Leopard wrasse getting very thin

ScubaSteve · #1 07-10-2012, 05:07 AM

I might be missing something here but there is an obvious factor here: the food. You said the previous owner fed pellets but you are feeding frozen. If it ate pellets but is spitting out frozen, feed pellets. It may actively pursue the food more.

My Potters Leopard is fairly ambivalent to most frozen and live foods and will only nibble when there, if at all. But damn it loves pellets. It will out compete my anthias for pellets.

If your other fish are mostly pelagic feeders, you could try making a seafood/pellet mush and smearing it on a small rock, then freezing it. Put it in the tank the next day and the wrasse can pick off pieces as it thaws at its leisure without needing to compete with tank mates. This works well if you don't have many other fish that feed off the live rock.

reefwars · #2 07-10-2012, 05:24 AM

i have a bunch of nls pellets if you want to try to see if it likes it:P cyclopeeze is another good idea too

ScubaSteve · #3 07-10-2012, 06:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reefwars

i have a bunch of nls pellets if you want to try to see if it likes it:P cyclopeeze is another good idea too

I've never had my leopard so much as look at a cyclopeeze, barely even touch baby brine.

Another food I had success with was fish eggs (capelin roe). They, for the most part, aren't pelagic feeders so. They mostly go after stuff on rocks and larger floating particles about 1mm in diameter.

Coralgurl · #4 07-10-2012, 01:45 PM

I have pellets which I have dropped in, not on a regular basis tho. If she's out before I leave I will throw some in this morning. I will try all the suggestions to see what works.

I did mixed some cyclopeeze in with the food last night, she was still spitting back out.

The 180 has been going since March this year, not a mature tank, but the 55 has been up for over a year. I don't think I have much time to turn this around so will try a bit of everything.

Aquattro · #5 07-10-2012, 05:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScubaSteve

I might be missing something here but there is an obvious factor here: the food. You said the previous owner fed pellets but you are feeding frozen. If it ate pellets but is spitting out frozen, feed pellets. It may actively pursue the food more.

That's the most sensible thing. My Leopard was a pig with pellets and eventually mysis, and aggressively competed with the rest of the tank for food.