Pair of Potters Wrasse???

Dowtish · May 22, 2012

So I was in Atlanta today for work and stumbled across 2 of these in a tank together. One of them is a little larger than the other and has more pronounced blue spot. More of them and brighter. They were not advertised as a pair, but their behavior resembled it. I know they are hermaphroditic, so I took a chance and got them both after I saw them tear up pellets and mysis. They are currently in my 55 gal. QT and were swimming together before they bedded down. I will try and post some pics soon. Im super excited but not sure what to expect. Any body know any info on how to tell for sure if they are male/female?

Typed from my phone because I have nothing better to do.

chort55 · May 22, 2012

My male is more orange in coloration, and female is more yellow (especially in the head). Males have lines in their face, females have lines and dots if I remember right. My male comes out about 1/2 hr before the female every day but they head to bed at together, I am guessing this is to "make sure the coast is clear", but no real idea why.

Goodluck, getting them to eat is half the battle.... getting them to continue to come out of the sand and not jump is the other half. They are a beautiful fish and certainly one of my favorites! Very active too, they cruise my entire 180g!

Definitely would like to see pics of your pair when you get some!

el richie · May 23, 2012

Awesome!!

evolved · May 23, 2012

chort55 said:
My male is more orange in coloration, and female is more yellow (especially in the head). Males have lines in their face, females have lines and dots if I remember right.

This is correct. In addition, the males get quite a bit larger and lose the dark blue background in the later half of the body once mature.

Via Fish Base-

A mature male will look like this:

Whereas a mature female will look like this:

Note the difference in the face.

PFCDeitz · May 23, 2012

What Store in ATL did you get them from?

Dowtish · May 23, 2012

Hunter, thanks for that awesome post with amazing pics! You are the man.

PFCDeitz, I went by SEA first and they had tons of amazing wrasses. Lubbocks, Rhomboids, Solons, Leopards etc. But I didnt have $250 to spend on a rhomboid. So then I went to optimum aquarium up in Kennesaw, and that's where I got them. They were marked at $50, but they cut off $10 for buying both.

I unfortunately just got home from being on the road again for work, and it was already dark in the aquarium. But one was out and the other is buried. I had to check and see if the one would eat, and she did immediately.:clap2: I will get some pics or at least another bad cell phone video with both of them tomorrow.

[video=youtube;dTzfCGelRF0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTzfCGelRF0&list=UUiIrju8joSfDCWLj6TKGFng& index=1&feature=plcp[/video]

evolved · May 24, 2012

1smile1

Blake11rebel · May 24, 2012

Great pickup! I just went to the Georgia Aquarium saturday and it made me want a new fish. lol Probably going to go with a wrasse as well but nothing that mentions expert only haha

chort55 · May 24, 2012

Beautiful fish, whatever you do don't go poking through the sand trying to find the other one. If its alive it will come out on its own, but if you spook it you are lowering the odds of success tremendously.

Dowtish · May 24, 2012

chort55 said:
Beautiful fish, whatever you do don't go poking through the sand trying to find the other one. If its alive it will come out on its own, but if you spook it you are lowering the odds of success tremendously.

There is not a whole lot of sand in the QT, so i can just put a flashlight underneath the tank and see them buried.

Bad news though: I came home today and found the one that has been buried out, but not doing well. It's laying on its side and breathing heavy, while the other one is swimming about and still eating. Dont know what is going on. Water params are perfect, it has no outer signs of disease or nipped fins. the other fish is not showing any aggression towards it, at least from what Ive seen. I'm thinking it was an acclimation issue. the water they came in had a very low salinity of 1.018. Not sure why either. I dripped acclimated them upto my 1.025, and I really wouldnt think salinity would be an issue, but that's all I can come up with.

Usually when a fish is acting like this, they dont last more than an hour or two. But ive now been home for 7 hours and it's still alive. But now it seems it's eyes are bugging out. Very sad, and I'm wondering if I should just euthanize her at this point...

Blake11rebel · May 24, 2012

That really sux! Sorry to hear about that. was there anything other than the fish in the tank at the LFS? The only reason I can think if to keep the salinity that low would be for parasites.

chort55 · May 24, 2012

Laying on its side breathing heavy isnt entirely uncommon when they come out for a while, and you spooking it with the light shining in its face when it is trying to relax and adjust to your tank doesn't help. 1.018 isn't horrible, and it isn't uncommon for an LFS or wholesaler to run lower salinity. I have seen fish come in a bit lower then that from wholesalers and still adjust fine. How long did you drip them for to bring them up to your levels? How long did it take you to drive from ATL to TN and what were the conditions you transported them in? Theres a reason these guys are considered Expert Only, and it isn't just because they don't always eat or like to jump.... they travel very poorly!

chort55 · May 24, 2012

Blake11rebel said:
That really sux! Sorry to hear about that. was there anything other than the fish in the tank at the LFS? The only reason I can think if to keep the salinity that low would be for parasites.

Alot of them keep the salinity lower because salt isn't exactly cheap for say a 1-5,000g set up, and lower salinities aren't exactly dangerous. But yes, some do it because of ich/ parasites as well. Its really not a big deal, as long as the consumer properly drip acclimates

Dowtish · May 25, 2012

Chort, im am by no means an expert, but i know what im doing when it comes to handling fish. The drive took just over 3 hours, and the lfs gave me a cooler, even though i had my own, they were in very large bags with plenty of oxygen and the cooler was nice and secure all the way home. I know how to drip acclimate and i dont shine light in their eyes. The flashlight is dimmed out, and i can barely see the edge of their fins of their tail when i check. So please dont accuse me of stressing the fish out before you ask some questions first. I am also fully aware that lfs can keep their salinity low, but they were very helpful, and i thought they would have mentioned it. I have done everything right and by the book on this one. If both fish were doing this, then maybe i would be questioning what i did wrong, but the other fish is doing very well, and i think i just have to chalk this up to one being stronger than the other.

Typed from my phone because I have nothing better to do.

Cubbies · May 25, 2012

Maybe internal parasites got to it at last. Leopards as you might already know suffer alot from it. I recently lost a Chaoti due to it in my belief as well. It really sucks! I hope it makes it for you!