does anyone keep cleaner wrasses?

[fishfreek]

I've got a 45g tank thats been set up almost two years. In the tank there are a pair of cleaner shrimp, corals, a coral beauty and a pair of false percs. At lfs today i saw two cleaner wrasses. I asked the shop keeper to feed them and they both ate the brine shrimp. I know cleaner wrasses are good cleaners but supposedly don't do well in captivity. But will it do well if it is eating brine already? Does anyone keep these wrasses?
How do you tell the difference between the false cleaners and the real cleaner wrasses?
Thanks,

 

[grouperhead]

false cleaners are very rarely imported, as i have only heard of it once. if they are feeding, that is great! ask him if they will eat anything else. also ask if they are from the maldives, as pufferlover claims the ones from here have the best survival rate. also ask how long theyve been at the lfs. if they are doing good and have been there at least 3 weeks i say go for it. if they havent been there that long, ask to hold them and monitor them. some others will disagree on this as cleaner wrasses are very contorversial(my lfs refuses to buy them), but i say they are great in tanks. i know many people here keep them. bo

 

[tjswanson]

Grouper is right they don't have very good survival rates. I had one forever, it ate anything I put in the tank, it was awesome. But when I had my problem w/ the tank he died. I was sad, it was one in a million. If those wrasses are eating GET ONE! TJ
[ September 12, 2001: Message edited by: tjswanson ]

 

[gyro]

I have had one in my tank for quite a few months now and he is doing great. Eats whatever I throw in there, keeps fish clean and is a great fish to watch. If they are feeding, I think you have a good chance

 

[fishfreek]

Do those of you that have this fish,seem that it also is a good cleaner or does it just eat brine shrimp.. ect?
Thanks,

 

[jimi]

I have always had one and my current one around two years. I have been able to find healthy specimens at my lfs. If they are eating brine that is a good start,if they are eating it eagerly and not spitting it out, they will learn to eat other things. Mine will eat anything.

 

[aston]

I'd bought one for my community tank but it faded real fast. When I asked about it, I was told that they prefer to be with bigger fish to give it plenty to do - in my setup it was with a few small angels but that was not enough it seems. My impression is that they are a little tricky to get the setup right.
For what it's worth.
Cheers
Aston

 

[npaladen]

I had one for a little while and all of my fish hated it. They chased it around everywhere and I had to take it back because it was afraid to come out of a rock. Since then I have gotten another one and it is great, it constantly cleans all of my fish and eats anyhting else I throw in there too. I say if it is eating go for it.

 

[pufferlover]

They are great if you get one that eats and lives it will be a real asset to your tank ( they just are great fish to watch move around a tank). I do recommend the Maldives species as every one I have bought is still alive and eats well and clean their tankmates as you want them to do. I pay around 20 bucks versus 6 bucks for just regular cleaners from the Pacific, but the ones from the Maldives are the very best you can get.

 

[fishfreek]

Pufferlover, how do you tell the difference between the two species, just by price? My lfs isn't that helpful about particular fish species types.
Thanks,

 

[jimi]

I would not worry about trying to determine the types, other then the Hawaii cleaner which is very colorful and extremely hard to keep, just look for a decent sized one say at least 2 1/2" that is eagerly eating at your lfs and you will be fine.

 

[dasnake03]

In my old tank I a cleaner wrasse with a harlequin tusk 5-6", and queen angel 5". The cleaner wrasse was smal, about 1". The next morning his body was attached to the overflow of the tank with his head bit off! I think the tusk didn't like him!

 

[pufferlover]

fishfreek: Just ask the lfs where the cleaner was imported from they should know. I disagree with the comment just look for size and whether it is eating. When one of us finds a way to be more successful with a particular fish that to me is more important then just pick one. The store that I first found my Maldivan cleaners was one that I noticed the cleaners looked fatter, longer, and more active then the same colored pacific ones I was used to buying and I asked where did you get these and they told me the story of how the ones from the Maldives they had found to be the best (and they were quite right). The 2 types look the same the difference seems to be the price and the general better, fatter look of the ones I recommend. Again I have no clue where the Maldives are (I know they are some type of island area). I have not lost one of these cleaners since I started buying this type.