and be comfortable around every day. That's why LA and UPS overnight is 12 for 12 with me.
But anyway its extremely comfortable for me doing it this way. And I find fish that I would never see at an LFS. I've added a golden rhomboidalis wrasse, splendid pintail, a diamond tail flasher wrasse, a green&blue Fijian exquisite wrasse, and even the slightly more common ones like my redhead salon and adorned wrasses are beautiful and still not frequently seen at pet stores. I'm planning on adding a goldflake angel and white tail bristletooth Tang this summer through LA, but with that I know I'm only going to acclimate into a quarantine tank first for 21 days. But when I do I will put him in the QT butted-up against the DT so the other fish and him can start to view/interact one another.
So for all of my acclimations from overnight shipping, I want to get my fish out of that dirty ammonia water ASAP... it spikes the second you open the bag. So I always went to pick up my fish from UPS at 9:00 a.m. when they opened. However if your UPS delivers your overnight packages before 11:00 a.m. I would say just allow them to bring it to you. When I open the Box I get the bag in the sump it can temperature acclimate for about 30 minutes. I then prepare the acclimation water... Live aquaria says they ship their fish at about 1.019 so I need to bring down the salinity of my DT acclimation water so that it's not such a shock when he is 1st introduced to its forever water. I use my tank water ofcourse but cut it with a little RO water to bring that salinity to 1.020... When I'm ready to cut the bag open, I add an already prepared one drop of prime (ammonia cutter/binder) to a 5 oz Dixie cup of DT water and immediately pour that 5 oz cup with the drop of prime into the bag to help cut that ammonia shock right away. Then i hand squeeze off the top of bag, immediately pour out 3/4 of the bag water (dont pour out the fish). Then add the fish with the remaining 1/4 of the bag water into the acclimation box in your prepared acclamation water of 1.020.
I use a clear rectangular acclimation box sitting in a LARGE clear square tupperware container...your big tupperware container should be full of water, and also sitting inside of a bigger bucket so that as you keep adding more water it flows over&out and into the bucket. I then start adding about 5 oz of DT water every 1 minute for the next 20 minutes to slowly bring the salinity up to your DT, and to keep the temperature stable. It allows you to view the fish (I use the outside window natural light), the fish to be comfortable in the acclamation setting while receiving constant little cups of fresh aquarium water from your tank. I prefer this to dripping because youre watching his behavior and the pour gives some water movement. After about 20 minutes I lift the acclamation box out of the water and put him directly into the tank. And then after that it is your choice if you want to allow the other fish to see the new leopard wrasse inside the acclamation box for awhile, or if you feel he or she is ready to go right into the tank. I went straight in. My leopard wrasse swam around in the lower quadrant of my tank for a few minutes, and then gently buried himself in the sand for a few hours. But a few hours later he poked his head out of the sand and was exploring the tank, looking for copepods. And she ate that night. I think the biggest problem with these delicate fish like a leopard wrasse is their stress inside the bag and then finding comfort in the tank. But if you eliminate the stress as much as humanly possible like I feel I did, then, they usually come eating and looking beautiful from LA.
Other acclimation tips I used:
Have your initial acclimation water be part NutriSea Ocean water...I did that and whether it helped I'm not certain but it felt like a more "gentle and natural" acclimation addition I could utilize.
I started with a robust amount of copepods, but if you dont have them some baby brine quickly popped in there for that day would work, or once your Leopard wrasse has re-emerged, he would most likely been induced by some frozen zooplankton floating around. Then for your [second] feeding attempt later that night or next morning, try the bloodworms, the mysis, the brine w/ sprulina. I feel garlic guard helps too.
Best wishes, stay safe and smart out there, and give me a little update. I'll put a couple fresh pictures up here to keep this post going!

jordan10 · Mar 24, 2020

Fist time for me like I said with the shipping. I did pick it up at the store first this this morning. I made water like u said from dt to 1,018. I ordered it from saltwater fish. Looked good in bag was packages well fish. So they had they water at 1,015. So I floted for 30 40mins then cut bag up and poored out most water and then in to my water of 1.018. and dripped till it hit . 1.024 and dumpped it in DT she went right to sand under a rock. We will see how it goes wish me luck. I was going to do the prime but didn't have any and wasn't going to stop anywhere but FedEx lol wife says crazy for going to pick a fish up. Thanks for the info

stklaw · Mar 25, 2020

jordan10 said:
Fist time for me like I said with the shipping. I did pick it up at the store first this this morning. I made water like u said from dt to 1,018. I ordered it from saltwater fish. Looked good in bag was packages well fish. So they had they water at 1,015. So I floted for 30 40mins then cut bag up and poored out most water and then in to my water of 1.018. and dripped till it hit . 1.024 and dumpped it in DT she went right to sand under a rock. We will see how it goes wish me luck. I was going to do the prime but didn't have any and wasn't going to stop anywhere but FedEx lol wife says crazy for going to pick a fish up. Thanks for the info

Good luck for sure. I tried SWfish one time... it didn't make it to me the next morning. It ended up in Indianapolis and was then driven up to the Madison FedEx on a semi in the winter and I couldn't pick it up til the following day. Needless to say DOA, and I will never use them again. Besides, I feel LA is more professional, their site is professional looking, they have much better photos, info, etc. LA doesn't do the "gimmicky" stuff like slashing sale prices on a fish (?what's wrong with it?), and they dont do the spend a certain dollar amount and get a freebie...I dont know about most of you but I have my stocking list well mapped out and know what I want in there. I'm not going to add some random common fish I didn't want to begin with just because its free bcuz I spent $99. Perhaps my one experience with SWfish.com was a fluke, but LA is outstanding...including every customer service experience I had.
I dont think they are too expensive. In fact, for the health and prosperity of the industry and fish, I dont think ANY SW fish should be less than $40...except maybe super common ones. But we spend $1000's on our tank, $1000's on our equipment, $100's on salt and food...I spent almost $1000 on live rock, sand... My point is is that people shouldn't whine about $60 for a fish, or $199 for a nice hard to find one. Why spend $8,000 on a set up, and then stock it with fish because at $30 it was cheaper than the kind you really wanted for $79?? The fish live 5-10 years...why fill your expensive tank with the cheapest fish you can find? A lot goes in to collecting, transporting by ship, acclimating/feeding/treating, listing/selling/bagging/shipping, and then to us. And people whine about $40?!?
Anyway, i want the fish I want; peaceful and beauties; sometimes they're rare and pricier. So i didn't mind paying $199 for my Splendid Pintail or Golden Rhomboidalis...they are gorgeous and unique. I thought $199 for my juvenile Diamond Tail Flasher wrasse was a great price!! And just to look at a fish like my Fijian Exquisite Wrasse...I say "I cant believe it's only $69...I'll have this HTF emerald and sapphire beauty for 7 years! I wont put $1000+ into a fish, but I do plan to add a Goldflake Angel and White Tail Bristletooth later this summer because they're one of the most gorgeous of their kind. I know I could get a more common angel or tang for $60...but they're our family's fish for 5-10 years. Get what you want to look at every day for up to a decade...

jordan10 · Mar 25, 2020

stklaw said:
Good luck for sure. I tried SWfish one time... it didn't make it to me the next morning. It ended up in Indianapolis and was then driven up to the Madison FedEx on a semi in the winter and I couldn't pick it up til the following day. Needless to say DOA, and I will never use them again. Besides, I feel LA is more professional, their site is professional looking, they have much better photos, info, etc. LA doesn't do the "gimmicky" stuff like slashing sale prices on a fish (?what's wrong with it?), and they dont do the spend a certain dollar amount and get a freebie...I dont know about most of you but I have my stocking list well mapped out and know what I want in there. I'm not going to add some random common fish I didn't want to begin with just because its free bcuz I spent $99. Perhaps my one experience with SWfish.com was a fluke, but LA is outstanding...including every customer service experience I had.
I dont think they are too expensive. In fact, for the health and prosperity of the industry and fish, I dont think ANY SW fish should be less than $40...except maybe super common ones. But we spend $1000's on our tank, $1000's on our equipment, $100's on salt and food...I spent almost $1000 on live rock, sand... My point is is that people shouldn't whine about $60 for a fish, or $199 for a nice hard to find one. Why spend $8,000 on a set up, and then stock it with fish because at $30 it was cheaper than the kind you really wanted for $79?? The fish live 5-10 years...why fill your expensive tank with the cheapest fish you can find? A lot goes in to collecting, transporting by ship, acclimating/feeding/treating, listing/selling/bagging/shipping, and then to us. And people whine about $40?!?
Anyway, i want the fish I want; peaceful and beauties; sometimes they're rare and pricier. So i didn't mind paying $199 for my Splendid Pintail or Golden Rhomboidalis...they are gorgeous and unique. I thought $199 for my juvenile Diamond Tail Flasher wrasse was a great price!! And just to look at a fish like my Fijian Exquisite Wrasse...I say "I cant believe it's only $69...I'll have this HTF emerald and sapphire beauty for 7 years! I wont put $1000+ into a fish, but I do plan to add a Goldflake Angel and White Tail Bristletooth later this summer because they're one of the most gorgeous of their kind. I know I could get a more common angel or tang for $60...but they're our family's fish for 5-10 years. Get what you want to look at every day for up to a decade...

I have nothing bad to say about saltwater fish yet. They came packed very well alive fish looked good just little small witch was probably my fault for ordering small lol. But I will definitely look at LA. And I know what u mean about putting fish in just to put it in and now I am regreting couple I have put in. But I haven't seen the lepord since I put her in.

stklaw · Mar 25, 2020

jordan10 said:
I have nothing bad to say about saltwater fish yet. They came packed very well alive fish looked good just little small witch was probably my fault for ordering small lol. But I will definitely look at LA. And I know what u mean about putting fish in just to put it in and now I am regreting couple I have put in. But I haven't seen the lepord since I put her in.

Yeah I diligently studied and planned out my fish wish list. I picked all peaceful, and the most peaceful of "semi-aggressives". I went for uniqueness and a diverse color mix. I liked the female Kuiter's because most females of any fish arent as attractive as the males, but the Kuiter's females are beautiful. I was fortunate with my Leopard wrasse in that stress ended up low, and she was eager to eat. I hear most will hide the first day and maybe the second and third one too. My Splendid Pintail hid for 7 days w/o seeing him. But he found food, and now is one of the least shy and happiest fish i have. My Kuiter's Leopard goes to sleep in her sand bed at 10pm, and wakes up every morning at about 10am. So be patient this morning, use your blue lights only. My lights are set to begin sunrise at 10am, and not be to daylight mode until noon. This allows natural sunlight to start the awakening process for the day, and I can have my lights on later in the evening when we're home. Why have day lights on at 7am if you'll be at work til 3? Anyway, patience....try garlic drops to get the appetite stimulated, and some brine/baby brine if your LFS has any or get a 4oz jar of frozen zooplankton to help. But dont disrupt em just be patient. Enjoy...and stay safe for everyone out there!

jordan10 · Mar 25, 2020

stklaw said:
Yeah I diligently studied and planned out my fish wish list. I picked all peaceful, and the most peaceful of "semi-aggressives". I went for uniqueness and a diverse color mix. I liked the female Kuiter's because most females of any fish arent as attractive as the males, but the Kuiter's females are beautiful. I was fortunate with my Leopard wrasse in that stress ended up low, and she was eager to eat. I hear most will hide the first day and maybe the second and third one too. My Splendid Pintail hid for 7 days w/o seeing him. But he found food, and now is one of the least shy and happiest fish i have. My Kuiter's Leopard goes to sleep in her sand bed at 10pm, and wakes up every morning at about 10am. So be patient this morning, use your blue lights only. My lights are set to begin sunrise at 10am, and not be to daylight mode until noon. This allows natural sunlight to start the awakening process for the day, and I can have my lights on later in the evening when we're home. Why have day lights on at 7am if you'll be at work til 3? Anyway, patience....try garlic drops to get the appetite stimulated, and some brine/baby brine if your LFS has any or get a 4oz jar of frozen zooplankton to help. But dont disrupt em just be patient. Enjoy...and stay safe for everyone out there!

Yup I got ornate leopard wrasse. And she did great still is doing good. She was and is still thin but she eating like pig now so she she put some wight on now. But yea I know they hide for few days. But I will be making a fish list on my next set-up. Thanks for the advice. Happy Reefing

Tamberav · Mar 28, 2020

My LFS has got these Kuiter's in a few times now and they always look awesome and are eating. Maybe they are being collected better or something because they seem to be pretty easy. I still have mine. I just float and plop all my fish in.