The Wrasse Lover's Thread!

[OrionN]

My flasher somehow got down into my sump last night. Probably be dead had I not removed the filter sponge. Managed to catch it and put it back but immediately jumped and hit the floor tiles. Looking quite rough. Hopefully it will survive.

I not only cover the tank, I also cover the overflow box. I just cut a acrylic piece to put on top of the overflow box, under then tank cover. Mt tank is escape proof. Last time i loose the fish due to jumping was when my beautiful Naoko Male jumped when I remove the lid quickly to dump in food in the AM. I was in too much of ha hurry to notice. I am taking about cracking up the lid and dump food in, 3-5 seconds at the most. I get to the point I just dump food through the top screen instead of open it up.

 

[OrionN]

Males are more sensitive than females. I feel like the issue with leopards are 3 fold

1. Delicate mouths mean that they may not accept food due to an injury in transport
2. Bad at acclimating to new time zones. They basically get jet lag and dont wake up at the right times and miss feedings because they’re in the sand.
3. Being wimps, easily bullied and scared into hiding

Use these 3 things and up them a bit for tamarin wrasse and even more for pencil wrasse.

I agree with @Slocke post above. But I add that once acclimated, Leopards eats everything and I have no problem with feeding Leopards (Meleagris, Black, Ornate, and Star). They eats larger pods than Mandarin. Most of the food Mandarin eat are small tiny pods, and most of the Mandarin are obligates pod eater, they are too slow to compete with other fish in the tank for the food that we feed the tank, even if some of them will eat sinking pellets.
Since Leopard tend to dive for the sand when they are startle and frightened, you can get away with not having a cover tank, if there are no fish bothering them. Leopards were the only wrasse I keep for several years. I did not have a cover on my tank at that time and did not loose them jumping.
If you have a fine sand bed, and have plenty of live fauna, you can add Leopard first and they will most likely do well. Initially they will come out and only feed on the fauna, then once acclimated they will be out more and feed on the food you feed the tank. The reason why they are consider delicate and difficult, is the fact that many people acclimated them to tank like in sterile tank with no fauna. In this situation, we have to feed them when they come out of the sand. Usually when they come out we are not there to feed them, or our feeding activity and movement scare them and cause them to dive back into the sand. This result in a weaken wrasse, and died of starvation or succumb to disease.
Because to the above reason, acclimate Leopard require a refugium type setting. In this setting, acclimate Leopard is not difficult.

 

[Tcook]

I not only cover the tank, I also cover the overflow box. I just cut a acrylic piece to put on top of the overflow box, under then tank cover. Mt tank is escape proof. Last time i loose the fish due to jumping was when my beautiful Naoko Male jumped when I remove the lid quickly to dump in food in the AM. I was in too much of ha hurry to notice. I am taking about cracking up the lid and dump food in, 3-5 seconds at the most. I get to the point I just dump food through the top screen instead of open it up.

I had that happen with a Vivien. Now I feed through the ports. Icheck the screen every time too.

 

[jkcoral]

Stopped by my LFS yesterday for some food, and picked up some brine shrimp to entertain my fish friends.

Afterwards, rhomboid was sitting there with a potbelly and that “oh my…” facial expression we’ve all felt on thanksgiving before.

A little before and after:

 

[i cant think]

Things are getting serious, I’ve never used an acclimation box but I have the egg crate now to create an isolation box.

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

Things are getting serious, I’ve never used an acclimation box but I have the egg crate now to create an isolation box.

Good luck! Have you identified the problem fish?

 

[i cant think]

Good luck! Have you identified the problem fish?

I have an idea of the Hawk being a suspect so he’s being trialled first.

 

[JoJosReef]

Nothing like a bit of solitary confinement to put your inmates back in order.

 

[steveschuerger]

I agree with @Slocke post above. But I add that once acclimated, Leopards eats everything and I have no problem with feeding Leopards (Meleagris, Black, Ornate, and Star). They eats larger pods than Mandarin. Most of the food Mandarin eat are small tiny pods, and most of the Mandarin are obligates pod eater, they are too slow to compete with other fish in the tank for the food that we feed the tank, even if some of them will eat sinking pellets.
Since Leopard tend to dive for the sand when they are startle and frightened, you can get away with not having a cover tank, if there are no fish bothering them. Leopards were the only wrasse I keep for several years. I did not have a cover on my tank at that time and did not loose them jumping.
If you have a fine sand bed, and have plenty of live fauna, you can add Leopard first and they will most likely do well. Initially they will come out and only feed on the fauna, then once acclimated they will be out more and feed on the food you feed the tank. The reason why they are consider delicate and difficult, is the fact that many people acclimated them to tank like in sterile tank with no fauna. In this situation, we have to feed them when they come out of the sand. Usually when they come out we are not there to feed them, or our feeding activity and movement scare them and cause them to dive back into the sand. This result in a weaken wrasse, and died of starvation or succumb to disease.
Because to the above reason, acclimate Leopard require a refugium type setting. In this setting, acclimate Leopard is not difficult.

Mines been fine and eating frozen almost from the get go when I acquired her. No issues eating with the others, though I am pretty generous with the food. The others in the tank are a Melanurus, Blue Eye Tang, 2 Bangaii, 2 Ocellaris and Orange/Red Spot Blenny. In a 60 with lots of rock and about 2 inches of sand.

 

[Slocke]

update on the flasher is it is eating and looking OK. Except it may have a prolapse.
I’m on a plane now so it’s on its own.

 

[JoJosReef]

update on the flasher is it is eating and looking OK. Except it may have a prolapse.
I’m on a plane now so it’s on its own.

Good luck in Hawaii! And through customs!!

 

[OrionN]

I got a baby Anampses twistii back in May 2023. I think I posted about him at the time, but have not post about him for a while, mainly becasue I have been busy and never got him out of my acclimating system. I just snapped a poor picture of him in my dirty QT system. She has been doing very well, fat and growing. She was tiny, only a little over 1 inch back in May, now she is approaching 2 inches.
While it is difficult to tel the size of the fish from pictures, one can see the proportion of eye to the rest of the head and body in the first 2 pictures vs. the eye head proportion in the last picture.
I hope this fish is going to be with me for a long time. I really love to get tiny fishes and get them to mature in my system.
Back on 5/21/2023

Now on 10/22/2023

 

[OrionN]

My LFS had fat and eating A Twistii and A cearulepunctatus but I’m leaving soon. Worst of all they had the right sized tusks for my tank. Ah well

Am I right that this is a yellowfin flasher?

And what cleaner are these?

@Slocke
Did you get the A. twistii or is it still at the LFS?

 

[Alpha_and_Gec]

Can a wrasse be too fat?

My marginatus looks like that lol
no issues yet

 

[Alpha_and_Gec]

Years back I got a $30 tiny meleagris as a disposable leopard when I tried to add a potters. Hoped she would get most abuse until potters settled. Week went by and Mel disappeared for many months then I got a txt a friends party it came out. Thought it died. Every day all day long Mel got chased by all fish for 2 years and grew to 2”. When I gave a friend a Viviens I also gave him Mel to make it easier adding the fish. Mel turned male and now is going to its 3rd home at the friends house I was at when she came out.
This is him 4 years after I got him

Thinking about adding this wrasse. I know I shouldn’t but

Where are you that sells meleagris leopards for less than 60 bucks??
Makes me want one now...

 

[steveschuerger]

Just a couple pics of my Mel that recently took

 

[Slocke]

@Slocke
Did you get the A. twistii or is it still at the LFS?

Nah
Hoping to find a A neoguinaicus though. If I had a bigger tank I think I’d get a second but much bigger A meleagrides and see if I can get it to transition.

 

[Slocke]

Woohoo
I’m awake after @i cant think woke up. 11 hour difference I believe.

Nah
Hoping to find a A neoguinaicus though. If I had a bigger tank I think I’d get a second but much bigger A meleagrides and see if I can get it to transition.

For reference this is a male

 

[i cant think]

Woohoo
I’m awake after @i cant think woke up. 11 hour difference I believe.

For reference this is a male

The males are gorgeous but I’ve seen pairs of females where they just never transition - even when the difference is drastic.

Nah
Hoping to find a A neoguinaicus though. If I had a bigger tank I think I’d get a second but much bigger A meleagrides and see if I can get it to transition.

If I find another nice Anampses like neoguinaicus I may reconsider a pair of Radiants.
Can we have some of these hit the hobby
https://reefbuilders.com/2023/02/28...asse-is-anampses-twistii-neoguinaicus-hybrid/

 

[i cant think]

1 side down, now to do the other side and the base then I’m almost done.

I forgot how hard it is to chop through egg crate. The things we do for wrasses hey.