The Wrasse Lover's Thread!

evolved · Mar 30, 2015

3fordfamily said:
very cool but what the heck kind of wrasse is that?

It's Halichoeres rubricephalus

3fordfamily said:
You didn't ask me, but mine is fantastic. Easiest of all of my leopards I have tried. (Black leopard, regular leopard, blue star leopard females, blue star leopard male, potters, and ornate leopard). Some say they're difficult.

But that's not typical.

As a guideline, potter's is typically one of the most difficult, really being second to choati.

Meleagris and bipartitus are typically the easiest (albeit, not "easy").

ingtar_shinowa · Mar 30, 2015

My potter's was luckily very easy too. I find if introduced to another leopard that is taking prepared foods you have a much easier transition.

tbert33 · Mar 30, 2015

3fordfamily... It's a Halichoeres Rubricephalus.

Thanks evolved for the quick reply confirming.

I haven't seen many over here in the UK bit when I laid eyes on it I knew it had to be mine. It actually came from a friends tank who was quick to buy a year or so ago when we found it in an LFS. I think I meithered him that much he gave in .

4FordFamily · Mar 30, 2015

ingtar_shinowa said:
My potter's was luckily very easy too. I find if introduced to another leopard that is taking prepared foods you have a much easier transition.

I agree with this - although my potters was the FIRST leopard to survive that I tried. I had tried two bipartus and two regular leopards without success. Like I said, even with a mouth injury she is THRIVING. It's very strange and I have heard that this is not normal. My first male blue star also survived, I have heard large male leopards, especially blue star were borderline impossible. I got lucky I guess

4FordFamily · Mar 30, 2015

But I do find that now that I have several resident leopard wrasses that they do accept frozen foods more readily and quickly.

I had so many other wrasses in the tank that perhaps my initial potters wrasse learned from them so quickly. It literally never hid (not a single day) and ate the following day. Very atypical. I generally see them hide for 2-10 days and even when they emerge they are sluggish and slow eaters. This potters was voracious from day two.

Youri. · Mar 30, 2015

truetricia said:
Youri. How do you like the Potters Wrasse? What's the behavior like? Feeding?

The Potters Wrasse can be difficult to acclimate. I live in Europe so they have a long way to travel before they arrive here and they can have some sort of 'jetleg'. I had two speciemens, one died after two days, the other one (on the pictures) is doing really great! Eats everything and is really actively searching the liverock for food.
So in my opinion, it can be a difficult fish to acclimate, but once it is acclimated it is quite a easy fish and a great addition to your tank!

Greetings,
Youri

eatbreakfast · Mar 31, 2015

My first potters wrasse, before I knew how difficult they could be, was very easy to acclimate and was very hardy. It was given to me because it had a severely damaged lower jaw from transport and the owner of the LFS felt it had little chance of survival and at the very least was unsellable. The potters, with only half a lower jaw, quickly took to eating pellets from an auto feeder and did very well for about a year and a half, whereupon we lost power for almost a week and I lost all my livestock.

I have since tried potters on 4 separate occassions, 2 times they died in the first 2 days, a third didnt make it past one week, the fourth made it 13 days. My first foray into leopards was the damaged mouth potters and I have been hooked on them since. If I can have only one leopard I want it to be a potters, yet they have proven to be quite difficult.

4FordFamily · Mar 31, 2015

eatbreakfast said:
My first potters wrasse, before I knew how difficult they could be, was very easy to acclimate and was very hardy. It was given to me because it had a severely damaged lower jaw from transport and the owner of the LFS felt it had little chance of survival and at the very least was unsellable. The potters, with only half a lower jaw, quickly took to eating pellets from an auto feeder and did very well for about a year and a half, whereupon we lost power for almost a week and I lost all my livestock.

I have since tried potters on 4 separate occassions, 2 times they died in the first 2 days, a third didnt make it past one week, the fourth made it 13 days. My first foray into leopards was the damaged mouth potters and I have been hooked on them since. If I can have only one leopard I want it to be a potters, yet they have proven to be quite difficult.

Ironic that you and I have the same success with potters initially only mine has a bottom lip that sticks out further (suspect it's broken or damaged). She's thriving beyond belief from everything I hear

Djbrandriff150 · Mar 31, 2015

New fishes!!! Just picked up

ImageUploadedByREEF2REEF1427848936.804983.jpg

ImageUploadedByREEF2REEF1427848953.430526.jpg

4FordFamily · Mar 31, 2015

Djbrandriff150 said:
New fishes!!! Just picked up

beautoful!

RavenSF · Mar 31, 2015

Linespot Wrasse puffing up

Red Lined Wrasse

McCoskers Wrasse

The whole Wrasse gang

eatbreakfast · Apr 1, 2015

3fordfamily said:
Ironic that you and I have the same success with potters initially only mine has a bottom lip that sticks out further (suspect it's broken or damaged). She's thriving beyond belief from everything I hear

My working theory as to why potters with damaged mouths seem to do better is that it affects how they forage for pods, and they become more dependant on the foods we feed and they have to be less tentative about going into the feeding frenzy of other fish.

4FordFamily · Apr 1, 2015

eatbreakfast said:
My working theory as to why potters with damaged mouths seem to do better is that it affects how they forage for pods, and they become more dependant on the foods we feed and they have to be less tentative about going into the feeding frenzy of other fish.

Seems reasonable to me.

ruppertb · Apr 1, 2015

My new wrasse has been flashing at our chromis which is fun to watch not sure why he is doing it but it's cool

eatbreakfast · Apr 2, 2015

ruppertb said:
My new wrasse has been flashing at our chromis which is fun to watch not sure why he is doing it but it's cool

He flashes at fish that he views as competition for resources. If there are other flasher wrasses, they have more similar needs and usually get the attention, but any planktivores can get flashed at to show how big and tough he is.