Ornate leopard or melanurus wrasse?

Jon_CA

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My LFS has these two wrasses and I’m trying to decide which one to get for my 50 gallon Red Sea 200 XL. Currently I have only two juvenile clowns in this 2 month old tank.

The leopard wrasse is considered hard because it’s hard to get them to eat at first, but I’ve seen this one in the store for a long time. I saw it eat like a pig. It’s very small right now, less than 2 inches.

The melanurus also looks good. From what I’ve seen it may be the hardier of the two.

The two factors I would like to consider are aggression and size. Based on Liveaquaria, these two will max out at 5 inches in length. In terms of body mass and bio load, are these two pretty comparable? They both look quite active. Will they be OK in my tank? I’m right around borderline in tank size, but since both of these are really small now, I have some time before it becomes an issue.

The more important issue is how do these two compare in temperament. Which one will mingle well with other tank mates. BTW, I only plan to have one wrasse in this tank. I have a couple banggai cardinals and a diamond goby ordered. Maybe a cleaner shrimp at some point.
 

Rams

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I’d like to hear the reason for your preference. Thanks!
I have leopard wrasse and I love him,I used to have melanarus and they become bully when they grown.leopard is super fine and bright colors.Make sure leopard wrasse is eating before you are buying.
 

SaltyT

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If it’s healthy and already eating prepared foods then I say Ornate leopard. It‘ll ignore your proposed tank mates and won’t bother your inverts.
 

QuarantinedCorals

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Dude leopard all the way, super peaceful and they swim around picking at rocks all day it’s fun to watch. My melanarus was very aggressive towards other wrasses, would kill any new wrasse and would eat my cuc.
 

OrionN

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I agree with all the above. Both are attractive, beautiful wrasse. Any Leopard wrasse are difficult to get healthy. If you see a small one, eating well, than you are much more likely to be able to keep him long term. It will not be easy for you to find this in the future. Melanurus wrasse are a dime a dozen. If you want this beautiful wrasse in the future at any time, you can get it easy enough.
Therefore, get the Leopard wrasse.
 

salmonte2

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My LFS has these two wrasses and I’m trying to decide which one to get for my 50 gallon Red Sea 200 XL. Currently I have only two juvenile clowns in this 2 month old tank.

The leopard wrasse is considered hard because it’s hard to get them to eat at first, but I’ve seen this one in the store for a long time. I saw it eat like a pig. It’s very small right now, less than 2 inches.

The melanurus also looks good. From what I’ve seen it may be the hardier of the two.

The two factors I would like to consider are aggression and size. Based on Liveaquaria, these two will max out at 5 inches in length. In terms of body mass and bio load, are these two pretty comparable? They both look quite active. Will they be OK in my tank? I’m right around borderline in tank size, but since both of these are really small now, I have some time before it becomes an issue.

The more important issue is how do these two compare in temperament. Which one will mingle well with other tank mates. BTW, I only plan to have one wrasse in this tank. I have a couple banggai cardinals and a diamond goby ordered. Maybe a cleaner shrimp at some point.
I have an ornate and blue star leopards wrasse in my Nuvo 40 for almost a year and they’re doing fine. They are both very peaceful
 

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