cleaner wrasse question

cinhark

cinhark

Member
I just bought a cleaner wrasse at the lfs and they just recieved it in so it was still in the original bag they got it in, when i got home i let it set for a while then added a little water of mine a little at a time, then released him in tank, now he is hiding in a rock and wont come out , is this common, this is the only fish that has ever done this, im not sure if he will be ok or if hes gonna die on me.
 
cinhark

cinhark

Member
I forgot to say what else I have in the tank, Yellow tang, blue damsel,perc clown, shrimp, couple crabs, sally crab, another cleaner wrasse. and a bunch of snails.
 
nm reef

nm reef

Active Member
A lot of times new additions will feel intimidated and will take some time to adjust to a new home....in time he'll come out(hopefully)...but cleaners are not a easily kept species and most do not survive long term. They are diet specific and rarely live long in enclosed systems. :cool:
 
terminus est

terminus est

Member
Your cleaner wrasse will die. You dont have the fish population to support it. Get your money back before it starves to death. You need a large population of ich prone fish to support it and a single tang just wont cut it.
NOTE TO EVERYONE ELSE: Save the reefs DO NOT buy cleaner wrasse.
 
cinhark

cinhark

Member
You are right he died in the middle of the night, when i went back to the pet store the other 2 wrasses that came in the same shipment, were also dead. they said something must have gone wrong when they were in shipment. I already have another cleaner wrasse. he seems to being doing fine Ive had him for a couple months. Is there something I can suppliment as his food supply? he eats the seaweed i put in tank, when the yellow tang will allow anyone else near it.
 
terminus est

terminus est

Member
You lucked out then and got that 1 in 100 cleaner wrasse thats eats other things, consider yourself very lucky. Most cleaner wrasse ONLY eat parasites off other fish. Generally one tang isnt enough. Never heard of one eating sea weed, really odd since they arent herbivores.
The reason they shouldnt be collected and thus bought is because this particular species of fish has a huge impact on the reef and whole strips of reef are becoming fishless as the wrasse is harvested and whole schools of fish who depend on the wrasse for cleaning move elsewhere. Whats sadder is the incredibly high mortality rate they have once they are collected. I am a big proponent for the banning of cleaner wrasse collection and sale. There is no need for it when Neon gobies which perform the same service and look similar are aquacultured and readily availible.
 
terminus est

terminus est

Member
Only if you have massive numbers of big fish to support them. 95% of the people on this board dont have enough to keep one let alone two. In the wild individuals hold whole areas for themselves and schools congregate in that area. This doesnt take into account that uber rare specimen that eats other things like the guy who started this thread has. Save the fish, save your money and dont do it.
 
lesleybird

lesleybird

Active Member
I would think that they would eat worms (brissle and similar) and pods? Have you tried live brine? Don't know much about these guys but can't immagine them not eating anything other than parasites. If you bought your first fish still in the bag, maybe they had left him in the bag too long? Lesley
 
I

irenicus

Guest
A fish will hide for awhile till they are ready to interact with the rest of the tank. Cleaner wrasses are finicky and tough to keep long term.
 
cinhark

cinhark

Member
My cleaner is sooo cool, I put my arm in the tank to put the seaweed in the clip and he came over rubbing against me and trying to clean my arm, made me want to put something on my arm for him to eat:) My yellow tang also comes over to my arm, whats up with these crazy fish"? its kinda coool.
 
cgr

cgr

Member
I have had a cleaner wrasse for over a year and I have not had any of my fish with parasites. My wrasse eats whatever I put in the tank, including flake and nori. He is an amazing little fish. It circles around the food before eating it. I was told that it would not last but it has been over a year since I bought it.
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
There is no need for two cleaner wrasses in the same tank. I would stick with the one that is doing 'well' and leave it at that. Most people have very little luck with them long term. They do not eat bristle worms, etc. Very few will take prepared foods, and even those that do may eventually die....things with very specialized diets in the wild often have trouble on 'generalized' fish preparations.
IMO, they should be banned from the trade.
Also keep in mind that there is a mimic of this wrasse that is much hardier and virtually identical to a cleaner wrasse; it would not surprise me if some of the 'hardier' specimens of cleaner wrasse are actually the mimic, which have a pretty opportunistic diet. The difference is in the position of the mouth.
Cleaner wrasse:
pics from FishBase

Mimic blenny:
 
bioreefer

bioreefer

Member
noen gobies IMP are far better the cleaner wrasess b/c easy to keep!! but the cleaner wrasses it a better looking fish but its a give or take. plus with neon gobies breed in a tank pretty easy!
 
cinhark

cinhark

Member
Wow I think I have the mimic blenny, Not the wrasse Pet store lied to me. Mine looks like mimic anyway, Its ok b/c Maybe he will
live, I was worried after what ive been reading on cleaner wrasses.
thanks for the pic!!
 
jillian ayers

jillian ayers

Member

Originally posted by cinhark
My yellow tang also comes over to my arm, whats up with these crazy fish"? its kinda coool.
Careful of the spike! I heard someone on this board a few months ago mention that every time he put his hand in the tank, his tang would go after it with the spike!
You sound like you have the coolest fish! :)
 
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