Leopard Wrasse Sex Change Operation

So I have had a large Female Leopard Wrasse for over a year now. Long ago, I tried introducing another Male of the same size into the tank, but he was 'banished' to the far left of the tank whilst the Female 'claimed' the rest of the reef.

Long Story Short - Heater blew up, killed male - Female still fine and becoming quite bossy in the tank.

For those that don't know, Leopard Wrasse are all born Female, and when no male is present, the dominant female turns to a male changing the color (to look like my male in my avatar) and sex organs... this is a permanent change. And just because a male is introduced, does not mean the female will accept him (as happened w/my first try)

SO I bought her a small female to hang with and instigate the change to Male.

The small female went in two days ago, and so far they tend to hang near each other...


This thread will document the change as it is happening.

For comparison, here is a pic (not mine)...

 

For the record, if you have a lone wrasse of a certain species and you wish to make a pair, you must add another female.

Most likely, you haven't had a female since your first male died. The female at that time began to transition upon loss of the male (as occurs in nature). It's quite possible for that transition to stall and not complete without a conspecific wrasse in the tank, remaining in a sub-dominant state. When you added a male, you were watching two males fight, one dominant and one sub-dominant.

 

Thanks for the Info.

Day 3, no visible change yet in the Dominant Leopard Wrasse. Her behaviour has become much more passive in the tank however. She was the 'bully' of the tank, kept only in check by the Starry Blenny. But with the introduction of the smaller female all her aggression toward other fish seems to be kept in check on its own, she swims by the other fish without an overt aggressive motion now... and seems preoccupied with the new small female - always keeping her within eyesight.

The new small Female is loving life - embraced by all the other inhabitants no aggression toward or by her to anyone else in the tank - even a little playful with the chromis.

 

Day 8

No significant visible color change. Although, it looks almost as if its darkened it's tan color a small bit.

Personality is a big change, much more easy going, not as much bullying of its tankmates now that the small female is around. However, she tends to be a bit protective of the small female, chasing other fish away from her.

 

You do realize it takes a long time for this to occur, right?

 

Day 335, and we have the start of a change! I suspect the change took so long as the dominant female was waiting for the smaller female to become sexually mature.

Anyway, we woke up today and my girlfriend said "look at the wrasse, it's changing!"

Sure enough, his colors are starting to change in his face, and his mood is very very fiesty, being aggressive and nippy to everyone in the tank. I guess its the hormones lol.

Difficult to take a picture because he's a recluse, he's always moving, and my camera sucks. This was the best pic I was able to get...



a little blurry, but you can make out the color change around his face...

Very cool to watch! I'll keep you updated!

 

very cool, I always wondered about these changes, love leopards. I actually am trying to find mine, she dissapeared recently!

 

The 'color change' has moved not too far into his body, but has now reached his first dorsal spine. The colors on his face have brightened. This was the best pic I could get today of him on Day 2 of the transition...



He is being a wicked Biz-nitch to everyone in the tank too, and occasionally acting nippy at the Female. Luckily the Foxface Rabbitfish and Starry Blenny keep him in line. The Zebra Bar Gobies are runnin to the far side of the tank and trying to dig themselves a hidey hole under my Open Brain Coral (that won't work when it shrinks at night lol!).

Anyway, I hope its just the whole change that has him all mean. The previous male I had in the tank wasn't as aggressive....

Speaking of, here are some old pics of my previous Male Leopard Wrasse when I had him (died in a heater malfunction incident)...

You can see the different colors in these two different lights...






A vibrant neon orange and blue... one of the prettier fish in the hobby IMO.

After he died, I knew I wanted another, and that's what set this whole process in motion almost a year ago today!

My girlfriend has suggested possibly looking into adding another female so he doesn't harass the female in the tank, as they can have harems

 

A bit of aggression is normal; just trying to move himself up in the tank hierarchy. So long as he isn't ripping fins off fish or forcing them into hiding, no worries.

Adding more females would likely help with that down the road just as suggested, but adding more leopards with established leopards can sometimes get interesting. I suspect you'd be okay however.