Leopard Wrasse

lovecrzreef · Jun 4, 2014

Thanks y'all!! Looks like she found a new home! My LFS is going to hold her until Sunday or Tuesday. I forgot my mated pair of scooter blennys on my stock list. I got them from the same LFS and I haven't had any problems with them (they eat frozen food like pigs!). I'm super excited and thanks for all the help and advise! :)

mfinn · Jun 4, 2014

I've had my leopard wrasse for 5-6 years and I guess I got lucky. It has been one of the easiest fish to keep.
Mine has been in a open top tank since I had him. He has been able to deal with only having a 1" to 1-1/2" sand bed. He gets fed once a day with the rest of the fish ( he picks all day too). He wants to be the center of attention and in all my pictures.
He is now in adult coloration and looks similar to a melanarus wrasse.

lovecrzreef · Jun 4, 2014

This gives me hope! :) I have a 93 gallon rimless cube. My Carpenter wrasse hasn't jumped (knock on wood). He's my favorite since he's so active, I hope the leopard is the same way :)

Marshall O · Jun 4, 2014

Oh...rimless tank...I take it back :( Please get that tank covered before even thinking of adding another fish. You already have a bunch of fish known to jump. No point in risking another. You can make a nice screen out of clear 1/4" mesh and a window screen kit. I did it myself for my 50 rimless.

lovecrzreef · Jun 4, 2014

My husband and I were actually talking about that today. The fish we have so far were previously housed in rimless tanks and had never jumped so we felt comfortable adding them without the screen. The leopard is brand new to the store so we wouldn't risk it with her. Question on the screen, how much larger than your tank dimensions did you make your screen? And also, did you weigh it down?

eatbreakfast · Jun 5, 2014

lovecrzreef said:
My husband and I were actually talking about that today. The fish we have so far were previously housed in rimless tanks and had never jumped so we felt comfortable adding them without the screen. The leopard is brand new to the store so we wouldn't risk it with her. Question on the screen, how much larger than your tank dimensions did you make your screen? And also, did you weigh it down?

I have found that making it smaller than the dimensions of the tank looks the best for a rimless tank.. Find clips that will fit your glass and make the frame so that it fits in the inside dimensions of the tank. I have also found with this method there is no need to weigh down the top. Just make sure to form some kind of lift tab to easily raise it.

lovecrzreef · Jun 5, 2014

Thanks! We're doing that today since we'll be picking up the leopard wrasse tomorrow and she hasn't been in a rimless tank so we don't want to risk it. I love the clip idea! We hadn't thought about it! We were gonna do acrylic but like this better :)

Marshall O · Jun 5, 2014

100% agree with eatbreakfast. I bought clips off Ebay for cheap money :)

ReefPiracy · Jun 5, 2014

+1 on net. May be good for awhile but will jump. I lost one my favorite wrasse when i left the net off one day :'(

lovecrzreef · Jun 6, 2014

Well... I went to pick up the leopard wrasse yesterday and she had passed. I was really sad :( We couldn't find the net anywhere so we just did the egg crate top for now until the one we ordered online is delivered. The only wrasse we have isn't a jumper (at least never has or tried to) but better safe than sorry.

Naiad · Jun 6, 2014

Did they know why she passed or just found dead

lovecrzreef · Jun 6, 2014

They said she was stressed. The day I saw her she was very active and eating frozen but it was right when she had arrived to the store, she had only been in the tank about an hour when I saw her. I called the next day and they said she had started hiding and then yesterday they found her dead. I was sad because she was just beautiful!

evolved · Jun 6, 2014

lovecrzreef said:
The only wrasse we have isn't a jumper (at least never has or tried to) but better safe than sorry.

Paracheilinus are one of the worst offenders in this department; don't wait much longer for a mesh top.

lovecrzreef · Jun 6, 2014

It's on it's way and should be here soon. We have the egg crate for now. Lowes and Home Depot had the mesh but the holes looked really big, bigger than the egg crate. They also didn't have any clear ones, only black.

lovecrzreef · Jun 8, 2014

We have built the screen and secured it with Velcro... No fish are jumping out on my watch! :) Our LFS got 2 new leopard wrasses in and one was really active and eating frozen food. She has been in our tank for 3 days now and is a fatty! Super active and social and eats like no other! Hopefully she keeps on doing well :)