Leopard Wrasse Help

[SaltwaterNoob17]

I've owned a splendid leopard wrasse for 2 years. She's doing great, eating well. I am thinking about adding more splendid leopard wrasses. I was going to add just one more, but there is a local reefer selling a trio of females for a great price. My aquarium is only 50 gallons. What do you all think? How many should I add, if any? I currently have in the aquarium: 1 leopard wrasse, 1 tailspot blenny, 1 watchman goby, and 2 naked clownfish.

Thanks in advance!

 

[SaltwaterNoob17]

Anybody? :(

 

[little_fish]

Well, im not sure a 50 would be able to support all of them if any of them arent eating frozen because Im sure all of your fish graze on what is naturally living in the tank. However you could try it, it would make your tank pretty full, but the rest of your fish are on the small side. I would go for it if they were all eating frozen, but be prepared to move one or two on to another home if you see fighting.

 

[SaltwaterNoob17]

Thanks for the input, little_fish! :)

Mine eats frozen. She's the biggest pig in my aquarium (ironically). The guy with the trio says that they are all eating frozen, but I'm hesitant to believe it until I see it. I guess trying all 3, and having a back-up home in case something goes wrong is good. Maybe I should set-up a QT...

 

[little_fish]

I would set up little QT box to de-worm them because that is a very common issue with the leopard wrasses. I would then put them into the tank in clear boxes so the wrasse that is in the tank can see them and adjust to their presence. I would PM BL1 on how he did that. I think it will ease their transition into the tank.

 

[BL1]

All three of them may be tough, I've got 3 in my 75 and I occasionally see aggression issues. If it does become a problem though you could always remove 1 or 2. I wouldn't QT them, even though they've been accustomed to life in an aquarium most leopards do not handle QT well and end up stressed and dying. Even the people I look to for advice on leopards that QT all of their fish, won't QT their leopards due to that. I would most certainly suggest an acclimation box though, it's a great thing to use when adding any fish to a tank that has similar established fish in it.

 

[SaltwaterNoob17]

Thanks for the advice guys! I won't QT them then. Brian, if you have issues with keeping 3, then maybe I won't buy them all, or maybe I will and I'll just be prepared to remove 1-2 if need be. I have two plastic aquarium collection boxes (the kind LFS typically use to scoop up fish) with small holes that I drilled in the bottom of them; would these work to acclimate the new wrasses in?

 

[BL1]

I wouldn't use one with the bottom drilled out. I kept my wrasses in there for almost 3 weeks so I needed a solid bottom in there so I could have a sandbed for them to sleep in. But, it will depend on how long you plan on keeping them in there for. I forgot to ask before but, I've never heard of splendid leopards before, are they the same as M. Bipartitus?

 

[SaltwaterNoob17]

Yes, they are bipartitus. I didn't realize how long you kept them in there for. I thought you meant let them acclimate for 3 hours or so. What did you keep them in?