Hello I was wondering if anyone had tips. I plan to order an ornate leopard wrasse from dr reef fully qted then put it in observation tank with sand while I try to get it to eat. Meanwhile I’m culturing Tisbe pods and have thousands so I can seed the qt tank. I will put live rock in the qt tank along with a ball of chaeto from display that I know is disease free. I will then try to get it to eat frozen while I culture pods to continue to seed until successful. Is this a good option ?
Tips on leopard wrasse in qt?
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All I’ll say is Dr Reef has a rather bad reputation… I’d go for Reef Pro instead.
as for getting it to eat, if it’s been QTed properly it’s unlikely you won’t have it arrive feeding.
I bought my ornate leopard wrasse at my local lfs (I've always had good luck with my local lfs)-wet pets Vernon CT. Was eating and very active. Put him in observation for a few weeks with general cure and a Tupperware of sand. He's been in the DT for over 2 years now. Shipping is tough on wrasse. I've bought shipped wrasse twice one didn't make it (pintail) more than three days and the other was a flasher wrasse alpha male lived for 2 years before dieing I suspect old age.
The ornate wrasse I bought from lfs was around 70 if I remember. I
The ornate wrasse I bought from lfs was around 70 if I remember. I
I agree with getting local. Then you can watch at lfs for a week or two to have it settle and feed. I often purchase mine and my lfs keeps them for 4 weeks before i take them home. Live brine, PS calanus and PS mysis are good to have on hand.
Interesting I thought he had very good reputation. Can it survive off the pods for awhile ?
People are split. Some really like him and some don’t.
leopards can live off pods. I’ve had mixed luck quarantining leopards. As others have mentioned I prefer to buy at a lfs so I can see if it’s eating.
also, have you tried culturing pods yet? If you are going to quarantine pods + live black worms will guarantee it is eating, and ease weaning onto frozen. Leopards like movement so a wavemaker may help (depending on size of quarantine).
I couldn't get my 3 from Blue Zoo to eat frozen in QT, so I took a calculated risk to drop them in my 200 gallon established display tank after 72 hours of observation.
They went to town on pods, and have slowly learned to eat not only frozen but pellets too. One of the three hid for a day, but the other two were out and about hunting pods almost immediately. Based on how fat they got before learning to eat the other foods, they can absolutely survive on pods alone but you'd better have a ton. They eat probably 5-10x as many pods as a mandarin.
If you were a pod, those things are Apache attack helicopters. So fun to watch them hunt.
They went to town on pods, and have slowly learned to eat not only frozen but pellets too. One of the three hid for a day, but the other two were out and about hunting pods almost immediately. Based on how fat they got before learning to eat the other foods, they can absolutely survive on pods alone but you'd better have a ton. They eat probably 5-10x as many pods as a mandarin.
If you were a pod, those things are Apache attack helicopters. So fun to watch them hunt.
Why QT a fish that Dr Reef has already QT’d? He’s doing the work for you, it will already be eating frozen.
I’ve had 7 orders from Dr Reef for two tanks over the past few years. There were times where communication was difficult, but for a while now his operation has been running smooth.
I have an multiple leopards from Mike including an ornate. All were eating frozen on day one.
I’ve had 7 orders from Dr Reef for two tanks over the past few years. There were times where communication was difficult, but for a while now his operation has been running smooth.
I have an multiple leopards from Mike including an ornate. All were eating frozen on day one.
They dont ship well in many cases and best to buy one you can see it, interact with other fish in LFS tank, inspect body for imperfections and see its breathing rate
Yes, leopards can survive months and sometimes longer on just a pod diet in captivity, how do you think they can vanish for months on end and then come out 6 months later completely fine
Thanks I read about that but didn’t realize the shipping was such a problem
I just figured I would qt it to be extra safe. I have very precious live stock worth a lot that I don’t want to risk. Glad to hear you have had a generally positive experience with him.
dang you really think they can eat that much more than a mandarin ? I have a mandarin already. It’s a 100 gallon tank with a 40 gallon sumo. Lots of live rock and giant chaeto. Hopefully they don’t eat too many pods haha. I am culturing pods now tho so I should be okay unless I stop I may worry.
Thanks for the tip on black worms. I’m currently culturing Tisbe pods with success. Do you think I would need live worms too or would pods be enough? I dealt with the worm situation with my copper snd and but shut down the worms when it was eating frozen. I grew white worms.
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Shouldn't it be eating if it comes fully QT?
They do not need pods to live if they are eating frozen.
I would just put sand and live rock in there and feed it a good varied diet.
I have never had an issue getting them to eat. Ova and LRS are generally a fan fav. PE Calanus is another great one to get pickier fish eating.
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Reef pro does not really QT fish.
Pods will be enough, just need a lot. Black worms helped me transition mine to frozen. White works should be fine too. But if you have pods, you don’t need worms
Personally I’ve had worse luck with QT and wrasses than I have with just dumping them into the tank.
And if I’m honest, nobody’s tank will be totally disease free unless you have quarantined your sand, rocks, corals, inverts and fish.
Definitely. I have both in my tank and the Leopards are ruthless and fast hunters. They pick off a dozen pods in the time a mandarin floats around to get two or three.
Haha I feel you. I have quarantined everything. Well not the sand but It did sit there for several months in the bags. I’m super careful and this is the only fish I will not be doing the quarantine myself. I do understand qt will stress it out more.
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