lanman December 24, 2007 Share December 24, 2007 Well, now I'm a little nervous. I purchased a leopard wrasse at BRK (it is still in quarantine) on impulse, and THEN looked it up. This fish can be a 'hard keeper', but in addition to being beautiful, has some very cool, peculiar habits. It is a 'sand wrasse' - - it sleeps buried in the sand, and will dive into the sand if it's frightened or stressed. It is a very vigorous and busy hunter - and will eat small crustaceans, pods, snails (the kind that bother clams), and even flatworms. Anyone have any experience and insights to share?? Thanks, bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 December 24, 2007 Share December 24, 2007 Bob, I have never had one but did a lot of research on them. I am not sure that the sand bed you have is appropriate for them, but that may just be me hoping you back out so I can take it! I would check with I believe Chip (flowerseller) and Dave (dhoch) who each own one if memory serves. These can be tricky to get settled in, but once they are, they are awesome fish. The research that I did before indicates that Dave and Chip are excellent aquarists because of how well adapted their fish are, I think that they are in the minority, but then again, lots of people who try to keep them don't have reef aquariums and I think that this is the downfall for many of them. If your grade of sand is OK, you should have enough of it, although you won't have the fauna that is required. Worst case scenario, if it's not, you could add a tray of sand in the back under your overflow of the right type so that it can dive in there and hunt for food. Let me know if you decide it's not for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaironman December 24, 2007 Share December 24, 2007 Bob, Is it Splendid leopard wrasse, aka African leopard wrasse, or indo. leopard wrasse (I think)? There are normally two types of leopard wrasses in the sale. The African leopard wrasse has blue spotted belly, pink body. KLee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanman December 24, 2007 Author Share December 24, 2007 Bob, Is it Splendid leopard wrasse, aka African leopard wrasse, or indo. leopard wrasse (I think)? There are normally two types of leopard wrasses in the sale. The African leopard wrasse has blue spotted belly, pink body. KLee I believe it is Macropharyngodon Meleagris - common leopard wrasse, guinea fowl wrasse, etc. Dave - I've found nothing indicating what kind of sand they prefer; but what I have is very easy to poke your finger into, etc. It is loose and moves easily. Also no indication that they hunt for food in the sand; they just sleep there, and hide in the sand when frightened or stressed out. They hunt through the live rock, just like a 6-line; picking stuff off. They need a tank at least 3 feet long or so - they are very active swimmers. Mine is 3x5, and he will be the only fish in there for the time being, other than a 1" goby and his shrimp buddy. (They are doing great, by the way - the shrimp dug out a mansion, while the goby sat there and 'supervised'. That goby eats mysis as big as he is - in one bite!) My tank is new, of course - but most of the rock in it is very well-established, and should hold plenty of interesting critters for this guy to feed on. I will go full-speed ahead on setting up a refugium to add pods and stuff to the water - but they do well on mysids and prepared foods, once you get them eating. And I just kind of assume that Johnny will have him eating - he's pretty good at that. I will treat him for worms - Johnny has Praziquantel I can soak his food in. bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaironman December 24, 2007 Share December 24, 2007 I believe it is Macropharyngodon Meleagris - common leopard wrasse, guinea fowl wrasse, etc. Dave - I've found nothing indicating what kind of sand they prefer; but what I have is very easy to poke your finger into, etc. It is loose and moves easily. Also no indication that they hunt for food in the sand; they just sleep there, and hide in the sand when frightened or stressed out. They hunt through the live rock, just like a 6-line; picking stuff off. They need a tank at least 3 feet long or so - they are very active swimmers. Mine is 3x5, and he will be the only fish in there for the time being, other than a 1" goby and his shrimp buddy. (They are doing great, by the way - the shrimp dug out a mansion, while the goby sat there and 'supervised'. That goby eats mysis as big as he is - in one bite!) My tank is new, of course - but most of the rock in it is very well-established, and should hold plenty of interesting critters for this guy to feed on. I will go full-speed ahead on setting up a refugium to add pods and stuff to the water - but they do well on mysids and prepared foods, once you get them eating. And I just kind of assume that Johnny will have him eating - he's pretty good at that. I will treat him for worms - Johnny has Praziquantel I can soak his food in. bob As I remember from reading, your leopard wrasse prefers live pods only if he does not already adapt to eating frozen mysis shrimp. Larry from roozen also told me the same thing a couple years back, so I shy away from it. I did have the African leopard wrasse and it's much easier to keep than from what the description on www.marinecenter.com indicated. I know from experience that the African leopard wrasse will hide in my fine sand bed, 5 inches deep, for the first 3-4 days. Once it decided to come out, he'll start eating live brine shrimp along with frozen mysis shrimp within the first week. Not sure your leopard wrasse will do the same but no panic if you don't see it out after the first 2 days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanman December 24, 2007 Author Share December 24, 2007 As I remember from reading, your leopard wrasse prefers live pods only if he does not already adapt to eating frozen mysis shrimp. Larry from roozen also told me the same thing a couple years back, so I shy away from it. I did have the African leopard wrasse and it's much easier to keep than from what the description on www.marinecenter.com indicated. I know from experience that the African leopard wrasse will hide in my fine sand bed, 5 inches deep, for the first 3-4 days. Once it decided to come out, he'll start eating live brine shrimp along with frozen mysis shrimp within the first week. Not sure your leopard wrasse will do the same but no panic if you don't see it out after the first 2 days. Yes - I've read an account of one that buried himself for over a week when a new inhabitant was added to the tank; and he was just fine, albeit rather hungry for a few days after he came back out. bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnybv December 24, 2007 Share December 24, 2007 It is the African Leopard Macropharyngodon bipartitus, it is eating mysis, and will dive into any sand you give it. john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanman December 24, 2007 Author Share December 24, 2007 It is the African Leopard Macropharyngodon bipartitus, it is eating mysis, and will dive into any sand you give it. john Winner!!! That's absolutely SPLENDID!! http://animal-world.com/encyclo/marine/wra...opardWrasse.php bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traveller7 December 24, 2007 Share December 24, 2007 Article is getting a bit dated, but: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-07/hcs3/index.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanman December 24, 2007 Author Share December 24, 2007 Article is getting a bit dated, but: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-07/hcs3/index.php I read that one while doing my research. Very good article. There is a ton of info out there for this fish - which is good! bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaironman December 24, 2007 Share December 24, 2007 You beat two people to that African leopard wrasse. Either Davelin or chip (can't remember from the top post) and the other person is me. I came to BRK yesterday to pickup the aqua III controller and would pick that wrasse up if I see it still around. Love that wrasse. It's very active and always out in the open. Nice pick up. Of course, that wrasse is hard to come by, not terribly expensive and very colorful. Congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanman December 25, 2007 Author Share December 25, 2007 You beat two people to that African leopard wrasse. Either Davelin or chip (can't remember from the top post) and the other person is me. I came to BRK yesterday to pickup the aqua III controller and would pick that wrasse up if I see it still around. Love that wrasse. It's very active and always out in the open. Nice pick up. Of course, that wrasse is hard to come by, not terribly expensive and very colorful. Congrats! Yeah... Johnny's no fool; he knew a dozen pretty avid reefers were coming in to get their AC's; so he stocked up! It's a beautiful fish, with really different habits. I hope I can keep him for many years. bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flowerseller December 25, 2007 Share December 25, 2007 I have one and it eats flake, nori, or other meaty foods I cut up for the tank. I always try to get all my fish on flake food. I find the best way to get new fish to eat flake foods is to not feed the tank for several days. Then when you do, all the other inhabs really go at it and the new kid on the blocks feels compelled to at least try it. With the variety of flake I use, it's all that needs to take place and they are confirmed flake feeders from then on. The best way to feed flake is to take a pinch and submerge it for a few seconds and then gentley shake and release. This is just my experience but these fish will not do well with pelletised foods and should not be feed them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanman December 25, 2007 Author Share December 25, 2007 I have one and it eats flake, nori, or other meaty foods I cut up for the tank. I always try to get all my fish on flake food. I find the best way to get new fish to eat flake foods is to not feed the tank for several days. Then when you do, all the other inhabs really go at it and the new kid on the blocks feels compelled to at least try it. With the variety of flake I use, it's all that needs to take place and they are confirmed flake feeders from then on. The best way to feed flake is to take a pinch and submerge it for a few seconds and then gentley shake and release. This is just my experience but these fish will not do well with pelletised foods and should not be feed them. Everyone seems to be saying that flake is the best choice. More nutrition per quantity of food - because it's solid food, not 90% water like shrimp and other seafood is. I intend to try and get mine on flake, as well. I feed one meal of shrimp and 'whatever' (clams, squid, etc - I keep a variety and mix it up different every night), and one meal of flake each day. Usually the flake when I first get home from work, and they are really hungry. Everyone eats it. bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guppychao December 25, 2007 Share December 25, 2007 I had 2 leopard wrasses for a couple of years in different tanks, both of them committed suicide and jumped out of the tank after being in the tank for quite some time in one tank i had some sand, however in another it was barebottom, both ate osi spirilena flakes but had to coach them to eat. good luck, great fish!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zobey December 25, 2007 Share December 25, 2007 i've had one now for about 9 months - everyone said that it would be difficult to keep. Well at first it was challenging to get him to eat, but one day he just started eating cyclopeze pellets and now he will eat mysid, brine, cyclopeze pellets, meaty bits of clam and squid etc. It is an awesome fish - lots of personality and can set the clock by him - goes under the gravel every night at about the same time - although I don't think he understands daylight savings time! All in all an awesome addition to my tank - my favorite fish! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanman December 28, 2007 Author Share December 28, 2007 He's home, he's acclimated, he's in the tank, and he's very very happy there. I think I saw him smiling! Didn't dart into the sand - just swam around, checked the place out, and started normal wrasse behavior - picking pods out of rocks. At some point when I wasn't watching this evening, he buried himself. I hope. Guess I won't really know until tomorrow. But I'll bet I check the filter socks before bed... going to take some getting used to; a fish that disappears. bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanman December 28, 2007 Author Share December 28, 2007 Well, my leopard wrasse popped out of the sand this morning about 11:00. While Steve Outlaw was here. Possibly because I had turned on the actinics to show him the tank. Sat around for a minute, and went off searching for pods. Seems perfectly content. Lips may be a little swollen from shipping, QT, etc. - but not bad. Fish happy, me happy. bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 December 28, 2007 Share December 28, 2007 Uh-oh. Just read an article by a renowned fish guy, Bill S. Fulov, perhaps you've heard of him, if not look him up via initials and last name first in the Library of Congress catalog. According to him, one of the worst combinations you can have is a symbiotic goby and pistol shrimp in the same tank as a leopard wrasse, specifically African varieties. According to him: the imminent danger of total tank collapse is almost always realized within a matter of weeks. Because the two fish tend to inhabit the same areas of the tank and because they are not natural neighbors, the secretion of deadly gases and hot air can result in widespread death and collapse of bacteria colonies in a captive marine environment. This in turn leads to complete death and destruction of the tank they are housed together in. The ideal solution for this problem is to remove the leopard wrasse and move it into a 7' 300 gallon reef aquarium with approximately 400 gallons of sump space. This will quickly resolve any of the issues that come with mixing the two species together. So, Bob, when are you going to resolve this problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanman December 29, 2007 Author Share December 29, 2007 Uh-oh. Just read an article by a renowned fish guy, Bill S. Fulov, perhaps you've heard of him, if not look him up via initials and last name first in the Library of Congress catalog. According to him, one of the worst combinations you can have is a symbiotic goby and pistol shrimp in the same tank as a leopard wrasse, specifically African varieties. According to him: So, Bob, when are you going to resolve this problem? I recognize the author, but I thought his name was B.S. Fulovit. You're right though, in the Library of Congress he is listed as Fulov, B.S. Thanks for the warning - I'll take steps to improve the situation. Even if the superheated gas didn't cause the tank collapse, there is the problem of a sand-moving shrimp and a sand-dwelling fish attempting to occupy the same space at the same time. Everyone knows that can result in a reaction of nuclear proportions. Thanks again! bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zotzer December 29, 2007 Share December 29, 2007 (edited) Even if the superheated gas didn't cause the tank collapse, There's indeed big danger in all of this superheated gas, but I don't think it's emanating from Bob's fish tank! ROFL Tracy Edited December 29, 2007 by zotzer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanman December 31, 2007 Author Share December 31, 2007 My leopard wrasse is having time-zone problems... didn't see him at all yesterday, and this morning he's out swimming about hours before the lights are due to come on. First two days he was up at 11, and back in the sand about 8:00 PM. Will be interesting to see what schedule he ends up on. bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 January 1, 2008 Share January 1, 2008 Bob, I don't think you really have this fish... no pictorial proof, only eyewitness is a guy who is mysteriously selling off his tanks over and over again and claims that he will be "out of town" for extended periods of time yet has set up another tank in his home... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanman January 1, 2008 Author Share January 1, 2008 Bob, I don't think you really have this fish... no pictorial proof, only eyewitness is a guy who is mysteriously selling off his tanks over and over again and claims that he will be "out of town" for extended periods of time yet has set up another tank in his home... Ummm... would you believe he's hard to photograph? He hides all the time? He blends in so well you can't see him?? Well, I finally got a couple of decent shots last night!! See! He really DOES exist!! He was up all day yesterday... from about 8:00 AM till the tank lights went out at 11:00 PM; and then he disappeared again by 11:15. Couldn't even stick around for a Happy New Year!! bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zotzer January 1, 2008 Share January 1, 2008 NICE!!!! Tracy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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