Leopard wrasse as next fish..?

[tchat]

I have a roughly 2 month old 80 gal tank. 1.5”-2” sand bed made with the top layer being from TBS ultra live sand.

I have so far added the beginner fish: watchman goby, Midas blenny, royal gramma, firefish, clown pair..

According to Elliot from marine collectors the leopard wrasse “difficulty” reputation is almost entirely due to poor tolerance of shipping and once they are settled are no more difficult than a melanarus wrasse. I have made a DIY acclimation box that I can stick in the sand bed (a 3 sided box, internal overflow shaped, shoved into the sand).

I plan to order from dr reefs and add to the box. Ensuring that it is eating and recovering from shipping stress before release.

Bad idea? Want to see if there are other reasons these fish are considered “expert only” before I pull the trigger

 

[Baldyreef]

I have a roughly 2 month old 80 gal tank. 1.5”-2” sand bed made with the top layer being from TBS ultra live sand.

I have so far added the beginner fish: watchman goby, Midas blenny, royal gramma, firefish, clown pair..

According to Elliot from marine collectors the leopard wrasse “difficulty” reputation is almost entirely due to poor tolerance of shipping and once they are settled are no more difficult than a melanarus wrasse. I have made a DIY acclimation box that I can stick in the sand bed (a 3 sided box, internal overflow shaped, shoved into the sand).

I plan to order from dr reefs and add to the box. Ensuring that it is eating and recovering from shipping stress before release.

Bad idea? Want to see if there are other reasons these fish are considered “expert only” before I pull the trigger

what you were told is right they are fine once settled but as you know the problem is they take shipping and acclimation very badly which leads to high loss rate during these stages, I would say sourcing one locally is your best bet as it well have survived all the tough parts

 

[tchat]

I have a roughly 2 month old 80 gal tank. 1.5”-2” sand bed made with the top layer being from TBS ultra live sand.

I have so far added the beginner fish: watchman goby, Midas blenny, royal gramma, firefish, clown pair..

According to Elliot from marine collectors the leopard wrasse “difficulty” reputation is almost entirely due to poor tolerance of shipping and once they are settled are no more difficult than a melanarus wrasse. I have made a DIY acclimation box that I can stick in the sand bed (a 3 sided box, internal overflow shaped, shoved into the sand).

I plan to order from dr reefs and add to the box. Ensuring that it is eating and recovering from shipping stress before release.

Bad idea? Want to see if there are other reasons these fish are considered “expert only” before I pull the trigger

what you were told is right they are fine once settled but as you know the problem is they take shipping and acclimation very badly which leads to high loss rate during these stages, I would say sourcing one locally is your best bet as it well have survived all the tough parts

I definitely see the logic… I would prefer a quarantined fish so I’m a little torn. So far everything I have is QT’d or captive bred so I hate to break that streak

 

[helmsreef]

I've had a few Leopards and currently have Macropharyngodon bipartitus and Macropharyngodon meleagris, finding one directly from a local supplier or an established one in a local store typically has the best odds. You also have a way better chance if your tank is very established since they will eat amphipods if they don't take frozen right away. I put them through copper power and prazi since flukes can be an issue for them. Not having a dominant wrasse or anything in the Halichoeres family will also help them acclimate and keep their stress down.

 

[Bob Weigant]

Get lots of pods as they like to hunt. Even if they eating frozen its still a good idea to get some live brine. My choati was eating frozen at my LFS and when I brought him he just swam around. I wish you luck those wrasses are amongst my favorite

 

[jabberkaycee]

I have 2 of the Leopard Blue Star from Dr Reef and they are extremely healthy. Eating mysis and even flake and pellets! I also have lots of pods. One spent 1 day in the sand and the other took 2 days to come out. They are thriving - I’ve had them about 3 weeks.

 

[jabberkaycee]

I have 2 of the Leopard Blue Star from Dr Reef and they are extremely healthy. Eating mysis and even flake and pellets! I also have lots of pods. One spent 1 day in the sand and the other took 2 days to come out. They are thriving - I’ve had them about 3 weeks.

Is that royal gramma being aggressive? Also, leopards like a deeper sand bed and lots of live rock.