cleaner wrasses

[natep206]

ok so my lfs told me he was getting in abunch of nice cleaner wrasses next week. and i really want to try one.
i know in the wild they eat only parasites. i have also heard once they get used to eating forzen food they have lived up to 3 years in captivity.
i want to here any storys of u and keeping cleaner wrasse. what worked what didnt work. the length of time u keep it. if u still have or why u dont still have it. mostly feeding is what i want to know about. what did u feed it? what did u soke it in?
thanks
nate

btw dont flame me dont tell me not to get one or it impossible please.... thanks

 

[lion_crazz]

The only person on this forum that I know that has kept cleaner wrasses successfully is Dogstar. He has a huge tank, and a lot of fish. That is the first thing you need in order to keep these fish because at first, they will DEFINITELY need parasites to live. It may take months for the fish to begin eating prepared foods. It may never happen. That is a huge chance. If you do not have a huge tank with a lot of fish, the chances of keeping this fish alive is VERY slim.
I know you do not want to hear it, but not getting one would be the most conscientious decision. Removing these fish from the reefs is going to hurt the reefs in the longterm. And I know, your LFS will already have them anyway.

However, if you buy them, that will just encourage your LFS to bring more in. If they sit around at the LFS and do not sell, the LFS will be hesitant next time to order them.
Why would you want to kill a cleaner wrasse when you can get a pair of neon gobies that do the SAME job as cleaner wrasses and do not need parasites to live at all.

 

[petjunkie]

My local pet store's fish guy brought her up two without being asked. Her tank is disgusting by the way. I looked at them but didn't buy because I knew their survival rate but after about a month one looked fine and the other was losing color and starving to death. The bigger one was chasing it all the time so she gave it to me. I got it in Feb and so far he's still alive in a 33 gallon. I actually put it in my nano at first so I could feed it and prevent any nasty diseases getting in my tank. Really didn't eat good at first but all I had for frozen was discus food and brine shrimp soaked in garlic and selcon, fed three times a day at first. After two weeks I ordered some mysis and put him in my main tank once he ate that. Now I feed the tank once a day and he'll eat mysis, brine, seaweed, angelfish food, etc. Just not flake. The pet stores is still alive but she has a 90 gallon with nitrates above 100 so that one might be living off parasites. Honestly once mine dies I wouldn't get another, I only took this one for free because it was so close to death already that I couldn't possibly hurt it by putting it in a clean tank alone. If you do decide to get one, please pick one that is proven to accept frozen already.

 

[fishwilly1]

I Know It Is More Info You Don't Want To Hear, But I Had A Single Cleaner Wrasse In A 120 Tank With My Powder Blue, And Sailfin Tang, And Also A Coral Beauty Angel And Why He Did Do A Good Job Of Cleaning On These Fish The Tank Was Able To Keep The Fish Shock Free And Really Had No Parasites. The Cleaner Wrasse Did However Eat Live Brine Right Away, But Seemed Content To Only Have A Minimal Amount Of It And Although My Fish Live On, The Cleaner Only Lasted About 5 Days. I Have Looked Into It And Heard The Same Thing However About The Neon Gobies And That They Will Help Clean Your Fish, And Still Have A Hearty Appetite.
Good Luck

 

[peter1215]

I've had a cleaner wrasse for about a month now . He picks on the angel fish and also eats the butterfly and angelfish cubes i throw in the tank/. good so far.

 

[natep206]

Originally Posted by petjunkie
My local pet store's fish guy brought her up two without being asked. Her tank is disgusting by the way. I looked at them but didn't buy because I knew their survival rate but after about a month one looked fine and the other was losing color and starving to death. The bigger one was chasing it all the time so she gave it to me. I got it in Feb and so far he's still alive in a 33 gallon. I actually put it in my nano at first so I could feed it and prevent any nasty diseases getting in my tank. Really didn't eat good at first but all I had for frozen was discus food and brine shrimp soaked in garlic and selcon, fed three times a day at first. After two weeks I ordered some mysis and put him in my main tank once he ate that. Now I feed the tank once a day and he'll eat mysis, brine, seaweed, angelfish food, etc. Just not flake. The pet stores is still alive but she has a 90 gallon with nitrates above 100 so that one might be living off parasites. Honestly once mine dies I wouldn't get another, I only took this one for free because it was so close to death already that I couldn't possibly hurt it by putting it in a clean tank alone. If you do decide to get one, please pick one that is proven to accept frozen already.
thanks man,
ill deffinatly be feeding mysis cause its like the more nutritouse then brine. and ill be soaking them in selcon, garlic, and zoe. he will probly take to them quickly cause im going to pick one out that already eats frozen food. and with all of those vitimens it should be a good diet for him. ill also be using a turkey baster to make sure most of the food gets to the wrasse.
lion crazz,
u have helped me out many times. and i thank you for that but u did exactly what i didnt want u to do. dont tell me why i shouldnt. tell me what would be a good idea to do when i get it like feeding and other things to enture good health of the fish.
thanks for your concern
nate

 

[dogstar]

OK, I (a 'he' BTW ) will say first, that I dont recomend anyone getting a cleaner wrasse. They do have a dismal record in the hobby. One of thousands of species that can be on that same list.
Im not normally one to flame ( thanks to all for not flameing me for keeping this fish ) or tell people what to do or not to do, Most of the time, anyways. haha. I try to explain that what I say is from experience or trusted reserch and in a respectfull way. I try to keep my post short and to the point but not sure if I can here. I do try and will agin. So......
I consider myself lucky or really the wrasse itself is lucky because, yes, I have had it for over 4 years, nearly 5. Its been through 2 hurricans and 1 tank change since I got it.
I purchased it from a LFS and acclimated it the normal drip, ect. The one 180g I placed it in was newlly set up but was stocked from an estabished 120g reef I had upgraded into it. I was stocking it with more fish and mainly bought the wrasse as protection against parisite for the other livestock, expecting and hopeing to prevent parisites or ick, ect. I know this may not be the moral thing to do but im being honset. The tank had healthy fuge quicly becomeing established and the tank had, some would say over stocked with some what large type fish ( several tangs, anthias, angles, and butterflys ) that would allow the cleaner to clean them. Not all fish will allow a cleaner to do this.
The wrasse did not eat introduced foods for a long time but did constantly pester the other fish for a cleaning. The fish were happy to oblidge.
After a few months, this fish always seemed healthy to my suprise, started takeing, tasteing some of the introduced foods, mainly PrimeReef and frozen mysis shrimps ( the main staple for all my fish along with nori and pellets). Now it eats anything with gusto and gets right into the frenzy with the others at feeding time. It cruses and picks at the live rocks and I have even seen it chase down small pods and eat them.
Though none of the so called cleaner wrasse are hardy in captivity, the Bluestreak generally the only one that seem to have a chance from research.
They do eat parisites from fish but mailly the cleaning action you see them doing is eating slimecoat from the fish. It is though that they get a needed special chemical or vitamine from it and that helps keep them healthy.
My wrasse still pesters the fish as ever but has been eating all other foods, even nori I place in there for the tangs and angles. None of the other fish I have has ever tryed to hurt it except sometimes the Flame angle will chase it but the wrasse runs to the Sailfin and hides behind it because the Flame will not mess with the Tang, Funny thing to watch, and it seems to know to stay away from the clowns when they have eggs.
I most say that the wrasse has a nice apperance and personality and is always out front and active, It will clean my hand when in there too, Sure is not a shy species.
Again, Im not recomending anyone get one becuase as I said. I feel its been luck for us both but it sure is one of my favorite fish and my fishes favorite fish too.
Im not saying that I know the secrete becuase I dont think there is one, I dont know why mine survived.......
So, thats the story, sorry it was so long.

 

[lion_crazz]

Nate, I did tell you how to keep the fish alive. I said:
That is the first thing you need in order to keep these fish because at first, they will DEFINITELY need parasites to live. It may take months for the fish to begin eating prepared foods. It may never happen. That is a huge chance. If you do not have a huge tank with a lot of fish, the chances of keeping this fish alive is VERY slim.
Also, whether you want to hear it or not, what I said is the truth. Do you know how mnay cleaner wrasses die because LFS' bring them in and then people just buy them for their fish tanks? With all the fish out there, I don't see the big deal with the cleaner wrasses. There are dozens of other wrasses out there that are a lot easier to keep and a lot nicer as well. And if you are getting the cleaner wrasse for its cleaning abilities, go with the neon gobies.
I have a right to voice my opinion on the matter, just like you do. I would rather see the fish stay in the wild and be alive, cleaning the fish in the wild, so that less fish come into LFS' with ich and parasites.
Dogstar, I really apologize for writing "she". I could have swore that one time you said you were female. I must be thinking of someone else.

 

[natep206]

thanks. like i said before im not going to get one onless it already eats frozen foods. and if it dose im going to soak them in garlic to help the wrasses appitite and soak it in zoe and selcon to bust its immune system. i feel this will be a good diet for it.
anyone else have one? what do u feed it?
thanks
nate

 

[dogstar]

lion, no problem. I know from your reading your post over time that you are not one to cause trouble and only have the best in mind.
I hope the thread does not turn into an ugly one because this is a subject that people rightfully feel passionly about. I almost did not respond because the last time I dicussed this species it did, and I just get sick at those types of threads.......
Peace on earth.

 

[natep206]

lion,
im sorry if u took it as i didnt appriciate your post. i did. im just saying its frustrating when u want to try and keep a fish that is hard and u ask people for adivce and someone tells u not o do it. especially when u ask them before hand not to. i dont want an arrgument as im sure u dont either. thank you for pointing out something i didnt notice. and thank you for the advice u did give me!

thanks
nate

 

[ophiura]

Here are my opinions and sorry if it is more than how to keep this fish. Because it is simply a matter, IMO, of sheer luck and not necessarily husbandry, to get one that lives (and as with any "specialist" feeder, it takes a long time to judge success...along Dogstar's time frame

a rare story indeed!)
This is not simply a hard fish that fits into this idea of trying to keep a difficult animal to keep. This is a fish that plays a CRUCIAL role in the wild and has, on top of that, a DISMAL survival record long term. It is on the list of animals, IMO, that should be outright banned in this hobby and I feel a responsibility to discourage people keeping it in most tanks. This is a double wammy animal. And to not even be able to provide its minimal known needs - lots of large fish to clean....what is to be learned there? That you were lucky and got one that lived? Because for every one that lives a year, I read an estimate that a thousand will not. This is in part due to the fact that these are OBLIGATE cleaner wrasses, meaning that they will derive nearly all of their nutrition from cleaning...with all the zooplankton floating around out in the ocean, don't you think that it is unusual that they would be obligate cleaners? Very very few will make the long term transition to a frozen dead diet.
Its like trying to keep a dog or cat alive hoping it will just eat and live on some grass.
This is not a personal attack, BTW, but I hope there are some questions asked that maybe make you think twice. If you don't, well just know the limits of what you learned. Which is that you got lucky...and the odds (again long term) are against you.
I am STRONGLY opposed to keeping this fish in inappropriate tanks. Can you tell?

Especially because there are many viable alternatives (both cleaner shrimp and neon gobies - which can be captive bred, BTW - that is a nice thing to claim....THAT is an accomplishment!!!).
If you still choose to go ahead and get one, so be it, but I do hope you are open to hearing why you should not get one. That is part of being a responsible hobbyist. If you still choose to go ahead, it is your "right" I guess.
Still, nothing personal

just thoughts....

 

[natep206]

went to the lfs today (picked up a awsome marbled sea star!!! im starting a thread later tonight with pictures in the photography forum.) and they had like 12 cleaner wrasses. they hadnt fed them yet cause they got them in today. so im gonna go back this weekend. any suggestions on how to pick out a healthy one? besides swiming good, eating and nice color?
thanks
nate

 

[lion_crazz]

Ophiura, I totally agree with everything that you said. I, too, feel very strongly about having these fish banned from aquariums unless the aquarium is STOCKED with fish (for example, at a public aquarium). If you speak to or read anything Bob Fenner writes, he also feels the exact same way. In his book, he states you should boycott cleaner wrasses for the very same reason. Like Ophiura and I said, if you remove them from the wild, they are not there to take parasites off of fish. This WILL have longterm effects if it continues.
Nate, I am not looking to start a fight either. Like I said, I do have a right to voice my opinion, and when subjects like this come up, I use my right because I want the best for the fish and for the ocean as a whole. In the end, you have to decide what you want to do and you have to sleep with your decisions. I am only here to provide my information and experience.
Dogstar, I thank you for posting here and providing your thoughts and experience.

 

[mjwillick]

if the fish we get up here in Canada are "hardier" somehow... but I've had a cleaner wrasse in my tank for over two years, and he's doing just fine! He picks at the other fish, as well as eats just about everything we put in the tank. He eats pellets, slow sinking morsals, frozen, and especially finely ground flake food. I guess it could be luck of the draw, but a friend had recommended this fish as he'd one in his tank for a long time as well, and we both still have them... :notsure: I think Zeb's an awesome, active addition to our tank and my kids love watching him zip around the tank! I don't know if I was any :help: or not, but just wanted to let you know our experience...

 

[ophiura]

There is also a very very similar but hardier "mimic" of the cleaner wrasse. The mouth position is slightly different on them. There are pics in some of the other cleaner wrasse threads.
But all in all, even if these were the hardiest fish out there, I would still strongly discourage their collection and keeping. JMO

 

[firedog]

OK I am a walking contradiction. I agree with not depleting cleaners from the wild. I also thought that collecting Hawaiian cleaner wrasses was illegal, but I see that SWF has them on their list (although not in stock).
But I just received a cleaner wrasse (dimidiatus) from them 2 days ago. Guilty. I picked a wrasse to help keep my tangs free of ich (I know --- cryptocaryon). It started cleaning right away (Good boy!). It also ate mysis right away along with nori. This is not a success story as I will have to see what happens over time.
Yes neon gobies clean too. I have 6 of those too. They clean to a small extent and hopefully they will breed too.
I will confess that this is my second cleaner wrasse. The first lasted about a week. Seemed to "limp" while swimming. Thought maybe it was from cyanide collection. If this wrasse doesn't make it, be sure that I will not get another one.
Now the only reason I decided to get a wrasse was because I knew these could possibly be weened onto mysis. I have a friend at a lfs who has had one now for about 2 years, and is doing great. So I think there is hope for the fish.
So hopefully your wrasse will survive. Good luck, thanks for listening.
Somebody hit me now.

 

[ramsey]

When my dad had SW tanks he got a cleaner wrasse and his trigger ate him.

 

[moby]

There is also a very very similar but hardier "mimic" of the cleaner wrasse.
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the "mimics" actually predatory fish that fool the host fish into being "cleaned" only to take a small bite out of the host fish and then dart away?
I don't think that is a fish you would want in the aquarium either!
Moby

 

[ophiura]

Yup, that's what they do!

Sneaky sneaky....brilliant scheme.