male bipartitus

[reef4life!!!]

So 6 days ago i added a male bipartitus to the tank.He went straight to the sand which i know it's what they do.I hadn't seen him since today.I was "tidying" the sand and i accidentaly touched him(he was in a completely different spot that he burrowed in the first day) and he went straight to the other corner of my tank and burrowed again.My question is did i just make a huge mistake and is he stressed so much that he might don't come out again?Also since i found him in the opposite corner from what he first burrowed,is it possible that he comes out at night when every light in the house is closed and what can i do to get him come out when my lights are on?

 

[EvanDeVita]

So 6 days ago i added a male bipartitus to the tank.He went straight to the sand which i know it's what they do.I hadn't seen him since today.I was "tidying" the sand and i accidentaly touched him(he was in a completely different spot that he burrowed in the first day) and he went straight to the other corner of my tank and burrowed again.My question is did i just make a huge mistake and is he stressed so much that he might don't come out again?Also since i found him in the opposite corner from what he first burrowed,is it possible that he comes out at night when every light in the house is closed and what can i do to get him come out when my lights are on?

hm.. could be several things. Here's what I've heard. Leopard Wrasses are not good shippers. Bigger ones (males are generally big) ship worse. It's possible that he's had a rough ride to your house and is simply settling in. Scaring him out of the sand most definitely stressed him out, but to what degree I am unsure of. I have seen purely nocturnal leopard wrasses - ones that bury in the sand and come out at night.

How big is your tank, how big is the fish, how deep is your sand bed, and where did you get the fish from? I'm sure @evolved will be more help than I am, but I hope what I said but your mind to rest!

 

[homer1475]

One of my leopard I believe was wild caught directly from the ocean(didn't live long in a tank before I got it), and it took several weeks for her to adjust to my lighting. Was very nocturnal for several weeks. Never saw her during the day, but came out right before lights out.

A couple years later, she is used to my lighting schedule and is up about 10 minutes before the lights come on, and back in the sandbed about 10 minutes before the lights go off.

 

[evolved]

It will have definitely set you back a few more days, but it won't have ruined your chances.

There's not much to do besides providing a peaceful environment and giving it time.

 

[reef4life!!!]

hm.. could be several things. Here's what I've heard. Leopard Wrasses are not good shippers. Bigger ones (males are generally big) ship worse. It's possible that he's had a rough ride to your house and is simply settling in. Scaring him out of the sand most definitely stressed him out, but to what degree I am unsure of. I have seen purely nocturnal leopard wrasses - ones that bury in the sand and come out at night.

How big is your tank, how big is the fish, how deep is your sand bed, and where did you get the fish from? I'm sure @evolved will be more help than I am, but I hope what I said but your mind to rest!

well he is maybe half of his max size..he is not that big...tank is 240 liters with live rock and i have about 3-4cm aragonite sand.

Well u helped me a little bit but i am acting like a super dad for him haha..i was dreaming about this fish for years and now that i got him i am so anxious about him in order to make the right environment for him to thrive..

 

[reef4life!!!]

It will have definitely set you back a few more days, but it won't have ruined your chances.

There's not much to do besides providing a peaceful environment and giving it time.

well the tank is super peaceful.. it's got a pair of clowns a cirhilabrus carpenteri wrasse and a small japonicus...there is no fighting in the tank beside my japonicus going crazy when he sees his reflection..Hope he comes out soon and of course when he comes out i will be even more anxious about the food because if he doesn't eat what i currently have i will need to buy different food in order to choose what he likes or not

 

[reef4life!!!]

One of my leopard I believe was wild caught directly from the ocean(didn't live long in a tank before I got it), and it took several weeks for her to adjust to my lighting. Was very nocturnal for several weeks. Never saw her during the day, but came out right before lights out.

A couple years later, she is used to my lighting schedule and is up about 10 minutes before the lights come on, and back in the sandbed about 10 minutes before the lights go off.

Well i hope mine comes out faster than yours haha.I think he came out like 2-3 days after i put him in the tank because in the spot that i accidentally touched him i saw something to disturb my sand there when i opened my lights but i didn't check it because i thought it could be just my carpenteri wrasse picking something from the sand or something like that so i didn't really bothered with that

 

[EvanDeVita]

well the tank is super peaceful.. it's got a pair of clowns a cirhilabrus carpenteri wrasse and a small japonicus...there is no fighting in the tank beside my japonicus going crazy when he sees his reflection..Hope he comes out soon and of course when he comes out i will be even more anxious about the food because if he doesn't eat what i currently have i will need to buy different food in order to choose what he likes or not

He can survive without you feeding him. Leopard wrasses hunt copepods.

 

[reef4life!!!]

He can survive without you feeding him. Leopard wrasses hunt copepods.

well yeah i know they hunt them but how much till they not enough for him?when is the time which he leaves none of them?

 

[EvanDeVita]

well yeah i know they hunt them but how much till they not enough for him?when is the time which he leaves none of them?

I did too. If your tank is around 60 gallons (which is what I think 240 liters is), he will take a while to eat all of them. By that time I'm sure he will be out and about for feeding

 

[reef4life!!!]

I did too. If your tank is around 60 gallons (which is what I think 240 liters is), he will take a while to eat all of them. By that time I'm sure he will be out and about for feeding

i think in gallons it's 64 gallons(i am not pretty sure about that)...i will try to get some more pods in meanwhile and hope he just comes out and eats frozen at least..

thanks everyone for helping

 

[evolved]

cirhilabrus carpenteri

Paracheilinus carpenteri, rather.

 

[reef4life!!!]

Paracheilinus carpenteri, rather.

hahaha yeah your right i didn't notice that thanks

 

[reef4life!!!]

And he is actually out.. He came out like 30 minutes ago and he is constantly picking copepods.. Is there any frozen food that is known to prefer more?

 

[homer1475]

Depending on size, I have never had any problem feeding little guys PE calanus. Larger leopards seem to like PE mysis.

My current leopard actually took to pellets before frozen. Just saw my other fish eating them in the morning, so she decided to try one. Been eating them every since.

 

[reef4life!!!]

Depending on size, I have never had any problem feeding little guys PE calanus. Larger leopards seem to like PE mysis.

Well as for size he is quite small.. I think this is the half of their maximum size if I am not mistaken.. I fed them some frozen Artemia and mysis, he picked a piece and spit it out but when he tried to pick it again my japonicus and his reflection scared him and left the piece..

 

[evolved]

Calanus can be a good starter if mysis isn't working out.

And also, that's M. meleagris - not bipartitus.

 

[SaltyT]

Your leopard wrasse is actually a female macropharyngodon meleagris

edit: haha evolved beat me to the post!

 

[reef4life!!!]

Well I am really surprised of myself.. Damm all this time I was researching and asking about the wrong fish.. Is there any difference between bipartitus and meleagris as for their needs??

 

[homer1475]

Don't think so? Pretty much all leopards have the same requirements.