Divided Wrasses agression

christopher.lauwers

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Hello all ... looking for some help.

I have both a male and female divided leopard wrasse and as of today the MALE HATES THE FEMALE. Hunts her down and just chases along with picking at her. I managed to get the female and have her in a box in the tank, but the male is still going after her. Female is smaller then the male.

Male and female were in a RSR 525 but I had recently downgraded to a reefer 425... same rock... but did replace the sandbed (still enough the burrow). No aggression from the move.

Now... I want to catch the male because I think the females are much prettier then the males. My concern is will the female turn if she is the only one in there?
 

SaltyT

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It sounds like your female may have started the transition to male so your current male has turned on her. If that's the case and she is transitioning to male, she'll continue the transition if she's the only leopard.
 
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christopher.lauwers

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Wouldn't I see signs of her transitioning? and why all of the sudden? As I said they have been in the same tank from the start.
 

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The first sign of a female starting the transition is aggression towards her from other males. The process begins internally before you notice her appearance start to change. Divided leopards transition more frequently than most leopards. If she is transitioning it's just nature taking its course and it's pretty cool to watch!
 

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Keep your female for awhile longer and see what happens. If her coloration starts to change then yeah you'll have to get a new female if you have your heart set on a female. Or if you have enough room in your tank keep her and add a couple more females.
 
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christopher.lauwers

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Thanks, I was not able to catch the male... just to hard to get my hands on it. I ended up putting the female back in. Started to show signs of stress and needed to get her back in the tank. She is out now scooting around. Ill watch it and see how it goes.
 
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christopher.lauwers

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Reviving this thread and here are the updates.
I managed to catch the pesky male blue start that was terrorizing my divided female.
Happy to report the female divided is healthy and doing great. ....

However, I managed to get my hands on another female divided. Smaller then the one I have now but doing good. Was added to the take Saturday. She is eating and out ... kinda hanging out in the corners of the tank as the dominate female ... what I believe is "checking her out" .

I captured a video and I wanted to get some feedback on this behavior and if there is anything I should be concerned with?
I will say this is no where the aggression I saw with the previous male and female. Again, I feel they are checking each other out.

Another silly question. I also in the tank have a male melanarus... is it possible for the female divided and the male melanarus to bond and this maybe where the aggression maybe coming from?

 

SaltyT

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Your dominant female is definitely acting territorial towards your new female in the video. Was this video taken shortly after introducing your new female or was the video taken recently?

If your new female is able to explore the tank without being chased by your existing female and is allowed to stay out all day, and able to eat at every feeding (more than just a few pieces) then things should be fine.
 
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christopher.lauwers

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Video was taken right before posting.
I do see her out still and was able to eat more then a few pieces when I feed them earlier today. I do see her getting spooked by some of my tangs so maybe she is still getting used to the tank? The new female has yet to stay out all day, but the time that she is out seems to be getting longer.
 

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Sounds like she's still acclimating to her surroundings, but that's good that she's able to eat and is increasing her time out. Keep us posted!
 
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christopher.lauwers

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Update:
Still seems to be territorial aggression going on but the new divided is out longer and eating well. The dominate female doesn't go after her just kind of chases and then back off.. but I see the new divided going in and looking for things in the rocks. I do not ever see her attacking as i have seen with a male in the past.

Spending more and more time out each day. Ill try and get some video.
 
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