Leopard wrasse for “expert only”?

[SashimiTurtle]

Oh yea, I have a male m. moyeri, male h. chrysus, male c. isosceles, male-ish c.jordani, female m. negrosensis, and just added a tiny male melanarus that just came out of acclimation box today.

The black leopard is the only female I have left, but she’s been in there almost as long as the meleagris so I think it’s only a matter of time...

Cool. My C. brunneus was male when I got him, had him for 2 years now, around 3". Female M. meleagris I've had for around 9 months, 3". Half Male P. mccoskeri, 8-9 months, bought as female, 2½". Female M. negrosensis, 6-7 months, 2¾". Male H. melanarus, newest addition around 4ish months, he's a doosy around 4¾"-5". The net I transferred him with is 4"×3", and he was almost too big to fit curved in the bottom.

So far the mccoskeri has been the only one to begin the transition. The negrosensis are so pretty with their adult black and green crosshatch.

 

[ngoodermuth]

Cool. My C. brunneus was male when I got him, had him for 2 years now, around 3". Female M. meleagris I've had for around 9 months, 3". Half Male P. mccoskeri, 8-9 months, bought as female, 2½". Female M. negrosensis, 6-7 months, 2¾". Male H. melanarus, newest addition around 4ish months, he's a doosy around 4¾"-5". The net I transferred him with is 4"×3", and he was almost too big to fit curved in the bottom.

So far the mccoskeri has been the only one to begin the transition. The negrosensis are so pretty with their adult black and green crosshatch.

I know! I’m not holding my breath with the black leopard though, she’s definitely low man on the totem pole with the sand sleeping wrasses. I have a feeling when she does start to change, she will be like my flame and stay stuck in “sub male” phase forever.

 

[Jesterrace]

It can vary so much.

As with others, I am also convinced that shipping is a huge factor.

One recent meleagris I got from an LFS, nice size female, had been there a while.
She absolutely sailed through QT - Ate frozen right off, used the small sand dish I provided but was up with lights on every morning,
ate medicated food no problem, tolerated both GC and CP in the water no problem.
Got into the DT and immediately started picking food off rocks. Now fat and not at all shy.
Not expert at all, any beginner could have gotten this fish through successfully.

On the other hand, a second recent leopard, an ornatus, I got shipped to me from Diver's Den, and it went into a sterile QT.
Appeared healthy and active, but immediately dove into the sand dish and didn't appear again for 3 days.
Then for two days it would be out intermittently and was even eating a bit of mysis. No signs of illness at all.
Next morning, head out of the sand breathing hard, then dead.
Could have been almost anything that did it in, but I'd guess shipping stress was a big part of it.

That pretty much sums up my observations with them as well. That's why I feel it's crucial to effectively let your LFS screen them for you instead of taking a vegas style gamble by simply accepting whatever random Leopard Wrasse shows up on your doorstep.

 

[PatW]

With Most “difficult” fish, the big problem is getting them to eat. I have a “difficult” wrasse and he eats everything even pellets .... any pellets. Another thing with difficult fish is they might not respond well to shipping stresses. An extended quarantine period really helps with these. Get them eating well and then fatten them up before they go into the display. If they are fat, active and confident, they will have a much better shot at surviving the new kid on the block stress of the display tank.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Not expert but tank conditions and an aged tank will be of benefit