mandarin or leopard wrasse?

by **jav36** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 1:20 pm

alright guys
soon ill be upgrading to my new 75 gallon sps/lps reef. im planning on have a 30 gallon refugium in which i can raise copepods in. in my reef im planning on having either a mandarin or a leopard wrasse. i know that they are both considered expert only because of their feeding habits but would one adapt better into my tank than the other? which could i keep alive easier?

by **schigara** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 3:51 pm

The Leopard Wrasse, definitely is easier to get it eating prepared food.

You have about a 10% chance of training a Mandarin to eat whereas you have about a 90% chance of getting a Leopard to eat.

by **jav36** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 4:22 pm

ok thats a relief. i heard that leopard wrasses have an 80% chance of dying in a different tank. do your wrasses eat prepared foods? have you ever had any problems with them?

by **schigara** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 4:44 pm

They eat anything small enough to fit in their mouths.

My 2 LFS owners are big fans of the Leopards and have been keeping them in their own tanks and selling them for a long time.

They say the biggest problem they face is shipping. Usually when they won't eat, it's due to damage during shipping to the fish' mouth. When scared they will try to dive for cover in the sand and in a shipping bag, there is no sand.

They need at least a 3in sandbed to sleep and they are easily bullied, especially by other types of Wrasses.

If you see one in a store, inspect it for damage on it's mouth. Do the upper and lower jaw meet evenly? Are there any scrapes or cuts on the mouth.

Also they can be easily hurt or killed by trying to find them when they are in the sand. Just pushing through the sand with a finger, they can be squished. Inspect their sides for bruising and see if they are swimming evenly. If they get bruised on one side by getting squished or pinched, they will favor that side and that can be seen in the way they swim.

by **jav36** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 5:08 pm

yeah my lfs usually carries healthy fish but ill be sure to inspect them. thanks for the tip.

aside from their eating habits is there anything else that makes them an expert only species? are they sensative to water conditions or are they moderately hardy ?

by **schigara** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 5:23 pm

I don't know how sensitive they are to changes in water like temp, ph alk and nitrates.

My tank is very stable.

by **jav36** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 5:30 pm

my 30 gallon is pretty stable but it has had a swing in pH that killed my flame angel. once i upgrade to a 75 will it be easier to keep levels stable. any tips?

by **schigara** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 5:41 pm

Digital PH meter. Kalkwasser drip to maintain ca and alk and control PH and reverse light cycle on refugium to help balance the PH. I increase the drip rate of the kalwasser at night as well.

My next equipment purchase will be a reef controller and a peristaltic pump for the kalk so I can automate the dosing.

by **jav36** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 5:45 pm

nicee im definetly stocking up on testing equiptment once i upgrade. also, do you use an ro/di unit? do you think there nessisary?

by **schigara** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 5:53 pm

I do use and RO/DI and I test the TDS of the output once a month.

I think they are important as it is a very good bit of insurance to know your source water doesn't have any excess in heavy metals or nitrates and phosphates.

There are so many variables in reef keeping and being able to take water out of the equation of being a problem is very nice and comforting.

You never know what is in your tap water unless you send a sample to be tested and then you don't know if your tap water will be the same from day to day or month to month.

Some do run clean and successful reef tanks with tap water but relative to the overall cost, a RO/DI is cheap.

mandarin or leopard wrasse?

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