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View Full Version : Choati Leopard Wrasse Success?


snorvich
08/29/2009, 08:21 PM
For all of those who are trying or have tried Choati Leopard Wrasses, how are they doing? Any alive after 3 months or longer? Do any of them hunt in addition to eating supplied food? What supplied food is offered? Thanks everyone!!

Ralph ATL
08/29/2009, 08:49 PM
Tagging along on this one. Will input after she arrives.

ento-reefer
08/29/2009, 09:45 PM
Here is a pic of mine that I took yesterday.

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr5/ento_reefer/DSC_0031.jpg

I got him sometime in March so I am approaching the 6 month mark. Mine is out all day long from about 30 minutes after the lights come on until about 15 minutes before they shut off. I was feeding 3-4 times a day the first 3 months, but I have scaled back to twice a day. I feed mysis, spirulina brine, marine cuisine, Rods reef, and NLS pellets. My choati will also take nori from the clip along with all of my other fish. It only took a couple of days for mine to begin eating and it has been a great eater since then.

I do notice that he hunts practically all day long. I have a heavy pod population so I am sure he is supplementing his diet quite a bit.

iamwrasseman
08/29/2009, 10:49 PM
yes im taggn as well but we have to find a good way to consolidate the info so maybe we can find out the missing link . realistically its not a missing link probably just a very ,very delicate fish so buyer beware and good luck too !

zemuron114
08/30/2009, 02:48 AM
Man, these fish are touchy. I have had some extensive work with them in the past and more recently. If they arrive in good condition from AU (26 hour flight) then they usually do fine as long as the water quality is good.

but they have been known to drop for no reason. Very strange. and also they like cooler temps

ento-reefer
08/30/2009, 08:16 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15618205#post15618205 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by zemuron114
Man, these fish are touchy. I have had some extensive work with them in the past and more recently. If they arrive in good condition from AU (26 hour flight) then they usually do fine as long as the water quality is good.

but they have been known to drop for no reason. Very strange. and also they like cooler temps

When you say cooler temps how low are you talking about? My tank has been sitting at about 79.5-81 all summer long, but as the temps change outside I plan to let it go down to 77-78 for the fall and winter months.

Bluespot22
08/30/2009, 11:13 AM
While it may be too soon to really consider my keeping him successful, he is doing well so far. I have had him for half a month. He eats PE mysis every day but I do see him picking at the rocks. He is also showing interest in pellets.
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t279/bt12222/Tanks780.jpg

snorvich
08/30/2009, 01:02 PM
Well, two months seems to be the first measure of success. But if he is hunting, that is a very, very good sign.

will16
08/30/2009, 07:27 PM
I may be trying one tomorrow :|

snorvich
08/30/2009, 07:46 PM
Make sure it is eating. Then, hope for the best.

iamwrasseman
08/30/2009, 07:49 PM
+1

Ralph ATL
08/30/2009, 08:09 PM
If they are eating, and are treated for parasites and disease, what is killing them? Are there any aquariums or professional reefers that have had them? There has be something that everybody is missing here. Whether food, inhabitants, water conditions, envirionment, something. Ya know? I've had pipefish in a full blown reef for three years, yet most people have not kept them alive for 6 months. I concentrated on tank inhabitants & insuring my pod population was taken care through multiple plans to never let it crash. I took care of their food source, which in turn, took care of them. Just some points of discussion, maybe nothing.

iamwrasseman
08/30/2009, 08:34 PM
you have a very good point that i think we have just started to discuss in a round about way . yes there is something missing here i think .my choati.s are dying full of food ,bellies fat and supposidly parasite free and dewormed . so i think one of the two parasites or the worms are still there and we havent removed them . my tank is still full of pods and they died ,all peramiters are great ,the only thing i really dont like are my nitrates they are at 15 but we know that wont even begin to hurt them so there is definatly something ticking in thease time bombs and we aint found it yet .such a beautiful fish to remove from the ocean just to watch it die in your tank . i really think we need to really find out if we are being sucessful in deworming them , 85% of them are infested with a few different parasites and worms so its gotta be them i really think .

Ralph ATL
08/31/2009, 03:28 AM
so maybe they need to be treated a different way with prazipro? ingested?

snorvich
08/31/2009, 05:16 AM
Yes, the secret is what we are seeking. I almost never lose fish and my copepod supply is abundant. I have three thriving leopard wrasses which have been with me for quite a while.

snorvich
08/31/2009, 06:53 AM
Ok, having thought about this for a while, my speculation is that this fish needs an environment that is very close to its natural environment with regard to copepods, etc. So, that means that they would have to be kept in a flourishing reef tank of sufficient size (or fed by a refugium of sufficient size) to keep the copepod population high. Supplemental food is nice, natural food is necessary. Perhaps there is some nutritional component that is present in copepods that is not present in supplied food. Any thoughts on this?

Ralph ATL
08/31/2009, 05:36 PM
Look at this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooFVAKZJ0sY&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ereefbuilders%2Ecom%2F2009%2F08%2F20%2Fanampses%2Dfemininus%2Dliveaquarias%2D femininus%2Dwrasse%2Dworthy%2F&feature=player_embedded#t=93

snorvich
08/31/2009, 06:48 PM
Anampses femininus is also a very difficult fish long term. Your point is?

Ralph ATL
08/31/2009, 06:50 PM
Check out those Choati's in the video. That's all.

Ralph ATL
08/31/2009, 06:51 PM
My Choati arrives tomorrow, yeah!

ento-reefer
08/31/2009, 07:24 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15623954#post15623954 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by snorvich
Ok, having thought about this for a while, my speculation is that this fish needs an environment that is very close to its natural environment with regard to copepods, etc. So, that means that they would have to be kept in a flourishing reef tank of sufficient size (or fed by a refugium of sufficient size) to keep the copepod population high. Supplemental food is nice, natural food is necessary. Perhaps there is some nutritional component that is present in copepods that is not present in supplied food. Any thoughts on this?

I have definitely observed mine hunting and eating large amounts of copepods. Both the choati and the bipartitus will follow my diamond goby around and snatch up any that he kicks up while he is sand sifting.
Maybe they simply need to consume large amounts of food in order to stay healthy?

I wonder if the nutritional content of saltwater mysis is close to copepods?

snorvich
08/31/2009, 07:26 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15627799#post15627799 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mysterybox
Check out those Choati's in the video. That's all.

I did. However there is no context of how long which is the point being discussed.

snorvich
08/31/2009, 07:28 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15628020#post15628020 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ento-reefer
I have definitely observed mine hunting and eating large amounts of copepods. Both the choati and the bipartitus will follow my diamond goby around and snatch up any that he kicks up while he is sand sifting.
Maybe they simply need to consume large amounts of food in order to stay healthy?

I wonder if the nutritional content of saltwater mysis is close to copepods?

Or, perhaps, they need to graze and eat continuously like mandarins. I would guess that saltwater mysis is similar to copepods. However, my knowledge in this area is very limited.

snorvich
08/31/2009, 07:31 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15627806#post15627806 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mysterybox
My Choati arrives tomorrow, yeah!

From where????

Ralph ATL
08/31/2009, 07:43 PM
DD

iamwrasseman
08/31/2009, 07:49 PM
hey steve i hear what your saying but i had a crazy amount of pods avialable 24/7 /365 and he they were FAT when they died ,thats what baffles me . they were fed four or five times a day and always had pods there . i must admitt that the pods were mixed some natural from my sump and another tank that i harvested and then two times a week i purred a bottle over a period of two days of 4000 tiger pods . most of my fish did hunt and pick during the day but theu really didnt get crazy when the pods were introduced . any one notice that the tiger pods are shunned by the fish ? seemed that way to me.

Ralph ATL
08/31/2009, 07:52 PM
Steve Weast had one, I know he had a huge tank crash a few years back, is he still around? Just looking at possible options on people that might have had them long term.

ento-reefer
08/31/2009, 07:57 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15628217#post15628217 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by iamwrasseman
hey steve i hear what your saying but i had a crazy amount of pods avialable 24/7 /365 and he they were FAT when they died ,thats what baffles me . they were fed four or five times a day and always had pods there . i must admitt that the pods were mixed some natural from my sump and another tank that i harvested and then two times a week i purred a bottle over a period of two days of 4000 tiger pods . most of my fish did hunt and pick during the day but theu really didnt get crazy when the pods were introduced . any one notice that the tiger pods are shunned by the fish ? seemed that way to me.

I have only fed these a couple of times. My fish ate some, but I didn't think they were a huge hit. I need to post a pic of my female bipartitus. She is the fattest leopard wrasse I have ever seen.

ento-reefer
08/31/2009, 07:58 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15628180#post15628180 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mysterybox
DD

Did they tell you what it is eating for them? Good luck with it.

snorvich
08/31/2009, 08:08 PM
I think DD feeds mysis to Leopards

iamwrasseman
08/31/2009, 08:08 PM
DD how did you beat me to that ? wow thats fast .....good job .

Ralph ATL
08/31/2009, 08:08 PM
Yes, and thanks!

Dear Ralph,

Thank you for contacting Drs. Foster and Smith. The Leopard Wrasse was fed Frozen Spirulina Brine Shrimp, PE Mysis Shrimp, Hikari Mysis Shrimp, Aqueon Marine Pellets and ORA Marine Pellets while in our Diver's Den. For your convenience, we have included a link to our Driver's Den Feeding Charts.

http://www.liveaquaria.com/PIC/article.cfm?aid=271

Ralph ATL
08/31/2009, 08:12 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15628335#post15628335 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by iamwrasseman
DD how did you beat me to that ? wow thats fast .....good job .


practice, LOL!