Mixing Leopards

[Tarasco]

I was reading Henry Schultz's article on leopard's over,

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-07/hcs3/index.htm

and noticed that he was able to keep several different Macropharyngodon species together, provided that there is only one male. So I have a couple of questions that some of you may be able to help answer:

Is it best to get several smaller fishes and place them in the tank together at the same time? Basically pre-sex change?

Has anyone else out there done this, and how big was the tank? This isn't for my current 90, but for an upgrade when I move. Or maybe a whole other tank. We'll see.

Also, there are a couple of wrasses that look like macropharyngodon, but aren't. I think ornate/christmas and dusky wrasses are the ones that I'm thinking of. How would these guys do in there? Or would it be the same, there could be only one male?

Finally, would they be OK with a harem of fairy wrasses in the same tank? Would there be aggression issues between the male macropharyngodon and male cirrhilabrus?

Just thinking of future tank possibilities. Thanks in advance.

[reefer_wannabe]

Henrys information came 1st hand from his own 180 gallon tank. I have his old Leopard that we couldn't catch when I bought his old 75. I know that he has been "stockpiling" Leopards lately, with no ill effects....

I'll see him again on the 21st and ask how things are going.

[Tarasco]

Sweet, that'd be great.

Anyone else have an opinion? Or a guess?

[cheeks69]

what size are you talkin Tarasco ??
quote from the magazine:
'Macropharyngodon species may be mixed in the same aquarium, provided only ONE male Macropharyngodon is present. Mixing females is not a problem if the aquarium can support them in both overall size and micro-fauna. In fact, I have kept M. meleagris, M. geoffroyi, and M. negrosensis in the same aquarium with absolutely no problems. Multiple fish of the same species are also no problem, once again provided there is only ONE male.'

I'm sure this rule will apply unless you get a real large system JMHO

[cheeks69]

Originally posted by Tarasco

Is it best to get several smaller fishes and place them in the tank together at the same time? Basically pre-sex change?

I think you've got the right Idea.



"All Leopard wrasses are born as females and protogynous hermaphrodites; that is, they change to males when their growth, age, or certain social criteria are met. When the time comes, the sex change will take place in as little as 2 weeks from start to finish, although sperm production may begin in as little as 8 days (DeLoach, 1999). This sex change is irreversible, and is usually associated with a color change. In fact, most Leopard wrasses have at least three color phases: 1) the juvenile phase, consisting of sexually immature fish, 2) the initial phase of sexually adult females, and finally 3) the terminal males, with the largest and most dominant fish of the pair or harem always being a male. The terminal male in Macropharyngodon is known as a secondary male due to the sex change required to become a male".

[Tarasco]

bump

[cheeks69]

Tarasco I think the only problem you may encounter is getting juvenile Leopards.

[Tarasco]

Yeah, that's probably true. I occasionlly see juveniles at my LFS, but they all seem to be M. meleagris, and I want a variety when (if) I do this. I'd love to know what Henry Schultz's first hand comments are about this.

[cheeks69]

Also I don't remember if the article mentioned it but I would think you would have to add them simultaneously. In my LFS' I'm lucky if I can get one Juvenile, they are rare fish probably because of the difficulty in keeping them

[jks1]

Awesome fish, I enjoyed reading the article, thanks

[reefer_wannabe]

Tarasco - I won't be seeing Henry this weekend. However, you can email him and he is very good at returning all emails. As his email is tied to another board, I won't publish it here. But you can go to our clubs website and get it there. Go to www.cimaonline.us I know that he currently has several species of Leopards in his tank. I haven't been over there in months, so I don't know how it is working out, but you can ask him directly.

HTH

[Tarasco]

Thanks Bill, I'll look into it.

[Tarasco]

I sent in my question to the guys at wetwebmedia.com, and got a response from Bob Fenner, which I put below. I posted on Henry's forum at RC, I'll let you guys know what he says.


I have recently become enamored with the idea of keeping several
different Macropharyngodon species together, specifically M. ornatus, M.
geoffroy, M. negrosensis and M. meleagris._ Some preliminary research
indicates that this is possible provided that there is only one male in the
tank. So I have a couple of questions that some of you may be able to help
answer:
<Okay>
Is it best to get several smaller fishes and place them in the tank together
at the same time? Basically juveniles?
<I would think so... though you are likely very aware that the wrasses of this
genus are hard to ship, restore to health from collection, keep period...
smaller ones even harder>
What is the approximate size limit
of a juvenile Macropharyngodon?
<Anything under about three inches total length in my estimation.>
Assuming that the tank will have a
productive refugium, what size tank would you recommend for 4 or 5 leopards
in this arrangement?
<At least eighty gallons>
Also, there are a couple of wrasses that look similar macropharyngodon, but
aren't. I think Halichoeres such as ornate/christmas and dusky wrasses. How
would these guys do in there with the Macropharyngodon? Or would it be the
same, there could be only one male?
<I would skip on similar appearing fishes>
Finally, would they be OK with a small harem (1 male and 2-3 females) of
fairy wrasses in the same tank? Would there be aggression issues between the
male Macropharyngodon and male Cirrhilabrus?
<Not directly, except for food usage, but much better to look outside the
labrids is my guess>
Thanks for you time, I appreciate it.
Mike
<Thank you for writing in with your interesting speculations, plans. Bob Fenner>

[Tarasco]

For completeness, check out the link below for Henry Schultz's answer, pretty similar to what Bob Fenner said:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...hreadid=330730