I read awhile back that people had a hard time keeping cleaner wrasse becuase they wouldn't eat and died. I was concerned becuase we had 2 at the time buy they seem to be very happy and have been doing well for almost 6 months. I didn't know if anyone has kept them for long periods of time with sucess. Some feedback on the topic would be nice. Dave
Cleaner Wrasse
- Thread starter Lovesfish
- Start date
Lynden
a "fish hater"
Cleaner wrasse are very odd fish. I got one a year ago, only 2 weeks after my tank was set up. It quickly became my favourite. It would clean the fish, and even clean my arm if I put it in there, although it occaisionally caused me to jump while doing maintanence - he would rip out my arm hair! It hurt! 
He was very hardy, and readily ate frozen foods, he especially loved brine shrimp. He ate parasites off of other fish too.
However, he brought his own death (and all but one of the other fish's) in with him. When I got him, he had a light infection of ich. However, he (or I should say "she", all wrasses are female until breeding time) fed very well, and soon expelled the parasites. However, the ichthyspirithius still lurked in the tank at low levels, and when I introduced a "Black Percula" Clown fish, he became infected.
Thus, a chain began. The wrasse was the last to die, and the only survivor was my Green Chromis/Golden Damsel hybrid.
Then, 6 months later, I got another one. She found a nice "bolthole", and remained there, not emerging to eat. Oddly enough, she did in fact eat frozen foods the first day I brought her in. And she wasn't stuck; I placed my fingers near her hiding place one day, and she swam out of the hole - then back in. She starved to death.
-Lynden
He was very hardy, and readily ate frozen foods, he especially loved brine shrimp. He ate parasites off of other fish too.
However, he brought his own death (and all but one of the other fish's) in with him. When I got him, he had a light infection of ich. However, he (or I should say "she", all wrasses are female until breeding time) fed very well, and soon expelled the parasites. However, the ichthyspirithius still lurked in the tank at low levels, and when I introduced a "Black Percula" Clown fish, he became infected.
Thus, a chain began. The wrasse was the last to die, and the only survivor was my Green Chromis/Golden Damsel hybrid.
Then, 6 months later, I got another one. She found a nice "bolthole", and remained there, not emerging to eat. Oddly enough, she did in fact eat frozen foods the first day I brought her in. And she wasn't stuck; I placed my fingers near her hiding place one day, and she swam out of the hole - then back in. She starved to death.
-Lynden
andywg
Bored into leaving
IMO, all the cleaner wrasses (genus Labroides) should be left in the sea.
It can be a pain to get them to take prepared food, and even if they do they are likely to pester the other inhabitants of the tank just by performing their usual routine. CM has experienced the problem with feeding with the second one.
In the wild they will have a station at which the other fish come to to be cleaned. In the tank the co-inhabitants cannot get away from the wrasse and can end up perpetually hassled.
These fish should be reserved for only the largest of tanks as far as I am concerned.
It can be a pain to get them to take prepared food, and even if they do they are likely to pester the other inhabitants of the tank just by performing their usual routine. CM has experienced the problem with feeding with the second one.
In the wild they will have a station at which the other fish come to to be cleaned. In the tank the co-inhabitants cannot get away from the wrasse and can end up perpetually hassled.
These fish should be reserved for only the largest of tanks as far as I am concerned.
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