cleaner wrasse

petjunkie

Active Member
Their diet in the wild is parasites on other fish, we can't give them this in captivity really and although some take frozen readily, it doesn't seem to be enough to keep them alive more than a year. I had a rescue one live for seven months off of mysis and other frozen foods but he still died. Plus every one taken out of the wild is one not eating parasites off of reef fish in the ocean.
 

coral keeper

Active Member
Dont get a cleaner wrass get a neon goby they do that exact same job and they are the same color. Neon gobys dont die in a year like cleaner wrasses do. So if i were you id get a neon goby.
 

2batrigger

Member
The cleaner wrasses do not last as the others said because there is not enough parasites for food source. Also if you get one be sure it is one there are mimics that look like them but eat scales off fish and kill and injure them to make their daily meals
 

seattle

Member
Originally Posted by Coral Keeper
Dont get a cleaner wrass get a neon goby they do that exact same job and they are the same color. Neon gobys dont die in a year like cleaner wrasses do. So if i were you id get a neon goby.

Neon Gobies are short-lived gobies that last a year also.They are hardy but short-lived

Of course that may have been another goby,maybe the Catalina?
 

dawman

Active Member
I`ve had my cleaner wrasse for a little over four months now and seems healthy . Eats frozen and flake foods , hopefully he will keep on going .
 
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sara_y

Guest
i had mine for 3 days.. and it was doing fine cleaning all the fishes until the 3rd day, it found a hole in one of the lr, and stayed in it until it died!
 

gohabsgo

Member
I had mine 3 weeks was eating frozen and then my maroon clown eat his tail until you could see the flesh
poor guy!! and poor me because i paid 30$$
 

tangwhispr

Member
Do people ever research before buying fish? why would anyone buy this fish for their tank? and don't complain about losing $30 bucks because you didn't take 5 min and research your choice
 

dawman

Active Member
Many people do research before buying fish . Just because someone on here put it on a do not buy list doesn`t mean it will die in three weeks like he said . Here is a quote from a professional reefer - "I have seen cleaner wrasses live in the well-maintained, established aquarium for over 3 years, however, so it's not always true they die right away. They will also adapt to eating prepared foods in time. "
As you can see not all of them die within a few weeks . Mine chows on everything I feed and keeps my hippo tang clean .
 

gohabsgo

Member
The thing is ,i trusted the guy at the lfs, i always had a good service and everything!!!!how could i knew his tail would be chew like that!!! And i paid 30 buck for a cleaner wrasse but here in Montreal we pay triple price maybe more and we have like 3-4 lfs in the city...!!!!Ithink you are a litle bit harsh,everybody make beginner mistake!!!!The best is to learn from them and not repeat them again!!!
 

ophiura

Active Member
Cleaner wrasse can be kept in systems with numerous large fish. They are not likely to do well in the majority of cases in small tanks without large fish. However the mortality rate on importation is also quite high alone.
Note that there is at least one "mimic" that is very difficult to distinguish and is not a cleaner (in fact it takes bites off fish) and would, I presume, be much easier to keep.
But many will not be sustained on a basic diet - eg mysis - alone, long term. Many specialized feeders develop problems long term as that diversity is not provided in captivity.
Also please consider the ecological impact of removing this fish from the reef. Not only do most not do well, but it is a service easily provided by neon gobies and several types of shrimp. These are fascinating animals with highly specialized roles on the reef and I do not encourage their capture for this hobby...and definitely not if you can't ensure that you can provide numerous large fish.
 
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nereef

Guest
Originally Posted by ophiura
Note that there is at least one "mimic" that is very difficult to distinguish and is not a cleaner (in fact it takes bites off fish) and would, I presume, be much easier to keep.
i would think that blenny would cause all sorts of trouble. do people keep Aspidontus taeniatus ? maybe with smaller fish?
 

bang guy

Moderator
Originally Posted by NEreef
i would think that blenny would cause all sorts of trouble. do people keep Aspidontus taeniatus ? maybe with smaller fish?
In the wild it relies on new victims on a daily basis.
In a typical aquarium the fish will quickly learn to not let it clean them.
 
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