how long did they last? did they ever come out? their so nice, might take another chance.
Leopard wrasse issue
- Thread starter Euroreefer
- Start date
how long did they last? did they ever come out? their so nice, might take another chance.
- Location
- Bronx, ny
Put both in(months apart) never saw them after that first day. My red coris is doing great though
- Location
- Westchester, N.Y
My first wrasse was a Melanarus wrasse. So about a year later a pick up blue star wrasse. He was about 1 1/2 inch and Melanarus was 4 inches or bigger. When I put blue star wrasse my Melanarus was chasing him like crazy. Boy I thought I made a big mistake. Well to make my story short. Few days they were best of friends. The blue star run like hell but never hide and stood his grounds. I believe it has a lot to do with how the fish was caught. What I learned some are drugged. Making wrasse disorient and causing him to hide for longer than normal. Was he eating or did you see him eat before you put him your tank.
- Location
- Brooklyn, NY
Here is my standard warning regarding Leopard wrasses. All species are difficult fish to keep. This is actually an upgrade in the past few years as they used to be expert only--nearly impossible to keep fish. Do not buy one that is not actively swimming around the tank picking at things and it is best if it is already eating frozen food. When you get it home, it is important to make sure it adjusts to your schedule so it gets food -- methods for doing this are discussed above. Sandbeds are a must. If you are not an experienced wrasse keeper, I would avoid them.
Let it be. Digging around for it is only going to stress it out and probably keep it from settling in. It's normal for them to dissappear for several days and not uncommon to go missing for a few weeks. I've had one for about a year. I barely saw it for the first week and it really took a few months before it got into sync with my light schedule. There were periods where it would only be out for a few hours at a time. Now it's fat, happy and very active.
Bad news...came home started digging around my sand bed...it's new and clean so I was not worried about it. Well.........after tearing apart my tank taking everything out in desperation to find him all that was left was the sand bed. He either jumped out and one of my dogs ate him, got eaten by the big bristle worms I have, or pulled a Houdini and magically disappeared. I went through my entire sand bed with my hands and nothing..?...lol I've never lost a fish this way. My melanurus did enjoy eating just about everything that was floating around from all the sand movement on a good note.:scratchch
- Location
- LIC, Queens
Sorry to hear that Euro... Leopard wrasses are notoriously tricky. I wouldn't give up quite yet since small ones can be hard to find in the sand (they won't even twitch until you have them all the way out). I just got a juvenile M. meleagris that is currently keeping strict banker's hours, sand diving long before I get home - I've had success rousing her before feeding just to make sure she gets something a little more substantial than what she's picking off the rocks. You almost have to treat them like mandarins: if they aren't alert, active, and eating vigorously at the store, pass on them, and the best bet for long term husbandry is plenty of pods from live rock or a refugium.
I have had a choat wrasse and blue star leopard and a potters wrasse. The choat is the only one who didn't make it and I had it for 2 months. In my experience they come out to die. Every one of them hid for 2 weeks until they came out. I think most don't survive because of jet lag believe it or not.
- Location
- Brooklyn, NY
I put one in two weeks ago that did the same exact thing described above. I got another one today. This time I am going to really focus on him, hopefully he will make it. I knew they were finicky but not this bad. I probably wouldn't have gotten him had I read this thread. I was told they do better in groups. Does anyone have experience with that?
did you read this article are specific quarantine techniques developed for leopard wrasse? http://reefbuilders.com/2013/02/02/australian-leopardwrasse-quarantine-technique/
- Location
- Mohegan lake
Dont give up on it yet..i once was selling my melanarus wrasse to a friend, when i was trying to net him he went into his hiding spot...i took all my rocks out and dug through the sand..did not see any signs of him.. i thought it jumped..2hrs later its out swimming around like nothin happend lol..sneaky lil guy..nice to look at but it kept eating my snails
Great article, thanks.
- Location
- Brooklyn, NY
Some things in that article are not orthodox practice with these wrasses i.e. no sand bed in QT, but if nothing else, it serves to show how much special attention these fish need to stand a better than 50/50 chance of surviving.
- Location
- Montclair, NJ
Believe it or not the wrasse's can move within the sandbed when you try to wake them almost like a worm.
Just to be clear, there is a HUGE difference between a Melanurus, Coris and Leopard wrasses. All three are sand burrowers but Leopards are not even close to as hardy as a Melanurus or Coris wrasses. I know no one on this thread was saying they were the same but I want to be sure that anyone who reads this thread is clear on that.
Just to be clear, there is a HUGE difference between a Melanurus, Coris and Leopard wrasses. All three are sand burrowers but Leopards are not even close to as hardy as a Melanurus or Coris wrasses. I know no one on this thread was saying they were the same but I want to be sure that anyone who reads this thread is clear on that.
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- Location
- Bronx, ny
- Location
- Bronx, ny
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