Leopard Wrasse Obsessive Behavior

animalrie · Jul 2, 2023

Hi all! This is my first post but I've previously been a big lurker on these forums.

I have a female Blue Star Leopard Wrasse in a Reefer 350 (70gal display). She's been a tank member for about 6 months, eats frozen voraciously (one of the biggest pigs in the tank), and seems to get along with everyone (stock list below). My issue is she obsessively swims at the front glass pretty much all day long with few breaks in between. My lights turn on at 11am and there's enough ambient light from the windows that she wakes up well before that - I've noticed that before the lights are on, she doesn't do this behavior at all (although her reflection should still be visible, maybe it isn't as obvious to her?). At bedtime, she stops the behavior to start looking for a place to bury herself. The only other time she's interrupted from the behavior is feeding time (which she assumes is anytime I'm near the tank).

Does anyone else have this issue with their leopard wrasse? Any recommendations?
One theory I have is she's swimming with her reflection - if this is the case, any chance adding a second female leopard wrasse would distract her away from the glass? The yellow coris wrasse is a new addition and although he's interested in her and follows her around, she completely ignores him.

Tank members
- Blue star leopard wrasse
- Copperband butterfly
- Starry blenny
- Long-nose hawkfish
- Percula clown pair
- Dragon pipefish
- Yellow watchman goby
- Scooter dragonet (recent addition)
- Yellow coris wrasse (recent addition)
- Pygmy angel (recent addition)

(Pics for fun - the leopard swims too fast for me to get a good close up)

blaxsun · Jul 2, 2023

Many wrasses enjoy being the early bird to "get the worm", so to speak. I have a green wrasse that often sleeps until noon, only comes out to eat and is back in bed (the sand) shortly after lunch. Wrasses do seem to be preoccupied with their reflection, so that's entirely possible (and fairly normal). If you hang a mirror up against the side of your tank you'll see what I mean fairly quickly...

In answer to your question, no - I don't think adding another leopard wrasse will necessarily change her behavior. Wrasse love exploring rocks, caves, crevices, etc. - so the addition of more rocks that follow this might prove more enticing to the glass sides of your tank. You have a lot of open space in the center and could really create something unique for all your fish (not just the wrasses) to enjoy.

animalrie · Jul 3, 2023

blaxsun said:
Many wrasses enjoy being the early bird to "get the worm", so to speak. I have a green wrasse that often sleeps until noon, only comes out to eat and is back in bed (the sand) shortly after lunch. Wrasses do seem to be preoccupied with their reflection, so that's entirely possible (and fairly normal). If you hang a mirror up against the side of your tank you'll see what I mean fairly quickly...

In answer to your question, no - I don't think adding another leopard wrasse will necessarily change her behavior. Wrasse love exploring rocks, caves, crevices, etc. - so the addition of more rocks that follow this might prove more enticing to the glass sides of your tank. You have a lot of open space in the center and could really create something unique for all your fish (not just the wrasses) to enjoy.

Great advice! I’ll work on adding some more rock. Thanks!

Andrews_aquarium · Jul 3, 2023

I’ve had almost every species of leopard wrasse(except potters) and I’ve definitely noticed that some individuals can be very neurotic. I’ve had a black leopard that did exactly what you’re talking about. I since moved it to a larger system and it stopped. They are such high energy fish, I feel as though they need a much larger system than recommended. but I’ve also had a few that seemed totally fine in a temporary 40 gal breeder going through quarantine.