Female Leopard wrasse

[RyanCSGO]

All you Wrasse fanatics, my LFS has a few a leopards wrasses and I fell in love.
I want to get more info on them, most places on line list them as "expert" is this due to the picky eating habits only?

Also I know they like to burrow, my sand bed is about 5 inches deep at the back and comes down to about 3 1/2 at the front. Will having this cause any issues with anything that can be released from the sand bed? I've heard that when you run a deep sand bed you generally try and stay away from sand sifting star fish and other burrowing fish so the biological filtration is not disturbed.

Truth to this?

TIA

 

[RyanCSGO]

Anyone? :)

 

[Waters]

Yes, their expert status is due to their eating habits. My leopard ate Mysis from the beginning so needless to say I have not had any issues at all. As long as you can get them to eat something other than pods (unless you have a huge population, they will decimate your pods rather quickly) they will normally be fine. You are correct, they do like to burrow but unfortunately I don't have anything to add regarding a deep sand bed. When I first added my leopard, she actually dove into the sand and didn't come out for over a week.

 

[Naiad]

They don't ship well and can be picky eaters. If you can find a healthy specimen that is eating then you have won half the battle. They do need frequently fed. So if you feed 1 time a day then you will need to worry about having enough microfauna to sustain them. As far as digging in a deep sand bed as long as it hasn't been set up for years there won't be horrible issues. It may reduce the denitrification going on in the bed but very few beds work well enough anyway.

 

[RyanCSGO]

Thank you. Maybe ill leave some room to add one at a later time but hold off for now. Gorgeous fish for sure.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Their burying is only for sleep or when frightened. It won't be an issue in a DSB.

Their expert status is related to their difficulty shipping. They are quite sensitive their first few weeks. They also can be picky eaters in the beginning, but most will quickly accept aquarium foods.

They often come in with internal parasites which affects their nutrition. Treating with prazipro helps combat this.

 

[eb2292]

I've attempted three of them, 2 from one source and 1 from another and I have yet to have long term success. First one dove into the sand upon acclimation, never to come out. Second one swam around for a few days, dove into the sand, never saw him again. Third one would not eat anything and perished from starvation. Very very tough fish, but gorgeous! Whatever you do, if you end up getting one, do not go searching for it if dives into the sand. Searching for it will only stress it further and prolong it coming out.

 

[4FordFamily]

I agree with what has said except that I have had pretty good luck with them. I only feed once per day but in fairness they have access to nori and eat it with my tang. They're fat and healthy.

I find that groups of leopards, even mixed species, do better. When I tried standalone fish even if I got them to eat they didn't seem to make it 30 days. I bought a potters and he made it fine, so I ordered 4 more various leopards and 3/4 of those made it.

I've ordered some for friends and acclimated them and in groups of 2 it helps but 3 seems to be the best. Highly anecdotal but nonetheless.

I currently have three blue star leopards (2 males one transitioning male...), one "regular" leopard female, an ornate leopard male, a black leopard female, and a potters female.

I had a choates for a few months and then he randomly stopped eating and died.

I agree that prazi is critical to rid them of parasites.

 

[RyanCSGO]

I agree with what has said except that I have had pretty good luck with them. I only feed once per day but in fairness they have access to nori and eat it with my tang. They're fat and healthy.

I find that groups of leopards, even mixed species, do better. When I tried standalone fish even if I got them to eat they didn't seem to make it 30 days. I bought a potters and he made it fine, so I ordered 4 more various leopards and 3/4 of those made it.

I've ordered some for friends and acclimated them and in groups of 2 it helps but 3 seems to be the best. Highly anecdotal but nonetheless.

I currently have three blue star leopards (2 males one transitioning male...), one "regular" leopard female, an ornate leopard male, a black leopard female, and a potters female.

I had a choates for a few months and then he randomly stopped eating and died.

I agree that prazi is critical to rid them of parasites.

Thanks for the info.
yeah I've heard that pairs do much better. Since this tank is only 60G I'm trying not to add too many fish, I want to keep a lower bio load.
I'm definitely doing a pair of clowns. Not 100% sure what else ill put in. When those leopards caught my eye though, couldn't leave the tank :)

 

[eb2292]

Interesting. I did not know they did better in pairs. Give it a shot! They aren't super expensive, but definitely beautiful and if you are successful it will be worth it!

 

[jsker]

Try some LRF reef frenzy the kid really like it. I also dose some meds when I need them, vitimans and garlic oil when feed to keep everyone healthy

 

[Salty1962]

I ordered a male and female and they're, KNOCK on wood, doing well. Their colors aren't real bright but eating like pigs and very active. They are beautiful fish!

 

[bryan oestreich]

my female leopard, ive had for 4 months now. when I first got her she hid for 7-8 days in the sand. I had to watch throughout the day and night when she came out and feed her. never had a problem with food. she loves frozen blood worms and Mysis shrimp. but will eat other frozen preps. very active. she almost jumps out of the tank waiting for me to put the turkey baster in with food. she runs on her own clock. goes to bed about an hr before likes go out and up about 30 minutes after lights get turned on. great fish. my favorite in my tank

 

[eg8r210]

My best recommendation is to have the LFS feed the fish before you buy. If the fish goes after the food and you see it eat the food and not spit it out then you will have much better chance keeping it alive. I don't buy any fish if they don't eat.

 

[RMS18]

My lfs ordered 5 the first round 3 doa, 2 lived for 1 week then the bigger one died. After a week and 2 days about I bought the 1 left. It lasted a week with me then died. I couldn't get it to eat. He ordered a second round some blue star from Fiji. All arrived alive 4 in total. All sold within a week of him having them he hasent heard from the customers if they died or not. He is ordering a third batch from fiji, I might give it another try. Getting them to eat is the hardest part. I tried EVERYTHING.