New leopard wrasse

Mattg023 · Aug 28, 2020

Hi all,

ive been waiting for a nice leopard wrasse to show up on DD. I’ve been hesitant to pick one up anywhere else because I know how they are, and I know DD takes very good care. This one was beautiful and had to get him!
My question is: assuming he hides in the sand for a few days, when he comes out, what should I try feeding first? I seeded my 75 gal tank with copepods, but just wondering what will be the best option for getting him to eat? Thanks

Deephouse_jedi · Aug 28, 2020

Whenever I get a picky eater I always feed live brine shrimp at first and go a bit extra heavy on frozen mysis.

nashvillian · Aug 28, 2020

I’ve found a timed feeder goes a long way with eventually getting picky eaters (anthias, leopards, etc) on dry. Gonna have to brine/mysis until they catch on. Usually takes a couple weeks.

mfinn · Aug 28, 2020

When I get in fish that can be difficult to feed sometimes, I use Tigger pods.
Works every time ( for me)
Nutramar Ova also used to be a go to food. But there are a few other egg type foods.
I use ROE as a daily food.
If you can't get live food, add frozen brine or mysis, but drop it in the tank in a powerhead stream so it looks like it's swimming.

Mattg023 · Aug 28, 2020

Thanks for the responses!

Deephouse_jedi · Aug 28, 2020

Best of luck! Let us know if you're successful and what worked for you.

artieg1 · Aug 28, 2020

My leopards did fine starting with frozen brine and frozen mysis. Now they eat pellet, flake, frozen, everything.

Mattg023 · Aug 28, 2020

artieg1 said:
My leopards did fine starting with frozen brine and frozen mysis. Now they eat pellet, flake, frozen, everything.

Nice. Fingers crossed mine is the same!

ca1ore · Aug 28, 2020

Usually a DD fish is already eating frozen. Try brine, mysis etc. Should be fine. Don’t see males for sale very often.

Mattg023 · Sep 1, 2020

So he came in today. After everything I read I decided to not drip acclimate. I turned off all lights, floated the bag for a half hour, and plopped him in. He looks very healthy, and nobody is bothering him at all which I’m very relieved. He didn’t burrow into the sand right away, and is swimming around the bottom slowly exploring. Seems to be positive signs so far.

Mattg023 · Sep 3, 2020

Update: so yesterday he was in and out of the sand hiding during the day. When I fed in the morning he seemed interested. Maybe took down a couple brine shrimp. The rest he seemed to spit out. He was in the sand for the second feeding yesterday. Today in the morning I fed a bit of brine shrimp and a bit of reef Frenzy. Again he was interested a bit in the brine shrimp but not much. Maybe one or two shrimps. No interest in reef frenzy. Seemed interested a bit nipping at pellets but not eating. No interest in flake. I know it’s still early. Only the second full day in the tank. Not sure where I can find live food locally. Should I order some live brine shrimp from LiveAquaria?

Mattg023 · Sep 3, 2020

Side note: he does look healthy, Nobody bothering him, and seems to be picking at the rock a bunch.

mfinn · Sep 3, 2020

Mattg023 said:
Update: so yesterday he was in and out of the sand hiding during the day. When I fed in the morning he seemed interested. Maybe took down a couple brine shrimp. The rest he seemed to spit out. He was in the sand for the second feeding yesterday. Today in the morning I fed a bit of brine shrimp and a bit of reef Frenzy. Again he was interested a bit in the brine shrimp but not much. Maybe one or two shrimps. No interest in reef frenzy. Seemed interested a bit nipping at pellets but not eating. No interest in flake. I know it’s still early. Only the second full day in the tank. Not sure where I can find live food locally. Should I order some live brine shrimp from LiveAquaria?

I would see if Tigger Pods are available locally

BlennyTime · Sep 3, 2020

Mine loves PE Calanus, you could try that. The pieces are a lot smaller.

If he’s nipping at the rocks, it’s also possible he’s found something there to eat.

Billdogg · Sep 3, 2020

When I added my first one, it dove right down to my flatworm infested elegance coral and started carefully plucking them away. That it is swimming around picking at the rocks tells me that it's finding food just fine already. Mine will now eat anything I put in the tank without any hesitation.

Mattg023 · Sep 3, 2020

BlennyTime said:
Mine loves PE Calanus, you could try that. The pieces are a lot smaller.

If he’s nipping at the rocks, it’s also possible he’s found something there to eat.

I did seed the tank with two types of pods a week ago. I’ll try to go to my LFS and see what else I can pick up..

BlennyTime · Sep 3, 2020

Mattg023 said:
I did seed the tank with two types of pods a week ago. I’ll try to go to my LFS and see what else I can pick up..

Then that’s probably your answer, he’s gorging himself on your pods

Mattg023 · Sep 3, 2020

Just got back home, and he seems to go into hiding mid-day both yesterday and today now. Is this normal? I imagine it’s positive sign that he’s even out in general...

BlennyTime · Sep 3, 2020

Mattg023 said:
Just got back home, and he seems to go into hiding mid-day both yesterday and today now. Is this normal? I imagine it’s positive sign that he’s even out in general...

For a fish you got 2 days ago, being out at all is a good sign. Mine took about a week to get adjusted to the light and feeding schedule of the tank.