Info on requirements for keeping Leopard wrasse

[PDang]

Hello to all reefers,

Does anybody have experience on keeping Leopard wrasse? What are the requirements for keeping one? The only info I had found so far indicated that it eats gastropod and it's reef safe. What is gastropod? Any info on the survival rate and difficulty degree on keeping one in captive will be a big help. Thanks for any info that you can provide.

Phong

 

[leftovers]

1. Leopard Wrasses require sand to sleep in

2. They may take awhile before accepting any frozen foods like brine mysid etc.

3. Once you have them eating they are a nice colorful addition to the tank

4. They are shy fish for the most part and may stay in the rocks a lot picking on the rocks - don't be surprised if your feather duster worm population declines as will your 'pod population- amphi- copo- etc. (these are the little creatures that eat detritus and algae and live in the sand and rocks)

 

[Super Len]

leftovers right on, but I'd like to add a few comments.

Scientific name: Macropharyngodon meleagris
Comes from the commonly collected waters of the Indo-Pacific (has a broad natural distribution). However, they're relatively uncommon in the hobby because capture is difficult: they immediately dig under the sand at any threat.

They require deeper, fine sand beds for comfort, as they retreat into the substrate when scared or sleeping.

They're jumpers, You should have the tank covered.

They don't accept offered foods readily, but will over time. I would start with live brine shrimp, and move on to frozen feeds, then flakes.

As mentioned, they're terribly efficient hunters of benthic life. If it's a smaller tank (below 60 gallons), you'll likely see a significant depopulation of amphipods, copepods, mysis, polycheates, tube worms, etc. I would not recommend one in a tank smaller then 20, unless it's proven to feed in captivity.

BTW, a gastropod is snails. They will eat snails if they've fallen upside-down, but aren't efficient at hunting healthy snails up against the glass.

 

[Greg Hiller]

Although I've no personal experience with this species of wrasse I thought I'd add that they have also been described as a natural (although probably unreliable) control for the red flat worms. I've also heard that sometimes these wrasses do not do well due to internal parasites. Greg Schiemer has a lot of experience with these fish I believe.

- Greg Hiller

 

[Anonymous]

I had one for six months (until it jumped!). It did not make a dent in my flatworm population, nor did I ever see it eat one.