Blue Star and Leopard Wrasse Successes

[ReeferReefer]

It’s been a week now since I got them. They came out of the sand for the first four days or so. Haven’t seen them in a few days. Is this normal ?

Yeah, doesn't sound out of the ordinary. She is probably just getting settled.

 

[67chevellemalibu2]

Ok. I got my fingers crossed. I don’t recall my Melanarus and Christmas hiding.

 

[67chevellemalibu2]

I really like wrasses. One of my favorites.

 

[Jesterrace]

I really like wrasses. One of my favorites.

Bar none the generally peaceful varieties are the most underrated fish in the hobby, I am always sure to point out when a wrasse is missing from a newbie's potential stocking list.

 

[Bdog4u2]

I have several leopard wrasses and my blue star is 3 years old. I don't quarantine them I have better luck putting them in a established tank. They are also jumpers. Mine ate the first day it popped up from the sand and even eats flake

 

[67chevellemalibu2]

I didn’t quarantine the two, either. Straight into the display.

 

[Jesterrace]

I did a compromise and saw how it did at the LFS for a few weeks, but then I did put it straight into the tank (in an acclimation basket) when I first got it. Slippery little bugger managed to wiggle out of it and got lose in the tank before I was ready. My Melanurus Wrasse WAS NOT AMUSED!!!!!!!!!!! I had my Foxface in another basket as the plan was to add them together, given the aggression that the Melanurus showed to the Blue Star Leopard, I had to add the Foxface as well to help divert attention to another new fish, so in he went. My CB and Melanurus swam up to the Foxface as if to say "Hey, this is our turf" The Foxface simply flexed it's spines and the other two turned tail and went the other way in a hurry.

 

[mfinn]

I didn’t quarantine the two, either. Straight into the display.

One of the advantages of using a quarantine tank is getting them eating prepared foods.
With wrasses I usually pick up a bottle of tigger pods, and feed that to them in the morning for the first 3-4 days. It usually gets them in the eating mode.
I also will try nutramar ova, and then Hykari frozen mysis. I use the small cubes. It seems to be a smaller mysis than in the flat packs.

 

[67chevellemalibu2]

Finally saw my Leopard come out again. Just waiting to see my Blue Star.

 

[Breefer94]

I have a blue star, black leopard, and a meleagris. I added them all at once and were the first inhabitants so no aggression from anyone. Also got the blue star and black leopard started eating on ocean nutrition instant baby brine, which was the only food they would eat until brine and now eat anything dropped in. It took the meleagris a good two weeks of pacing on the side of the tank before she started eating. They are all fine now and eat anything I drop in.

 

[67chevellemalibu2]

Lost my Leopard today, but the Blue Star is still alive. All she wants to do is stay buried for now.

 

[Kremis]

I had my blue star leopard for about 5 years before it died, presumably of old age. Just stopped coming out one day. Ate prepared foods just like the rest (mysis, brine, etc) I bought it already eating at the store.

 

[67chevellemalibu2]

My Blue Star is real small.

 

[67chevellemalibu2]

So much for my first leopards. The Blue Star finally came out of the sand, dead. I’m done with Liveaquaria. I don’t have a good survival rate with them, even with the 14 day guarantee.

 

[Jesterrace]

Sorry to hear about that, but that's why I recommend for delicate species getting them from your LFS, that way you can actually see them in action and if you let them do it as part of a bulk order, the risk is all on them. I didn't pay a penny for my Blue Star until they had it for 2 weeks and didn't bring it home until it had been there for 3.

 

[67chevellemalibu2]

My LFS won’t hold for more than 24 hrs

 

[Jmas4]

I'm relatively successful with my current blue stars. I received them from live aquaria and they went into my qt tank. The qt tank has a piece of live rock, sand tray, and a bunch of cheato algae. This means the wrasses has a continuous supply if pods and I don't have to water change. I believe putting them straight into the DT is worse than qt. The qt tank has matched salinity of live aquaria so i dont need to worry about acclimating/stress. A qt tank also means a stress free environment and you can train your wrasses to eat. And as always, diseases won't be introduced.
My leopard wrasses ate frozen within a few days. I just tried a mixture of live , frozen and combinations until they ate something. Now they are eating like pigs and on copper treatment.

Good luck and Happy Reefing

 

[67chevellemalibu2]

I would have rather them stay alive, but I got my money back from Liveaquaria. You don’t get that from your LFS. I’ve read on here numerous times, too many to count that people lose just as many fish in quarantine.

 

[Jesterrace]

My LFS won’t hold for more than 24 hrs

Wow, mine will hold them for several weeks, but they do warn me that it is at my own risk (ie if they die, it's on me) which is one of the reasons I love when they do bulk orders on fish and I just buy the leftovers after a few weeks. This way I didn't specifically order it or pay for it until after it's been in there for a while (and I generally get a better price since they did a bulk order). I think I paid $35 for my Blue Star Leopard.

 

[67chevellemalibu2]

I don’t know where you live, but they don’t do that in Indiana.