MacroWr Sys F

FAQs on Leopard Wrasses, Genus Macropharyngodon, Systems

Sand Bed For Leopard Wrasse – 09/10/14
Hello Marine Geniuses!
<<Hmm…more a ‘student of the hobby’ here…but let’s see if I can help>>
I have a substrate question. I have a standard 4ft 75 gallon reef tank with approx. 160 pounds of live rock and broken shell/coral substrate that is COVERED in coralline. I have a 10 gallon sump with bio balls, AquaC Urchin skimmer, and run Chemi-Pure Elite. I will be switching to a Trigger sump/refugium shortly.
<<Very nice. Do go with the biggest you can fit/afford>>
I do 25 gallon water changes every 2 weeks. I have tons of corals which all grow like crazy. I only on occasion dose 2 part calcium/alkalinity, but mostly everything is provided sufficiently in water changes.
<<Okay>>
Water quality is excellent. My livestock includes 3 Sunburst Anthias, 2 Neon Gobies, a huge male Mandarin Goby (eats frozen shrimps, had for 2 years now), Tail spot Blenny, Green Coral Goby, and a baby Blue Hippo Tang.
<<Mmm, you were doing so well till this last… This tank is decidedly too small for this animal…at any stage of life, in my opinion. Paracanthurus hepatus grows large and robust…and in my estimation tends to be a bit “twitchy” at the best of times, which is compounded when kept in a too small environment>>
Inverts include 2 Skunk Cleaner Shrimps, lots of Turbos, Ceriths and Astreas, tons of amphipods and copepods and a red Linckia starfish and hermits. I know you are probably going to tell me this is a
lot of fish :/,
<<Not a ‘lot’ per se…just not all appropriate for this tank>>
but they are all small, except the Mandarin, and all very peaceful! The tang is only 1.5 inches.
<<But will grow…and maybe suffer psychologically while doing so, in this too small environment>>
I would like to add my final fish which is a Macropharyngodon bipartitus, Leopard Wrasse.
<<A beautiful but difficult fish for most. They do not seem to ship well, and many do not acclimate to prepared foods. But if you can get one in good condition, and coax it to take prepared foods, I have found them to be hardy and disease resistant. I once had a mated pair in a very large system (300+ gallons) that actually spawned>>
This obviously won't work with my current substrate.
<<Fine Aragonite (sugar sand) is best for these fish. If the substrate is too course the wrasse will injure itself>>
I am going to purchase a super white aragonite live sand online, the grain varies from .2-2mm in size, but mostly on the smaller end it says.
<<Should suffice>>
My question is, with this size grain and the size of my tank and considering the wrasse, how deep should my bed be
<<3 – 4 inches…the wrasse needs to be able to totally conceal itself>>
and about how many pounds does that come to approximately? My tank measures 48x20x18.
<<Impossible for me to say with certainty. It will depend on how much of the bottom is covered with rock, but I think a good starting point here is about 100lbs of sand…give or take>>
My Linckia stays on the glass most of the time so it shouldn't be a problematic starfish to a sand bed should it?
<<No…is more of a threat to emergent life on the rock>>
Do I stir or just vacuum the top of which ever type of bed you advise?
<>
Am I going to need a lot of flow over the bed?
<<I would strive for as much flow as you can muster, without overly disturbing the sand bed. My recommendation would be to use propeller pumps (e.g. – Tunze, Koralia, etc.) mounted high at either end of the tank to produce a “Gyre” type flow pattern…and alternating direction on a 4-6 hour schedule>>
Thanks so much for your advice and your time!!
Ashley
<<Happy to share… Eric Russell)
RE: Sand Bed for Leopard Wrasse – 09/10/14
Thanks so much for the insight Eric.
<<Is my pleasure, Ashley>>
As for the Tang, I just traded in my 5 inch Hippo for the baby one! It came with my tank and then I had it for 2 years and it grew about 3 inches in that time. I felt it needed more room than my 75,
<<Indeed…as does the new one>>
so I just traded it 2 weeks ago. It never exhibited signs of any stress, obviously ate well, and had such personality. That's why I swapped it for a small one. I didn't realize my tank was too small because many online retailers say a 40-50 gallon tank is fine!
<<Sadly, this is true…and one of the reasons I use and recommend Live Aquaria (LiveAquaria.Com). Aside from providing healthy specimens and great service, they recommend a 180g tank for this fish (the minimum in my opinion)…just my 2-cents>>
Obviously common sense told me my 5 inch was too big for my tank.
<<And ‘kudos’ to you for this…so many do not>>
I will consider catching it and trading it in when I do the substrate swap if it would be best.
<<Again, in my opinion…yes>>
Is the Macropharyngodon meleagris any easier to keep than bipartitus, or same difficulty?
<<Some might argue to the contrary, but I feel if you are providing an adequate environment, and can successfully acclimate the fish to captive care (prepared foods, et al), I think most of the Macropharyngodon species can do very well. And I must apologize, the breeding pair I had were the meleagris species, not bipartitus>>
I do know there are challenges with this species, but I am up for it!
<>
Is their burrowing not enough to disturb the bacteria in the sand and create problems or release that sulfide that builds up?
<<These are much overrated issues…not to worry re>>
I had live sand previously, but it was a disaster for me, because I believe it was at the "in between" depth of not being good for anything (1-2 inches) but problems.
<<I have been a fan of fine sand substrates for many years and have had beds of a couple inches to as deep as eight or more inches (that equated to about 1200lbs of sugar-fine Aragonite in an 8-foot tank). I have never had negative issues I felt were related to the depth of the sand bed. There are exceptions, but I think most issues can usually be tracked back to improper substrate material and/or poor husbandry. That said, many authors (at least in years past) do believe a 3-4 inch bed is the “sweet spot”…I would not be concerned>>
I will start with the 100lbs and see if that gets me close to 3-4 inches. I know it's hard to judge how much you need, that's why I asked you! :) I have heard that sometimes the leopard wrasse carries worms in their bellies. If one exhibits signs of this, what would you treat with?
<<In my experience, once a fish exhibits signs of internal parasites there is little to be done. In most cases the fish has stopped feeding making treatment (using treated food stuffs) impossible. I want to warn you against being tempted to medicate this fish outright…if you feel the need, you can add a garlic supplement or feed the treated Spectrum pellet food>>
I do plan to QT with a tray of sand and make sure it eats.
<<I strongly suggest you not do this… Unless you can set up a 30g-40g tank with 4-inches of Aragonite sugar sand and a dense growth of Caulerpa; and let this tank “mature” for a few months, you/the fish are better off added directly to the display where it at least has a chance to fed on the existing micro-fauna under stable water conditions>>
Also for the "gyre" flow, I believe I am already using this type of flow
<<Excellent!>>
but didn't know the name for it and with only one Koralia. Are you saying put one pump on each end of tank at the top and run one flowing in one direction for 4-6 hours then shut off and then the other in the opposite direction of flow for 4-6 hours?
<<Indeed…and simply set up with inexpensive ‘lamp’ timers. If you want better control, then spend the extra cash for ‘digital’ household timers…usually about 30-bucks a pop>>
My rock is shaped like an island in the middle of my tank so my flow circles all the way around it. Thanks for the great info!
Ashley
<<Always happy to share…do keep me posted on how things go! Cheers, EricR>>
R2: Sand Bed for Leopard Wrasse – 09/11/14
All right, I think I got it all now Eric!
<<Yay! <grin> >>
I did check Live Aquaria to see what they said for the Tang right after reading your message and saw the 180 gallons. Only part I don't like is I know I will trade it in and someone with a smaller tank than me will buy it!
<<Hopefully with time/better education of hobbyists and retailers alike, this will become less likely>>
I do have a 30 gallon tank with some live rock and pods and I would add the sand I am buying to it, but if adding to my main tank, once the live sand cycles, is preferred I would rather that too.
<<Indeed>>
There is definitely more life in there. I do feed New Life Spectrum pellets to my fish.
<<Excellent!>>
I am trying to get my Sunbursts to eat it, but they haven't yet, they want meat!
<<Is sometimes the case>>
I had a Bartlett’s that did eat it. Since you obviously have had success with the Leopard Wrasse, can you send a little wrasse magic my way please?
<<Done!>>
That is my last question. I'll let you know how it goes.
Thank you!
Ashley
<<Always a pleasure my friend… EricR>>
R2: Sand Bed for Leopard Wrasse – 09/11/14
All right, I think I got it all now Eric!
<<Yay! <grin> >>
I did check Live Aquaria to see what they said for the Tang right after reading your message and saw the 180 gallons. Only part I don't like is I know I will trade it in and someone with a smaller tank than me will buy it!
<<Hopefully with time/better education of hobbyists and retailers alike, this will become less likely>>
I do have a 30 gallon tank with some live rock and pods and I would add the sand I am buying to it, but if adding to my main tank, once the live sand cycles, is preferred I would rather that too.
<<Indeed>>
There is definitely more life in there. I do feed New Life Spectrum pellets to my fish.
<<Excellent!>>
I am trying to get my Sunbursts to eat it, but they haven't yet, they want meat!
<<Is sometimes the case>>
I had a Bartlett’s that did eat it. Since you obviously have had success with the Leopard Wrasse, can you send a little wrasse magic my way please?
<<Done!>>
That is my last question. I'll let you know how it goes.
Thank you!
Ashley
<<Always a pleasure my friend… EricR>>

Leopard Wrasse…Bare-Bottom Quarantine? (Absolutely Not!) - 08/21/08 Hey Guys! <<Hey Jenna!>> I am planning on getting a leopard wrasse from a trans-shipper. <<Mmm, a difficult fish to keep. A very poor shipper…but admittedly, is quite hardy once acclimated/feeding in my experience. Though this is not to be taken as an endorsement for the inexperienced and those unwilling to take special measures to try to keep this fish>> I know these guys are hard to get onto frozen but I am up for the challenge! <<Feeding is certainly a challenge…but so many of these fish simply do not survive the collection and transport process, period. I've seen entire shipments (retail facility) perish within a day or two. And those shipments that didn't totally perish usually suffered at least 50% mortality. I would discourage all but the most advanced hobbyist from attempting this fish…and even then, much is in the hands of the collector/shipper re this fish's chances for survival>> My question is I have a 10 gallon QT tank, which is bare. <<Totally unsuitable here/for this fish. If you do go through with attempting this fish, I strongly suggest you place it straight away in the display…which is hopefully a mature system of some size with a deep bed of fine substrate and a good population of small crustaceans supported by an in-line refugium>> I know the wrasse like to bury itself in the sand, would adding PVC pipes and a maybe a cave of some sort help? <<Nope>> I do not want to add sand to the QT tank but I want this fish to survive as well. <<Read all you can re this genus of fish (Macropharyngodon)…here's a place to start (http://www.wetwebmedia.com/macropharyngodon.htm), continuing among the associated links in blue. Do also search other sites for info on this genus. If you have time/resources/the discipline to prepare, the most successful "receiving" system I've seen for these fish was a 60g tank (you could get by with a 20g-30g for a single specimen for the short-term) in the back room of a retail facility that had been set up with a 5" deep bed of sugar-fine sand and a VERY DENSE growth of Caulerpa macro-algae (C. Mexicana). The tank had initially been left to run fishless for a couple months before the first fish was introduced, and fed daily to foster large populations of food organisms. The Leopard Wrasse would dive immediately in to the sand upon introduction and wouldn't reemerge for up to several days (assuming any survived the shipping process). Upon reappearing, the wrasse would have plenty to feed upon, initially, from the available biota in/on the sand bed and macro-algae. The dense growth of Caulerpa also allowed the fish to "hide out" from onlookers and each other. After a few more days of settling in, the wrasse would be offered New Life Spectrum pellets a couple times a day. Most all the fish that took to the pellets survived and even thrived…those that did not take to the pellets usually perished in short order. Take what you want from that, but based on what I already know and have seen and/or experienced first-hand re this food…I encourage you to use the Spectrum food as well>> Thanks in advance! Jenna Adams <<Happy to share. Eric Russell>>

Thinking Of Getting A Splendid Leopard Wrasse Macropharyngodon bipartitus) - 02/02/08 Dear Bob and Crew, <<Hello Dane…EricR here>> I am thinking of purchasing a Splendid Leopard Wrasse from Kenya from a local seller. <<Exquisite fish…rarely seen in the trade around my parts; and for the best really, considering their dismal survival rate…and quite "pricey" when they do show up>> However, I have researched and have found out they have very specialized feeding requirements i.e. copepods. <<Indeed…these fish require a dense and self-sustaining population of live natural prey>> My tank is 55g with 80 lbs live rock. <<Needs to be twice this size…with a "mature" in-line plankton-generating refugium of at least 30 gallons in size…along with a dearth of same-food-type competitors in the display>> Inhabitants currently are 2 Ocellaris clowns and 1 coral banded shrimp. <<Not the best tank mates, especially in this size tank>> While the tank has only been set up in my apartment for 2 months it was actually running continuously for 4 years prior to my purchasing it. I moved this tank with all substrate intact under a few inches of water and moved all live rock with the original water. I would say I used about 60% of the original water in the tank when it arrived it my apartment. <<Even all considered…this tank just doesn't have enough "real estate" to generate/sustain enough prey food organisms for the wrasse>> My question is, do you think the micro crustacean population will be sufficient for this wrasse? <> Can it be supplemented with live brine shrimp and frozen brine and Mysis? <<Some individuals may take to frozen foods (Mysis preferred over brine shrimp)…and I would stress that anyone purchasing any wrasse from this genus ensure that/witness the fish eating in the store, first>> Lastly, re: quarantine, is it possible to do this for this fish as there would be no copepods in my quarantine tank. <> Thanks in advance for you help, Dane <<I do hope that you will reconsider purchasing this fish, Dane. One of the smaller Halichoeres species would be much more likely to do well/survive in a system the size of yours. In my experience the Halichoeres genus of wrasse will more readily take to prepared foods (frozen Mysis and glass worms are good fare…and do also look in to new Life Spectrum pelleted food for these/all your fishes). There are also some spectacular specimens among this genus…perhaps H. ornatissimus or H. iridis would suit your fancy. One special requirement I need mention for these fishes, and which also pertains to Macropharyngodon species, is a soft and fine substrate of suitable depth. These fishes "bury" in the substrate to sleep and when startled or harassed. A substrate that is too coarse or too sharp, or even too shallow, will ultimately result in the fish's demise...either through physical damage and subsequent infection, or through psychological stress. A sugar-fine Aragonite of 4-inches or more in depth works nicely. Regards, Eric Russell>>

Thinking Of Getting A Splendid Leopard Wrasse Macropharyngodon bipartitus)…One Other Thing… - 02/02/08 One other thing I forgot to mention: I have a rocky substrate. Will this affect this wrasse adversely? <<Indeed…is totally unsuitable as explained in the previous reply>> Best, Dane <<Regards, EricR>>

Re: Thinking Of Getting A Splendid Leopard Wrasse Macropharyngodon bipartitus) - 02/02/08 Thanks for your advice Eric. <<Quite welcome…sorry it's not more in your favor>> I love all these wrasses, they are beautiful, it's such a shame that my substrate is rocky. <<Indeed>> Is there some way to remedy this, such as a patch of finer sand or even a tray of sand? <> Thanks, Dane <<Happy to assist. EricR>>

Macropharyngodon bipartitus (Blue Star Leopard Wrasse) Leopard Wrasse- In A Refugium? 11/26/07 Hi Everyone, <Hiya! Scott F. in today!> I've been reading through your site for a long time and found it to be a great help. I have a 90 gallon SPS/LPS display tank with a 30 gallon sump and a 36 gallon refugium. As of right now, the refugium has 20 lbs of live rock, a deep sand bed, and assortment of various macroalgae. I've been looking into adding a fish into the refugium. I was wondering how a Blue Star Leopard wrasse would work in the fuge. I have searched many sites regarding this wrasse, half of the sites state that this fish cannot live in a tank smaller than a 50 gallon and others say no less than a 30 gallon. Is it the total volume of water in the system or the overall swimming space? Being the system has more than enough volume of water for this in particular fish, Will this work out ok or am I better off looking into some other fish? Thank you very much! Erika <Well, Erika, it's not so much a function of physical space with this species. Yes, it needs ample room- but "space", in this example, is more of a measure of the ability of a system to support the fish's nutritional needs. Larger systems typically generate larger populations of natural food supplies (i.e.; copepods, amphipods, Mysis, etc.). The real challenge with the Leopard Wrasses is supplying them with the quantity and type of foods that they need. You might be able to get them to take prepared foods, which is a plus. However, if they need to depend on natural food sources, at least at the start, an established system of decent size is a plus. Another thought that I had: The function of a refugium is to provide a source of nutrient export/processing for the display aquarium, and to supplement the display with natural foods. As such, you want to maximize this potential productivity by eliminating predators form the refugium! Why would you want to diminish this process by placing a (predatory) fish in there? A healthy foraging Leopard Wrasse can have a significant impact on the refugium's total productivity. Better to see if the fish can be accommodated in your display aquarium. If you're up for the challenge, this fish can be a spectacular addition to your system. Select a healthy specimen, acclimate and quarantine carefully, and you may enjoy great success! Good luck! Regards, Scott F.>

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