Leopard wrasse at petco

[Jack Eskay]

So for one reason or another I decided to go check out the fish at my local petco(didn't plan on muting anything) and to my amazement they had a healthy leopard wrasse there just crushing their filthy tanks searching for pods. I was surprised not only that they had it but that it was still alive there. I have a 70 gallon filled with pods that only houses two clown at the moment but no active qt tank. I also have a empty 10 gallon nano as well.

So my question is do you all think if I tried to rescue this guy it would be smart to keep in in the 10 gal Nano for a week just to make sure he's healthy and not carrying any parasites and then move him to my large tank. Or would that be to risky? Also would he be good food wise in the 10 gal for a week. And also would my 70 gallon (with 10 gallon fuge) be able to handle this fish and my future purchase of a mandarin?
L

 

[Waters]

As long as you can quarantine, there really isn't any risk involved.

 

[hart24601]

Just remember rescuing is the same as buying! It sounds nice and feels good to think we rescue something, but in the end it's a sale and they order more.

Really though most if not all Petco's are supplied by quality marine, same place that live aquaria uses (even before getting bought), so if it hasn't been there long and you QT it's fine. Honestly the Petco here sometimes has better and healthier fish than the fish stores.

 

[theblackpearl]

Always QT anything from petco! Always!

Feed him LRS reef frenzy , he'll make a good addition to your 70

 

[lion king]

Put a sand bed in that 10g and add rocks and macro with pods from your 70. The leopard should then acclimate nicely eating pods as you try to convert him to prepared foods. Add more pods to the qt as necessary. Brine shrimp is usually the 1st that they accept, then start mixing in other fare with brine. When you are confident he is healthy and accepting other foods, you are good to go. QT not only serves a purpose to protect your DT from disease, but also to settle a fish into life in captivity. Leopard wrasses are know to be difficult, this method is as close to 100% as you will get.

As far as the mandarin goes, same thing; if he is accepting other foods there's no problem. If you had either fish and especially both fish just living on pods, a 70 would not support them. My leopard eats most every prepared food I feed, I also still catch him hunting pods from time to time.

 

[Jack Eskay]

Put a sand bed in that 10g and add rocks and macro with pods from your 70. The leopard should then acclimate nicely eating pods as you try to convert him to prepared foods. Add more pods to the qt as necessary. Brine shrimp is usually the 1st that they accept, then start mixing in other fare with brine. When you are confident he is healthy and accepting other foods, you are good to go. QT not only serves a purpose to protect your DT from disease, but also to settle a fish into life in captivity. Leopard wrasses are know to be difficult, this method is as close to 100% as you will get.

As far as the mandarin goes, same thing; if he is accepting other foods there's no problem. If you had either fish and especially both fish just living on pods, a 70 would not support them. My leopard eats most every prepared food I feed, I also still catch him hunting pods from time to time.

Thanks so much for the feedback. I don't have a qt that is treated with anything but just a 10 gal with some zoas and a torch. Would this still be fine as a qt? Or do I need to remove the corals and treat the tank and fish if I buy.

 

[Jack Eskay]

Just remember rescuing is the same as buying! It sounds nice and feels good to think we rescue something, but in the end it's a sale and they order more.

Really though most if not all Petco's are supplied by quality marine, same place that live aquaria uses (even before getting bought), so if it hasn't been there long and you QT it's fine. Honestly the Petco here sometimes has better and healthier fish than the fish stores.

That is true I just don't find often fish such as this wrasse tend to end up in petcos, and yes I'd be buying but I also see it as helping the fish in some way as this store low quality and not many people with good saltwater knowledge shop or live near here. Thanks so much for the feedback though! And hopefully you can help answer my question above! Thanks!

 

[Jack Eskay]

As long as you can quarantine, there really isn't any risk involved.

Does this qt have to be treated? Or is it ok that it's just a standard running 10 gal with a few corals and some chaeto?

 

[Waters]

I personally would only treat if you see something worth treating. Others might have a different opinion though. You don't need any coral or chaeto at all....just some PVC to allow him to hide. Maintain consistent water parameters and observe Since you already have some coral in your 10 gallon, it will be impossible to treat if you do need to though. The coral will most likely have to be removed first.

 

[lion king]

Thanks so much for the feedback. I don't have a qt that is treated with anything but just a 10 gal with some zoas and a torch. Would this still be fine as a qt? Or do I need to remove the corals and treat the tank and fish if I buy.

Forgot to mention leopard wrasses have been known to come in with parasites, so a prazipro treatment at least would be advised. Prazipro would be fine to use in that tank, personally I don't treat my fish with anything else unless they exhibit signs of an illness, So automatically treating with copper or other meds which are not reef safe would not be necessary. I think that tank would be good to get a leopard wrasse settled.

 

[Cment]

I would QT. I would definitely treat with 2 rounds of prazipro and observe for anything else. Get some live black worms along with pods until she starts to eat prepared foods. Leopards tend to be very hardy once acclimated to frozen/pellet foods and treated for flukes.

 

[OrionN]

My Petco is OK. I got this Leopard from Petco in Corpus Christi

 

[ca1ore]

Many of the leopards I see for sale are starved, even at the more reputable LFS. If they have a 'pinched' look behind the head pass. They will not recover.

 

[davocean]

Petco's all get lumped into one usually negative category, but I agree often they get their fish from same vendors as most other LFS

Each store is different, it depends on manager and their knowledge and husbandry skills.

We have a petco near us that is a SW hub and has very healthy fish most of the time, many of my fish have come from there.

I would say QT everything from anywhere is always best, and not just for disease control, but also getting them to eat w/out competition or fear of existing fish in display.

Most people that I see that are successful in keeping sensitive or finicky fish like these wrasses, or anthia, achieve this by qt and getting them to eat in that qt before adding to display.

I would have no hesitation in getting a fish at Petco, and keep in mind, liveaquaria was aquired by petco 3 years ago.

Many people I've seen post that they don't want to give money towards petco and yet they buy from liveaquaria...

 

[Jesterrace]

My question would be how long has it been there and has it been feeding on regular food? Huge difference in a wrasse that is active and feeding for a few weeks and one that has simply arrived alive.

 

[Fishnut]

IMO a leopard will out compete the mandarin for pods in the tank. Don’t add the second fish unless it is eating other foods first.

 

[OrionN]

IMO a leopard will out compete the mandarin for pods in the tank. Don’t add the second fish unless it is eating other foods first.

Leopard seem to eat larger prey then Mandarin. In smaller tank, they may really out compete and starve a mandarin. The two Leopard and various wrasses I have in my tank seem to go after larger prey that can be seen by my naked eyes. My Mandarin pair is really fat and spawned often, eat prey that I cannot see.
OTOH, my fishes are in a 320 DT. Large enough to easily support the Mandarins and the wrasses, especially all y my wrasses eat prepared dry food. My fish get fed 6 times a day so the wrasses are lazy and don't do a great deal of hunting.

 

[Jesterrace]

I would say that although Leopards are for the most part picky pod eaters, they are more likely to adapt to frozen foods than a mandarin is and can subsist on fewer feedings per day. My Blue Star Leopard gets Reef Frenzy twice a day and seaweed once a day (Yes, like my Melanurus it eats seaweed) and it seems to do well.

 

[lzrlvr]

Hey I acquired a yellow coral goby (gobiodon okinawae) from Petco about 4 months ago it was in a tank with a lot of hermit crabs and no resting places it now resides in my 15 gal reef tank it’s the only fish in my tank and it is doing well and I have not given it food for about 2 months. It is very active and in good health and feeds on the small inhabitants in my 8 month old tank

 

[OrionN]

Hey I acquired a yellow coral goby (gobiodon okinawae) from Petco about 4 months ago it was in a tank with a lot of hermit crabs and no resting places it now resides in my 15 gal reef tank it’s the only fish in my tank and it is doing well and I have not given it food for about 2 months. It is very active and in good health and feeds on the small inhabitants in my 8 month old tank

IMHO, that fish is very thin.