What's your favorite leopard wrasse?

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

I'm trying to decide which leopard wrasse to get for my 70-gallon tank. Which one do you guys like best for looks and personality?

 

[Macropharyngodon]

Personal Favorites are:

Female Potters (can't get them rn because hawaiian endemic tho)
Female Blue Star - Look absolutely stunning under blue light
Female Black

 

[JoJosReef]

All females look better than the males. I like the blue star, Macropharyngodon bipartitis, but I'm biased because I have one and she's my little diva. I would really like a black leopard, M. negrosensis, because a) beautiful, b) great contrast with the other colorful fish. some wrasse lovers like the standard leopard, M. meleagris, more than the bipartitis, because of the bolder contrast in their leopard spots, wheras bipartitis mixes a few more colors. I don't know of anyone who likes M. ornatus more than meleagris, but I could be forgetting someone. I believe @Tcook is a fan of the Vivian's, as is @Crabby48 , although Crabby might say the M. choati is the prettiest, as he's had success with them.

If you find a baby M. negrosensis, that's about the cutest thing you'll ever see, with the possible exception of a baby dragon wrasse.

 

[Tcook]

I would love to have a pair of negrosensis. I have tried twice this year and both have died at the lfs within 2 weeks. Viviens are great. Will always have one. I think they are @Crabby48 favorite behind the jordani. I have an ornate and really like it.

 

[Macropharyngodon]

Yeah, They are all so pretty. I wish the potters were still available

 

[AquaticYeti]

I love all the leopards! I have a blue star and a black leopard (females).

I’d suggest a Potters or an Ornate leopard. The Fiji leopard, which I believe is the most common, is beautiful too.

 

[251924]

Can call me biased i dont care. I like my female blue star. Mostly due to day 1 i had her eating pellets and frozen mysis . Has me worried though I didnt see her much of today after adding a one spot foxface. My other wrasses were out and about but she was in the sand earlier today and the foxface was flaring its spines and was color changed to camo. Tank is 6ft so not a space issue.

 

[TruRacr314x]

Female Vermiculate gets my vote…

Anampses Femininus will always be my fav wrasse though…but you asked about leopards!

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

Call me weird, but I love the colors of the male blue star leopards and some of the other male leopards too. I'm thinking whichever one I end up getting, I'd like to get a pair so that I can have both male and female.

 

[Miami Reef]

Call me weird, but I love the colors of the male blue star leopards and some of the other male leopards too. I'm thinking whichever one I end up getting, I'd like to get a pair so that I can have both male and female.

I came here to say Blue Star. Those are my favorite. I want to add one to my tank.

 

[LiquidSpace]

Kuiters are great.

 

[PhilT]

my male and female leopards

 

[Crabby48]

All females look better than the males. I like the blue star, Macropharyngodon bipartitis, but I'm biased because I have one and she's my little diva. I would really like a black leopard, M. negrosensis, because a) beautiful, b) great contrast with the other colorful fish. some wrasse lovers like the standard leopard, M. meleagris, more than the bipartitis, because of the bolder contrast in their leopard spots, wheras bipartitis mixes a few more colors. I don't know of anyone who likes M. ornatus more than meleagris, but I could be forgetting someone. I believe @Tcook is a fan of the Vivian's, as is @Crabby48 , although Crabby might say the M. choati is the prettiest, as he's had success with them.

If you find a baby M. negrosensis, that's about the cutest thing you'll ever see, with the possible exception of a baby dragon wrasse.

I would love to have a pair of negrosensis. I have tried twice this year and both have died at the lfs within 2 weeks. Viviens are great. Will always have one. I think they are @Crabby48 favorite behind the jordani. I have an ornate and really like it.

As for looks Potters is my number one as other reason but personality wise not so much. Viviens is my favorite wrasse hands down. Looks good and and have a good personality. I like all leopards but ornate is low on the list.
Choats are cool and I wouldn’t keep them if I can get a tiny Viviens.
I will probably always keep a qt running to rescue Choats locally.

 

[Crabby48]

I would love to have a pair of negrosensis. I have tried twice this year and both have died at the lfs within 2 weeks. Viviens are great. Will always have one. I think they are @Crabby48 favorite behind the jordani. I have an ornate and really like it.

Look how adorable she is! One day I still want to try a trip and see if one will transition…

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

I would love to have a pair of negrosensis. I have tried twice this year and both have died at the lfs within 2 weeks. Viviens are great. Will always have one. I think they are @Crabby48 favorite behind the jordani. I have an ornate and really like it.

This looks like a beautiful choice! How hard are they to get acclimated to tank life? Any tips?

 

[Tcook]

This looks like a beautiful choice! How hard are they to get acclimated to tank life? Any tips?

They are quite easy if you start with a good specimen. I had one from TSM that jumped when I forgot to close the feeding door. The current one is from @Crabby48 via a mutual importer. She eats any food offered. Highly recommended.

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

They are quite easy if you start with a good specimen. I had one from TSM that jumped when I forgot to close the feeding door. The current one is from @Crabby48 via a mutual importer. She eats any food offered. Highly recommended.

I really want to get one now. Gonna try to source one

 

[JoJosReef]

I really want to get one now. Gonna try to source one

You won't regret it. Leopards are simply the best.

 

[Crabby48]

They are quite easy if you start with a good specimen. I had one from TSM that jumped when I forgot to close the feeding door. The current one is from @Crabby48 via a mutual importer. She eats any food offered. Highly recommended.

Agree Viviens are very easy. They get held in waiting for a flight in stress environment and have a long journey to the states. The ones that hit big wholesalers are stressed more and most at that point are in tough shape. If you get direct or a place that holds and treats them for illness is best option.

 

[wunderlong88]

Personal Favorites are:

Female Potters (can't get them rn because hawaiian endemic tho)
Female Blue Star - Look absolutely stunning under blue light
Female Black

Will the Female Blue Star stay female?