Leopard Wrasses Introduced and Hiding

[Rrwilson1223]

Hi everyone,

I just added a couple of smaller female leopard wrasses to my RedSea Reefer750 yesterday. There is currently another female in the tank (same size) and a larger Moyer’s leopard wrasse in the tank.

At first, the new additions were just hanging out. Checking out the other female. The Moyers came by and scared the two into the sand bed. Interestingly, none of the other fish cared about the little interaction.

Woke up today and the new pair were still in hiding. Around dinner time, one of them was peeking out from under a rock. Came out half way and decided to rebury itself.

I’ve read quite a few posts about how shy the leopard wrasses are when first introduced. Just thought I’d share my experience so far. The one I bought before never went into the sand. She has been eating great and has a little pot belly. Hopefully the others will follow suit.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Hi everyone,

I just added a couple of smaller female leopard wrasses to my RedSea Reefer750 yesterday. There is currently another female in the tank (same size) and a larger Moyer’s leopard wrasse in the tank.

At first, the new additions were just hanging out. Checking out the other female. The Moyers came by and scared the two into the sand bed. Interestingly, none of the other fish cared about the little interaction.

Woke up today and the new pair were still in hiding. Around dinner time, one of them was peeking out from under a rock. Came out half way and decided to rebury itself.

I’ve read quite a few posts about how shy the leopard wrasses are when first introduced. Just thought I’d share my experience so far. The one I bought before never went into the sand. She has been eating great and has a little pot belly. Hopefully the others will follow suit.

Hopefully they will adjust soon. Maybe reduce your light intensity for awhile. Might help.

 

[Rrwilson1223]

Hopefully they will adjust soon. Maybe reduce your light intensity for awhile. Might help.

I’ll try that. Not too worried yet since it’s only been a day. At least I had a sighting. Lol.

I’m hoping they see the other female swimming around and follow suit.

 

[Flippers4pups]

I’ll try that. Not too worried yet since it’s only been a day. At least I had a sighting. Lol.

I’m hoping they see the other female swimming around and follow suit.

Should. Leopards can be difficult to adapt as we've heard, but most of that is from transport. I was lucky with my blue star as it was already in a tank for over a year before I got it.

Best of luck to you. Keep us updated!

 

[Rrwilson1223]

Well for those who are curious, no sightings of the new leopard wrasse pair today. Last night, one of them came out and hid under a rock for a bit just checking everything out. Probably just to make sure that the Moyer’s isn’t a real threat.

I’ll keep an eye on the tank today and see if they pop up. But most likely will be a few more days based on what I’ve read.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Well for those who are curious, no sightings of the new leopard wrasse pair today. Last night, one of them came out and hid under a rock for a bit just checking everything out. Probably just to make sure that the Moyer’s isn’t a real threat.

I’ll keep an eye on the tank today and see if they pop up. But most likely will be a few more days based on what I’ve read.

I've had wrasses hide once introduced for a week! Patience.

 

[ChadmRoman]

How are they doing? Took my single leopard close to two months to fully come out. She stayed in the sand for almost a week before first appearing. Then stayed out a few hours for a while. Now she’s the most active fish in the tank.

Stay patient the best advise I got was the longer they stay in the sand bed after purchasing, the longer they stay alive in the tank.

 

[Rrwilson1223]

Sadly we lost one of the two new leopards. Found him getting munched on by a couple of hermits. Always sucks to lose any fish.

Keeping my hopes up that the other one survived. My incumbent leopard is still doing great and is even getting a little fat.

I’ve been wondering since Covid has slowed down shipments if I just got a pair that had a rough time getting here.

 

[SMSREEF]

That’s a bummer. Hopefully the other new guy is ok. Wishing you good luck!

 

[sfin52]

They have a really strong biological clock and They can take a while to adjust to our lighting. Just a week or less they where plucked from indo and traveled half way around the world.

 

[sixline]

Sorry to hear that one of them didn't make it. The RedSea Reefer750 is 200 gallons, right?

Are there any other fish besides the three leopard wrasses?

I have no advice to offer but am just curious and interested to hear. I hope the second new one gets acclimated.

 

[Rrwilson1223]

Sorry to hear that one of them didn't make it. The RedSea Reefer750 is 200 gallons, right?

Are there any other fish besides the three leopard wrasses?

I have no advice to offer but am just curious and interested to hear. I hope the second new one gets acclimated.

Yes, the Reefer750 is 200 total gallons. Current occupied by:

1 Powder Blue Tang
1 Kole Yellow Eyed Tang
1 Foxface
1 Sunburst Anthias
2 Leopard Wrasse (1 still in the sandbed)
1 Moyer’s Leopard Wrasse
1 Blue Devil
2 Percula Clowns

1 Large Skunk Cleaner
1 Fire Shrimp (I think since he hides in the rock work all the time)
Lots of Scarlett Hermits
Usual allotment of random snails

Only thing I can think of is that the Moyer’s scared them off.

 

[Fishurama]

Sorry to hear you lost one. I got an ornate leopard wrasse, that hid for awhile, got hurt, and still made it. Took about a week. This was my thread on it if you would like a read. I recommend turning your lights down and/or changing the schedule if you can. As someone told me, where they come from they are generally on a completely different time schedule, and our day is their night. I wish you luck

My ornate leopard wrasse thread

 

[Sheripie]

Hi everyone,

I just added a couple of smaller female leopard wrasses to my RedSea Reefer750 yesterday. There is currently another female in the tank (same size) and a larger Moyer’s leopard wrasse in the tank.

At first, the new additions were just hanging out. Checking out the other female. The Moyers came by and scared the two into the sand bed. Interestingly, none of the other fish cared about the little interaction.

Woke up today and the new pair were still in hiding. Around dinner time, one of them was peeking out from under a rock. Came out half way and decided to rebury itself.

I’ve read quite a few posts about how shy the leopard wrasses are when first introduced. Just thought I’d share my experience so far. The one I bought before never went into the sand. She has been eating great and has a little pot belly. Hopefully the others will follow suit.

My male hide for 3 - 4 days under the sand I thought he jumped... After that he showed himself.. One of my favorite fish

 

[Rrwilson1223]

So, on to some good news. The remaining leopard wrasse finally made an appearance today during feeding time. Picked at a couple of pieces of Mysis before going back into a cave. Keeping my fingers crossed that she’s doing ok now. I’ll put an extra cube of Mysis in later to provide a little extra food for her. Perhaps I can even get a picture.

 

[OrionN]

Good luck to her and you

 

[Rrwilson1223]

So unfortunately, I’ve got my answer as to why the remaining leopard keeps hiding. Turns out that my Moyeri is a real prick. Watched it go after another wrasse yesterday and today I found another dead.

Looks like I’ll be removing the Moyeri before adding any new leopards. Ugh. Anyone know of a good way of catching it?

 

[mattzang]

maybe try scaring it into hiding and just see where it buries? when i moved my moyeri i saw where she buried and that made it pretty simple. just gotta make sure you actually catch it when you find it in the sand

 

[Rrwilson1223]

maybe try scaring it into hiding and just see where it buries? when i moved my moyeri i saw where she buried and that made it pretty simple. just gotta make sure you actually catch it when you find it in the sand

Thank you for the advice. I’ve got another 60 gallon that I could move him (I assume) to. Did you have any aggression issues from yours?

 

[mattzang]

no, mine is a small female and gets chased away by the orangeback fairy wrasse sometimes. those are the only two fish in the tank atm tho. i need to medicate their quarantine tank still and i highly doubt the moyeri will bully the male halichoeres wrasses i have in the DT. that said, i want some more leopards.. so hopefully the moyers aren't the goons of the leopard world