New Leopard Wrasse...

[coraal]

So yesterday I got a Leopard Wrasse at my LFS. I've done some research online about them and I thought I could be patient enough for them to hide for a while and then come back out. But how can you tell where they are hiding. My sand bed doesn't look like it was touched at all so does anyone know when they go into the sand bed is it possible to tell where they could be hiding?

:/ such a pretty fish I hope it didn't die on me

 

[Eric81]

Mine hid for the first couple of days, then only came out sporadically the next few days since my Yellow Coris Wrasse was picking on it. Just give them some time. Mine picked at pods on my rocks the first few days that he was out, then readily started accepting Mysis and blended foods. Mine usually hits the sand close to the base of a rock....although I have only seen him actually go into the sand once. They are pretty sneaky and I personally believe that they wait until no one is watching befoere the call it a day and hit the sand.

 

[ReeferBean]

Its almost impossible to tell where they bury themselves... every once in a while part of the fish will be sticking out but not that often. Give it a couple days and see if it comes out. Do you have any other wrasses or fish that might pick on it? That's the biggest reason they hide initially in my experience. A more peaceful tank you'll have better odds of them getting comfortable and eating.

 

[coraal]

Mine hid for the first couple of days, then only came out sporadically the next few days since my Yellow Coris Wrasse was picking on it. Just give them some time. Mine picked at pods on my rocks the first few days that he was out, then readily started accepting Mysis and blended foods. Mine usually hits the sand close to the base of a rock....although I have only seen him actually go into the sand once. They are pretty sneaky and I personally believe that they wait until no one is watching befoere the call it a day and hit the sand.

Hopefully she will come out..When I put her into the tank yesterday she just swam around in the front of the tank and today when I came into work I can't seem to find her. argh stressing me out !

 

[coraal]

Its almost impossible to tell where they bury themselves... every once in a while part of the fish will be sticking out but not that often. Give it a couple days and see if it comes out. Do you have any other wrasses or fish that might pick on it? That's the biggest reason they hide initially in my experience. A more peaceful tank you'll have better odds of them getting comfortable and eating.

Do you know if they hide under rocks? I have 2 other wrasses and 2 baby black clownfish but was told that the Fairy Wrasse and the Solo(something) Wrasse (the really colorful kind) are very peaceful tank mates. So I don't think anyone is bothering them.. but my main concern is the Emerald Crab that i've been trying to catch for forever.. I took 2 out already and now the last one is evading me...I have a feeling that it ate my other fish since it came out with a missing stomach -_-

 

[evolved]

But how can you tell where they are hiding. My sand bed doesn't look like it was touched at all so does anyone know when they go into the sand bed is it possible to tell where they could be hiding?

You can tell they're hiding when you don't see them in the tank. But no, there's no way to tell, short of seeing them dive into the sand.

They are pretty sneaky and I personally believe that they wait until no one is watching befoere the call it a day and hit the sand.

Correct, yes. They don't like their hiding spot to be known if they can help it.

Do you have any other wrasses or fish that might pick on it? That's the biggest reason they hide initially in my experience.

It certainly can be a contributing factor, but it's not necessarily the biggest reason. It is simply the nature of the genus to hide upon introduction.

Do you know if they hide under rocks?

No; they will hide in the sand somewhere.

Solo(something) Wrasse

Solorensis. What's the other wrasse?

but my main concern is the Emerald Crab that i've been trying to catch for forever.. I took 2 out already and now the last one is evading me...I have a feeling that it ate my other fish since it came out with a missing stomach -_-

Extremely unlikely. An emerald will definitely eat a fish that's already dead, but they're not much of an active hunter.

You just need to give it time. It could hide for 2, even 3, weeks before it adjusts and decides to comes out. Do NOT go digging around for it; this will only stress it more and decrease your chances of success.

 

[larangcon]

I learned a hard lesson about wrasse hiding at night. I placed my rocks on top of the sand, wrasse went under and the rock shifted crushing it to death. Had to redo the entire tank. Rock first then add sand.

 

[3Twinklets]

My Leopard girls are the first to go to bed at night and the last ones up in the morning. It is almost impossible to find them. They are also the most aggressive fish in my tank.
Just be patient! It could take up to a week for her to make an appearance.

 

[coraal]

Yeah my other wrasse is the Solorensis... Doesn't seem to care about anyone else in the tank. I haven't touched the sand at all cause of what everyone is saying online.

 

[coraal]

I learned a hard lesson about wrasse hiding at night. I placed my rocks on top of the sand, wrasse went under and the rock shifted crushing it to death. Had to redo the entire tank. Rock first then add sand.

lol...uhoh my tank is sand first then rock -_- oh lord thats not gonna be good then. :/ so far my rocks don't look like they've shifted ahhhhh!!

 

[coraal]

whelps she came out today... i don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing but it hasn't been 24 hrs and she already came out and is discovering the tank.

 

[TruRacr314x]

I'm a sucker for leopards. There's no timeline to how long they stay...every one seems to be different. I recently acquired a pair of Ornate Leopards...one hit the sand and the other stayed out for most of the day after acclimation and introduction to the tank. Some say they could hide for up to 7-10 days....but 2 days is the longest I've experienced.

Make sure he stays well fed and enjoy...they are awesome fish!

 

[coraal]

I'm a sucker for leopards. There's no timeline to how long they stay...every one seems to be different. I recently acquired a pair of Ornate Leopards...one hit the sand and the other stayed out for most of the day after acclimation and introduction to the tank. Some say they could hide for up to 7-10 days....but 2 days is the longest I've experienced.

Make sure he stays well fed and enjoy...they are awesome fish!

Thanks! Reading up on these leopard wrasses' is freaking me out. So many different stories about them. But they're just too pretty to pass up on

 

[DecanoLA]

The other wrasses you have won't bother the leopard... be patient, he will come out. I think the most important thing is getting a healthy one and having him getting to eat as quick as possible... give variety of foods until you find something that he likes.. having pods and stuff in a mature tank will help, but as I said, for me the most important factor of success with these fish is the health upon arrival.

And that nobody picks on him.

 

[coraal]

The other wrasses you have won't bother the leopard... be patient, he will come out. I think the most important thing is getting a healthy one and having him getting to eat as quick as possible... give variety of foods until you find something that he likes.. having pods and stuff in a mature tank will help, but as I said, for me the most important factor of success with these fish is the health upon arrival.

And that nobody picks on him.

All the tank mates are amazing and just do their own thing all the time. my tank is full of pods and my Mandarin decided to go carpet surfing so this wrasse should have a lot to feast on. Now trying to get her to eat what I feed the other fish is my goal.

 

[evolved]

All the tank mates are amazing and just do their own thing all the time. my tank is full of pods and my Mandarin decided to go carpet surfing so this wrasse should have a lot to feast on. Now trying to get her to eat what I feed the other fish is my goal.

This implies your tank is not covered. If that's the case, keeping any wrasse will be a temporary effort. The tank must be completely covered with 1/4" mesh.

 

[3Twinklets]

Absolutely! If you do not cover your tank, it will just be a matter of time!!

 

[coraal]

My tank is covered... has the tiniest little rim thats not covered and some how my mandarin got out. I'm still baffled by how it got out but it's either I was doing something with the tank and he jumped and blended in with carpet or he squeezed through.