Blue Star Leopard Wrasse - QT Treatment & Compatibility

[joro]

I've been working with the great squad here at R2R in another thread to finalize my stocking list for my 90G reef. One of my QT tanks is about to be placed into the DT later this week and when looking at the LFS today we fell in love with these Blue Star Leopard Wrasses which are currently going through the LFS's own QT process which includes hypo and copper treatment. I've done a little reading on these and it seems they are sensitive to copper, so my question is assuming they survive the LFS QT, should I re-treat them again for another 30 days once I get them? Pinging @Humblefish as well for his expertise!

Also, the purchase would be for 3 total Blue Star Leopard Wrasses - 2 female, 1 male - and I was also looking to add another 1-2 wrasses potentially per the original thread. I was leaning towards the Red Head Solon and Exquisite Fairy Wrasses to round out the 5 but wanted to get thoughts on the compatibility of all of these given the Leopards are now on the list.

Thanks!

 

[4FordFamily]

I've had no issue with blue star leopards and copper at all. I have not tried fairy. I will say cupramine did not bother them much and coppersafe although I used it on far fewer also does not appear problematic yet.

I am not sure on fairy wrasse as I have not tried it on them.

 

[donnievaz]

I've been working with the great squad here at R2R in another thread to finalize my stocking list for my 90G reef. One of my QT tanks is about to be placed into the DT later this week and when looking at the LFS today we fell in love with these Blue Star Leopard Wrasses which are currently going through the LFS's own QT process which includes hypo and copper treatment. I've done a little reading on these and it seems they are sensitive to copper, so my question is assuming they survive the LFS QT, should I re-treat them again for another 30 days once I get them? Pinging @Humblefish as well for his expertise!

Also, the purchase would be for 3 total Blue Star Leopard Wrasses - 2 female, 1 male - and I was also looking to add another 1-2 wrasses potentially per the original thread. I was leaning towards the Red Head Solon and Exquisite Fairy Wrasses to round out the 5 but wanted to get thoughts on the compatibility of all of these given the Leopards are now on the list.

Thanks!

 

[donnievaz]

Assuming your location is northern VA, what is your LFS that quarantines? I'd definitely be interested in using them.

 

[Humblefish]

I personally would run TTM on them, dosing Prazipro at the onset of transfers 2 & 4: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/tank-transfer-method.192655/

My backup plan would be a chelated copper product, such as Coppersafe or Copper Power.

 

[joro]

Assuming your location is northern VA, what is your LFS that quarantines? I'd definitely be interested in using them.

I've purchased various items from a number of stores locally but Reef eScape is the one I'm referring to here. Honestly my view on them has been mixed because even though they have a quarantine protocol it isn't fail safe in my experience. I had a Tomini Tang from them that wiped out my first fish (which I also purchased from them) with some unknown combination of Ich/Velvet/Brook. I purchased a second batch from them - which included the CBB - once I had a QT setup and saw a quick onset of Ich, fortunately they were in QT and I quickly treated with CopperSafe and they are doing well. I wouldn't fully trust their QT but usually they have done a good job of making sure they are eating regularly and frozen preparations which seem to increase success. I've also had good success with LiveAquaria with the QT protocol suggested by @Humblefish including CopperSafe and Prazi. Time will tell of course

I personally would run TTM on them, dosing Prazipro at the onset of transfers 2 & 4: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/tank-transfer-method.192655/

My backup plan would be a chelated copper product, such as Coppersafe or Copper Power.

I've been treating all the other fish with CopperSafe and this would likely be my "go to" going forward, so good to know!

 

[eatbreakfast]

The species you listed will all be compatible with each other.

IME it seems that wrasses are more resilient to copper than had been often reported, but I do think it helps to bring copper levels up slowly.

 

[joro]

So I'm about to pull the trigger but had one last question, I was thinking of also adding a Diamond Watchman Goby as part of this batch since they like sandbeds as well - I figure it's best to do a sand bed once rather than twice - but wanted to get everyone's input. I know the wrasses sleep in the sand at night and the DWG burrows, so is this going to be an issue or stress out either?

 

[Humblefish]

I know the wrasses sleep in the sand at night and the DWG burrows, so is this going to be an issue or stress out either?

I see no issues mixing the two, so long as you provide enough sand for both.

 

[joro]

I see no issues mixing the two, so long as you provide enough sand for both.

One additional question, I've read a lot of threads here and on other forums that suggest only doing prazi treatment and then observations unless there are signs of external parasites. I know you all confirmed they should be fine with CopperSafe - assuming the level is raised very slowly - but what do you think about that approach vs proactively treating with Cu?

 

[mr11]

I've purchased various items from a number of stores locally but Reef eScape is the one I'm referring to here. Honestly my view on them has been mixed because even though they have a quarantine protocol it isn't fail safe in my experience. I had a Tomini Tang from them that wiped out my first fish (which I also purchased from them) with some unknown combination of Ich/Velvet/Brook. I purchased a second batch from them - which included the CBB - once I had a QT setup and saw a quick onset of Ich, fortunately they were in QT and I quickly treated with CopperSafe and they are doing well. I wouldn't fully trust their QT but usually they have done a good job of making sure they are eating regularly and frozen preparations which seem to increase success. I've also had good success with LiveAquaria with the QT protocol suggested by @Humblefish including CopperSafe and Prazi. Time will tell of course



I've been treating all the other fish with CopperSafe and this would likely be my "go to" going forward, so good to know!

Have you used exotic reef creations in Silver Spring? He fully quarantines with an extensive protocol. I've got nothing but wonderfully healthy and eating fish from him.

 

[Humblefish]

One additional question, I've read a lot of threads here and on other forums that suggest only doing prazi treatment and then observations unless there are signs of external parasites. I know you all confirmed they should be fine with CopperSafe - assuming the level is raised very slowly - but what do you think about that approach vs proactively treating with Cu?

Observation is fine IF you have the time & patience to sit in front of the QT every single day for 10-15 mins to observe for symptoms of disease. You are not just looking for obvious physical symptoms of disease, but behavioral ones such as scratching/rubbing, flashing, head twitching, heavy breathing, swimming into the flow of a powerhead, purposely staying out of the light, etc. You need to be an attention to detail type with time on your hands to make this work. People who are non-observant, easily distracted, or just have busy lives would do best to prophylactically medicate IMHO. So, at the end of the day it has more to do with you than the fish.

 

[joro]

So I decided to purchase 3 Blue Star wrasses from LiveAquaria - 2 female, 1 male - after I found out the group I saw in the LFS was unfortunately not for sale. I've ordered a lot from LA recently including fish, corals, etc and have had nothing but great results; however, this order was very poorly packaged and there were not enough ice packs to keep it cool. When I opened the cooler, 1 of the Female Wrasses was clearly dead and the other Male/Female, along with a DWG I ordered, were swimming but in poor shape. Given their condition, I did a quicker drip acclimation than I normally would do and treated the containers with a small capful of Prime just to make sure ammonia wasn't building up from the shipping. Long story short, 1 female was DOA as mentioned above and the other female passed earlier today (less than 24 hours after arrival). The male is fortunately eating a small amount of from a mysis / live blackworm combo I've been doing every few hours; however, I'm a little concern for him. He was starting to swim around more in the middle of the tank this morning; however, now he's staying on the bottom exhibiting this weird behavior in the video - basically he lays on his side, then swims off. This is the first time we've kept wrasses, so I'm not sure if this a normal behavior or is indicative he may be on death's door as well?

Also, interestingly, neither the Male Wrasse or Diamond Watchman Goby have shown any interest in the sandbox we have in the side of the tank even at night. Is this another bad sign?

 

[4FordFamily]

So I decided to purchase 3 Blue Star wrasses from LiveAquaria - 2 female, 1 male - after I found out the group I saw in the LFS was unfortunately not for sale. I've ordered a lot from LA recently including fish, corals, etc and have had nothing but great results; however, this order was very poorly packaged and there were not enough ice packs to keep it cool. When I opened the cooler, 1 of the Female Wrasses was clearly dead and the other Male/Female, along with a DWG I ordered, were swimming but in poor shape. Given their condition, I did a quicker drip acclimation than I normally would do and treated the containers with a small capful of Prime just to make sure ammonia wasn't building up from the shipping. Long story short, 1 female was DOA as mentioned above and the other female passed earlier today (less than 24 hours after arrival). The male is fortunately eating a small amount of from a mysis / live blackworm combo I've been doing every few hours; however, I'm a little concern for him. He was starting to swim around more in the middle of the tank this morning; however, now he's staying on the bottom exhibiting this weird behavior in the video - basically he lays on his side, then swims off. This is the first time we've kept wrasses, so I'm not sure if this a normal behavior or is indicative he may be on death's door as well?

Also, interestingly, neither the Male Wrasse or Diamond Watchman Goby have shown any interest in the sandbox we have in the side of the tank even at night. Is this another bad sign?

My leopards when stressed especially in qt will do this occasionally. As long as they are eating I wouldn't worry. Without sand they seem confused. I've had some never discover the sand box and others find it immediately.

Sorry for your losses.

 

[joro]

My leopards when stressed especially in qt will do this occasionally. As long as they are eating I wouldn't worry. Without sand they seem confused. I've had some never discover the sand box and others find it immediately.

Sorry for your losses.

Thank you for the insight and condolences - it was a shame to lose the 2 females as they were absolutely beautiful. Here's another video if it helps.

 

[fab]

Assuming your location is northern VA, what is your LFS that quarantines? I'd definitely be interested in using them.

Me, too!
fab
Alexandria

 

[4FordFamily]

Thank you for the insight and condolences - it was a shame to lose the 2 females as they were absolutely beautiful. Here's another video if it helps.

Looks OK to me, just a stressed wrasse that would prefer to be under the sand at the moment

 

[joro]

Looks OK to me, just a stressed wrasse that would prefer to be under the sand at the moment

Well he ate like a champ at the morning feeding including Arctic Pods / Blackworms / Mysis so hopefully he's recuperating. I have seen him going over to the dish that we have the sand in but he can't seem to figure out he needs to swim up a little bit to get into it. Should I just leave him be or try to "guide" him up and over? I don't want to stress him out anymore if possible but want him to be able to de-stess as well.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Well he ate like a champ at the morning feeding including Arctic Pods / Blackworms / Mysis so hopefully he's recuperating. I have seen him going over to the dish that we have the sand in but he can't seem to figure out he needs to swim up a little bit to get into it. Should I just leave him be or try to "guide" him up and over? I don't want to stress him out anymore if possible but want him to be able to de-stess as well.

Leave him be. He will figure it out through his exploration.

 

[joro]

Came home from lunch and looks like he found his way up there. He hasn't buried but is happily picking up some morsels from the earlier feeding on the sand bed