Leopard Wrasse. only experts??

Chris-tico · Jan 6, 2016

Hi.

i want to buy a couple of Leopard Wrasse.
are they that hard to keep?? liveaquaria says "only Experts".. and im not that expert yet haha

if i buy them they will live in a 95g tank...! with 2 clowns.. and soon 2 cardinal bangai.

let me know your opinion

zwulfke · Jan 6, 2016

Mine is fine after 2 years just need to sure your tank Param stay steady. Also know,when he or she comes out I do not feed unless mine is out and about because they like to hide. Also they hide in the sand so if you have a bare bottom you will need to put sand somewhere for them. As for 2 I do not know I think they need to be a matted pair

zwulfke · Jan 6, 2016

Good info here too

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/blue-star-leopard-where-from.224543/page-3

Reef kid · Jan 6, 2016

I have a female in my 75 that's been up for 6 months. I've had her for 3 weeks and she is super healthy. One of her favorite foods is nori and her belly is constantly bulging. Can they be finicky, yes. Your best bet is just to leave the be. I figured out part of the reason I didn't see mine for two weeks is because she'd only come out in the morning when I was at school. She soon adapted to times and is best buddies with my yellow tang. Fish are all different. Some will be easy to take care of and some will be a pain even in the same species. If you get one I suggest it is from your Lfs. That way you can see it beforehand and make sure it's healthy. My 2cents

Reef kid · Jan 6, 2016

If you get two females, one will become a male. So either start with one male and female or two females

Longnose Hawkfish · Jan 6, 2016

The hardest part IMO is getting them to eat. It would be best if you could see one eating at your LFS. Sometimes their mouths can get damaged in shipping which can lead to their death.

melypr1985 · Jan 7, 2016

I would suggest deworming them since they are prone to carrying them. Prazi will take care of it and can be dosed in the Display with caution. For what it's worth- my blue star leopard is doing well in QT and has been for 2 weeks. She has been through two rounds of prazi and will soon start a copper regimen. It's true though, they hide alot until they get used to the light schedule. Mine seems to "sleep" all the time only coming out for a few hours a couple times a day. I have to be careful to feed when I see her out and about.
I'll try the nori too now, I didn't think of that! Thanks for the tip!

Reef kid · Jan 7, 2016

melypr1985 said:
I would suggest deworming them since they are prone to carrying them. Prazi will take care of it and can be dosed in the Display with caution. For what it's worth- my blue star leopard is doing well in QT and has been for 2 weeks. She has been through two rounds of prazi and will soon start a copper regimen. It's true though, they hide alot until they get used to the light schedule. Mine seems to "sleep" all the time only coming out for a few hours a couple times a day. I have to be careful to feed when I see her out and about.
I'll try the nori too now, I didn't think of that! Thanks for the tip!

I just know mine likes nori, I don't know if it's common. I had it in there for my yellow tang and my Leapord just started devouring it haha, but yeah, it's what we're all here for. To help each other and share out experience.

eatbreakfast · Jan 7, 2016

After they gwt used to captivity, leopaard wrasses are quite hardy. They just don't handle shipping stress well, so that is part of the issue.

If you get one and it buries, leave it be, digging around for it does way more harm than good. It is not unusual for them to bury for a few days, in some rarer cases they will go unseen for weeks.

melypr1985 said:
I would suggest deworming them since they are prone to carrying them. Prazi will take care of it and can be dosed in the Display with caution. For what it's worth- my blue star leopard is doing well in QT and has been for 2 weeks. She has been through two rounds of prazi and will soon start a copper regimen. It's true though, they hide alot until they get used to the light schedule. Mine seems to "sleep" all the time only coming out for a few hours a couple times a day. I have to be careful to feed when I see her out and about.
I'll try the nori too now, I didn't think of that! Thanks for the tip!

Dosing with prazi is highly recommended, but beware of dosing copper, wrasses are very sensitive to it.

melypr1985 · Jan 7, 2016

eatbreakfast said:
Dosing with prazi is highly recommended, but beware of dosing copper, wrasses are very sensitive to it.

Thanks for the reminder! Yes, I'm going to be very careful and use copper power instead of cupramine since it's a little more gentle on fish. It will be a slow process

buzzword · Jan 7, 2016

Melypr why dose copper? Is the wrasse showing signs of Ich? If not I would NOT copper a leopard wrasse. They are uber sensitive to copper. Leopard wrasses and wrasses in general are pretty resistant to ich due in part to their slime coating. I caution you not to use copper if the fish is not infected or unless in QT with fish that are. Why expose a sensitive fish or any fish for that matter to the harsh chemical of copper if not needed.
I know others will report that they do copper and have had success i.e. 3Fordfamily (who is the master of Qt), humblefish as well, but overall the success rate of coppering leopard wrasses is pretty low. I would do a 3rd round of prizipro and observe. Just my humble opinion.
By the way did you ever find black worms? If not californiablackworm.com worms, keepers and feeders shipped to your door.

melypr1985 · Jan 7, 2016

buzzword said:
Melypr why dose copper? Is the wrasse showing signs of Ich? If not I would NOT copper a leopard wrasse. They are uber sensitive to copper. Leopard wrasses and wrasses in general are pretty resistant to ich due in part to their slime coating. I caution you not to use copper if the fish is not infected or in QT with fish that are. Why expose a sensitive fish or any fish for that matter to the harsh chemical of copper if not needed.
I know others will report that they do copper and have had success i.e. 3Fordfamily (who is the master of Qt), humblefish as well, but overall the success rate of coppering leopard wrasses is pretty low. I would do a 3rd round of prizipro and observe. Just my humble opinion.
By the way did you ever find black worms? If not californiablackworm.com worms, keepers and feeders shipped to your door.

Thank you, but I'm more than capable of quarantining this wrasse with success in copper. I'm treating prophylacticly to be certain ich doesn't get back into my display. I guarantee that both of the gentlemen you mention will tell you they have complete confidence in my ability and knowledge to treat this wrasse without issue. I appreciate the concern and warning though.

I'll be very careful I promise.

buzzword · Jan 7, 2016

I never commented on your capabilities, only offered a warning. I do hope you have the success of 3fordfamily but his success is not the rule. Good luck.

melypr1985 · Jan 7, 2016

buzzword said:
I never commented on your capabilities, only offered a warning. I do hope you have the success of 3fordfamily but his success is not the rule. Good luck.

Yes, I apologize for wording my response in a bad way. Its one of those days.... I should have just said "thanks I know" So that's what I'll do now, since we derailed the OP's thread a little... Thanks I know

cnseekatz · Jan 7, 2016

I've had many leopards, and my best advise is to only buy them from a local store, do not purchase from an online vendor. Make sure the specimen you're looking at is eating prepared foods at the fish store. Pellets are best, but frozen food at the very least. Do not buy it if you do not see it eat enthusiastically. If it's not eating at the LFS, it will likely die in your tank.

I don't know if you've got a sand bed in your tank, but they do need it. I would also keep a lid over the tank, as they're known jumpers. Once you've got that all figured out, they're really beautiful fish! Here are mine...

ou12004 · Jan 7, 2016

My female has been great but the LFS ordered about 5 of them before they got one that was eating. I bought a male without seeing it eat and it died in a QT tank with nothing in it but pods and live rock in 2 days. In a sample size of 2 it is hard to draw a conclusion but if you can get one you know is eating that may be best.

I have been trying to get a male for about a year and lfs's are having a hard time getting one in for me, my female has been in the tank about a year, can I add a second female at this point and hope it changes to a male?