Leopard wrasse qt

[JavyJaverson]

so i purchased a leopard wrasse that will get here tomorrow. i have a qt tank that has been setup for about 2 years and is stable as could be. I know wrasses need sand to dig in and can damage their mouths in the absence of it, but there is no way he will go straight to my dt. My qt is bare bottom so i was planning the Tupperware filled with sand trick but thought of something else. Do you think its possible to line the bottom of my 20g qt with enough filter floss to cushion any attempts by the wrasse diving into the glass and hurting its mouth. I plan on using cupramine incase of disease and would rather leave the sand out of the picture.

 

[KathyC]

I think floss would tear his gill plates if he gets caught up in it.

I've also heard it is highly unlikely that a fish will know that they should be diving into a tupperware bowl to go to sleep, more likely he will try and avoid the unfamiliar object out of fear of it. I would not put it in.

I would add enough sand from your DT (since it is already cycled) for him to sleep and cross your fingers that you do not need to treat with copper.
You can always do hyposalinity if there is an ich issue with the fish.

IIRC these tend to have more issues with parasites than ich upon arrival..and of course the difficulty in getting them to feed. Best to add a sandbed for him IMO.

 

[JavyJaverson]

that is a valid point about getting caught up in it. I've never really used filter floss so all i know is that it looks soft and fluffy. I have read of many instances where wrasses find the container of sand and make a home of it, but the likely hood...not sure. The problem i see with adding so much sand to the qt is the death of the sand fauna upon disease treatment, and pollution that will probably overwhelm the bio filter. blahhh i should have got a clown

 

[KathyC]

lol

I definitely wouldn't use the floss.

You can hope he doesn't need treatment and use some sand from your DT. Pile it off to one side/corner and put a piece of pvc in there to contain it in that area? About 1 1/2" should keep him comfortable & if all is well you can add it back to your DT afterwards.

Nothing to say you can't rinse it with Dt or qt water before you put it in there so you don't have to worry about any current detritus or inhabitants already in there?

I would put it in place before you get the fish so it can settle first

 

[albano]

The problem i see with adding so much sand to the qt is the death of the sand fauna upon disease treatment, and pollution that will probably overwhelm the bio filter.

Put in new 'dead' sand...what has been keeping the QT/bio filter 'alive' for 2 years?, is there usually something in the QT?

 

[JavyJaverson]

i have an old fluval internal filter with sponges in it. Most of the time i have a fish being qted in there, but when i don't the tank still gets fed. True that on the dead sand part, i was thinking about the sand in my dt for some reason.