Leopard wrasse

RJT · Jun 14, 2012

Hello,

I always like leopard wrasses and wanted to know member experiences with them:
How long before they came out of the sand once introduced?
Does getting more than one help?
What did they eat at first?

btkrausen · Jun 14, 2012

I just got my first leopard about 4 weeks ago. He stayed hidden for a day or two but started coming out afterwards. He was a solid fish from PIA and started eating Mysis and Rods Reef immediately.
I think finding a good specimen to start off with is crucial.

RJT · Jun 14, 2012

btkrausen said:
I just got my first leopard about 4 weeks ago. He stayed hidden for a day or two but started coming out afterwards. He was a solid fish from PIA and started eating Mysis and Rods Reef immediately.
I think finding a good specimen to start off with is crucial.

Great!! I am getting mine from liveaquaria so hopefully they are healthy like PIA.

chort55 · Jun 14, 2012

Totally depends on the fish as far as coming out quick or not.... My pair of Potters Leopard Wrasses stayed out for a few hours before going to bed for the night, my Black Leopard Wrasse stayed hidden for 2 weeks, barely came out even when she did come out and ended up jumping (which is common, so make sure you have a lid of some type)...... I am picking up a regular leopard wrasse from a friend that is shutting his tank down either tonight or this weekend but I don't expect it to hide much as it has been in captivity for 2 years now (It hid for a couple days initially if I remember right tho).

They are poor shippers, even healthy ones can die in shipping as they try to burrow into the bag (like they would hide in the sand when scared/ to sleep) and ruin their mouth. My LFS has brought in probably 50+ various leopards..... I think roughly 15 have made it out of the bag, and 5 have made it past that. Sometimes they just never come out of the sand even.

Goodluck they are beautiful fish, but don't be surprised if you get a bag with a floater in it, unfortunately it happens alot.

RJT · Jun 15, 2012

I got two from liveaquaria today! They arrived alive. I also had an overdose of kalk today. My ato went crazy, within an hour the tank was white with almost no visibility except when something was on the glass. All of this an hour after the leopards were acclimated. It took a few hours but I got all of the fish out.

Now one of the leopards is out swimming (the one I got out within the first hour of the incident). The other leopard was caught three hours after the incident. He and the other wrasses are still under sand.

The tank is only a 30g so after a water change tomorrow I will start to put the fish back in the main tank.

chort55 · Jun 15, 2012

WOW that sucks, hopefully they will pull through and be ok!! I just picked up a new leopard tonight from a friend that was shutting down his tank. They are awesome fish.

My pair ate mysis (hikari brand) the day I got them home, and now eat anything including pellets and flake (when I rarely feed either lol).

BTW, don't go poking through the sand to check on them it will just stress them out more. Also, you may want to just wait a day or two before moving them again, the leopards have already had a stressful journey and day as it is.

RJT · Jun 15, 2012

Congrats on your new one.

Thats the same brand of mysis I use, hopefully it works for me too.

Great advice. I will leave them in the small tank and move the other fish out. Ten fish in a 30g will only cause more problems. Two leopards and a tiny harptail blenny sounds a lot better. At least until I get them eating for a while.

k2parkstar · Jun 15, 2012

Congrats on the new leopards, not sure if I missed it but what kind are they? I've got a regular leopard wrasse. When I got she stayed out for an hour, then disappeared for about a week. Now she's zips around my tank non stop, she's a fantastic fish. She only eats mysis( PE). Enjoy your new fish!

RJT · Jun 15, 2012

Thank you. They are the regular leopards. I got these because I like the nice contrast the male gets. Both are under the sand this morning.

k2parkstar · Jun 15, 2012

RJT said:
Thank you. They are the regular leopards. I got these because I like the nice contrast the male gets. Both are under the sand this morning.

My leopard isn't a morning person. She doesn't come out till noon or so but my tank lights are on till 1am. I work odd hours soo they don't cone on till 5:30. Once they get comfortable in their new home they'll be out all the time

RJT · Jun 15, 2012

She was out until 1 this morning so noon is very likely. My dwarf eel survived she ate this morning.

I will try to feed the leopards this afternoon

RJT · Jun 17, 2012

Woohooo!! One of the leopard wrasses is a night bird 8pm to 1am (the other hasn't come out since Thursday) she just ate a good amount of hikari mysis. Yesterday she ate some nutramar ova. Hopefully, the other wrasse comes in within a week or so.