Leopard Wrasse

Eddie Rogers · Apr 11, 2018

I have 2 female leopard wrasse’s and they do fine together. They are sleeping now but I’ll try to post a pic tomorrow

Steven91 · Apr 11, 2018

Eddie Rogers said:
I have 2 female leopard wrasse’s and they do fine together. They are sleeping now but I’ll try to post a pic tomorrow

Awesome, thank you, I happened to watch my girl go to sleep last night, was fun to watch

YellowFinsReef · Apr 11, 2018

Steven91 said:
Okay, update on the leopard wrasse, she is doing really well, eating (though not as aggressively as in the store) froze mysis, gonna try to start trying to get her to eat pellets as well.

Now my LFS said that they might be able to get a male leopard wrasse, if I would get him and introduce him into the tank, would the female fight him?

Don't be surprised if they go on a hunger strike when you introduce them pellets. I had a potter's wrasse that went on strike for a week before eating anything.

Likewise, you'll have to put on a lid. These wrasses jump up when startled. Mine gets startled by every little thing like me texting, feeding them, looking closer, stretching, or walking away. It's always a good idea to protect your investment.

Regarding the extra male, I'd say eventually yours will become a male and you might end up with two aggressive male wrasses. They don't stay as females for long. All of mine have transitioned within a year and I started out with all females. Usually for me, I'll get a female pair or trio and watch them grow into males and I end up selling them away because they no longer get along.

evolved · Apr 12, 2018

Steven91 said:
Now my LFS said that they might be able to get a male leopard wrasse, if I would get him and introduce him into the tank, would the female fight him?

A very risky endeavor and not really a good idea I'm afraid. Adding another female is feasible if you really wish.

James Kanouff said:
Consider a juvenile red coris

Careful; gets rather large, flips everything over in your tank, and eats mobile inverts.

James Kanouff said:
There not reef safe though, most leopards are not as adults

Leopard wrasses are reef safe their entire life.

Steven91 · Apr 12, 2018

evolved said:
A very risky endeavor and not really a good idea I'm afraid. Adding another female is feasible if you really wish.

Careful; gets rather large, flips everything over in your tank, and eats mobile inverts.

Leopard wrasses are reef safe their entire life.

Thank you for the advice, wasn't thinking about adding another wrasse unless it's a cleaner wrasse. Rather not risk causing ww3 in the tank if I can avoid it. Wouldn't mind having a 2nd female, love the colors

markstubb · Apr 12, 2018

Curious about the ramifications of having a male and female leopard in the same tank?

Sort of chuckled at the "reef safe their entire life" comment. My female just cruises around all day. It's probably 3"-3.5". It's a very chill fish. Sleeps often. Doesn't seem to startle easily, and has a definitive schedule. Haven't seen it take much of a peek, at all, at my corals.

eatbreakfast · Apr 12, 2018

markstubb said:
Curious about the ramifications of having a male and female leopard in the same tank?

Sort of chuckled at the "reef safe their entire life" comment. My female just cruises around all day. It's probably 3"-3.5". It's a very chill fish. Sleeps often. Doesn't seem to startle easily, and has a definitive schedule. Haven't seen it take much of a peek, at all, at my corals.

Males tolerate females, but do not tolerate other males or females about to transition. Females about to transition can also behave quite aggressively to a new male.

markstubb · Apr 12, 2018

ah, gotcha. thanks!

Neo Jeo · Apr 12, 2018

Make sure you have a deeper sand bed. I only had a 1 1/2" sand bed and he only lasted a few days. Maybe hit his head on the glass?

markstubb · Apr 12, 2018

This may be silly to ask, but if a male is present, will the female not stay female? They change to male no matter what?

eatbreakfast · Apr 12, 2018

Neo Jeo said:
Make sure you have a deeper sand bed. I only had a 1 1/2" sand bed and he only lasted a few days. Maybe hit his head on the glass?

I only have about 1.5" sand bed and have leopards, Anampses, and Halichoeres without issue, so I think something else was at play with this case.

markstubb said:
This may be silly to ask, but if a male is present, will the female not stay female? They change to male no matter what?

It depends. Leopards don't transition as readily as leopard or fairy wrasses, so sometimes never change and sometimes change even if a male is present.

evolved · Apr 12, 2018

Neo Jeo said:
Make sure you have a deeper sand bed. I only had a 1 1/2" sand bed and he only lasted a few days. Maybe hit his head on the glass?

Nah, just enough sand to cover the fish in a sideways position is enough. Something else happened. Consider these fish deal with rocks under the sand in the wild too.

markstubb said:
This may be silly to ask, but if a male is present, will the female not stay female? They change to male no matter what?

I'm going to toss a coin; please call heads or tails.

Really though, leopards are not nearly as predictable in this regard as other genera.

Steven91 · Apr 12, 2018

I think I'm gonna not gonna do another leopard wrasse, just in case when she transitions (if she does) she get really aggressive, rather not give her a single target

becks · Apr 12, 2018

My wrasse does not dive bomb into the sand, she swims just above the sand level and just gently pops in, Even when spooked she don’t just dive bomb into the sand.

Njdevils1220 · Apr 12, 2018

I haven’t had one jump but I have had one refuse to eat no matter what I tried. Top lids makes a nice sleek looking screen lid if you want the extra security.