Cleaner Wrasse

[roka64]

I can see the allure of these guys. My LFS has one. I can't find a pic of him anywhere, but he is blue and looks more like a blue neon goby. She said he was a cleaner wrasse.
Anyway, on to my questions. I had her feed the tank and he was one of the first to eat the mysis. So would this be a good purchase for me? He was also picking stuff off of the foxface.
Another question, are they reef safe?

 

[produceb]

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t313/produceb/cleaner2.jpg

Does it look like this guy. He is all black, blue and purple. Hard to get a good pic because he constantly flutters up and down. I caught this one in maui and he eats like a pig. He eats mysis, brine shrimp and tiny pieces of bait fish I catch for him and the anenome. From everything I have seen in my tank totally reef safe. I have never seen him even look at the corals. He is fearless maybe due to the fact they are cleaners and get a free pass in the wild. This makes a great fish since everytime you walk up he is right there checking you out, even pecks at me when I am reaching in for various reasons. I have had mine for 3 weeks. I do feed him a little twice a day. I have heard they like to feed often and need alot of food. I have heard all the nightmares of keeping them so I have my fingers crossed but mine seems to eat as good as anythingelse. Never touches a coral.

 

[roka64]

I can't view that link from work. But the one at the LFS was bright blue and very active. He even followed my finger.

 

[produceb]

Sounds like the same fish. . I dont know how to shrink the pic to post directly here.

 

[roka64]

Sounds like the same fish. . I dont know how to shrink the pic to post directly here.

Read this link on How to easly resize images in Windows XP http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=69561 it is really easy.

 

[Dr.Nate]

I think this is it....

http://www.saltwaterfish.com/site_1...ategory=4&category_search=61&root_parent_id=4

I don't know why it says "difficult" however, unless it is just because it likes to play dead.

 

[roka64]

That's the one! I don't know why I didn't check that site.

 

[produceb]

yes that is mine also. Mine is does not have the lighter color in front or maybe that is the flash from the picture. Mine also creates a mucus bubble to sleep in at night. Not sure if he does this every night I only saw it in the 10 gallon holding tank I used in Hawaii and also saw it in the bag I shipped him in.

 

[roka64]

Yeah, wrasses do that for protection. It's pretty neat.

 

[pinkie]

I have one of these fish in a semiagressive 210g tank. Even the more aggressive inhabitants like him (like puffers and trigger).

As for being difficult to keep, I have read that this is true. The main reason is that they die from malnutrition. Most of them won't eat prepared foods and don't have enough fish in the tank to keep themselves fed through "cleaning". I have been lucky and he eats prepared food.

My cleaner is quite enjoyable. When I have my arm in the tank to do maintenance he actually will clean MY hand and arm. He seems quite fearless in this regard, and also with the fish. I have heard that they can be kept in even very aggressive tanks due to the fact that their coloration and markings make them recognizable to fish as a beneficial aid.

I'm not sure about them being reef safe, as my tank is a FOWLR tank, but considering they are strictly carnivores, I think the chances are good that they will leave the anemones and corals alone.

 

[MT79]

I've never heard anything about them not being reef safe, only they were hard to feed. If it's accepting mysis, it may be worth investing in. You could then soak it in some Selco, etc for added nutrients. Sounds like it's off to a good start.

 

[melosu58]

I`ve never had any luck with them I have had three of them and they never made it past 3 or 4 months. I had one of my LFS said he wont see them because they wont live too long in the aquarium. Just what I heard.

 

[roka64]

I`ve never had any luck with them I have had three of them and they never made it past 3 or 4 months. I had one of my LFS said he wont see them because they wont live too long in the aquarium. Just what I heard.

Hmmm, Mike, were any of them eating frozen?
MT I soak all my food in zoe/selcon and garlic, but thanks for the suggestion.

 

[JM]

Definitely a fish that belongs in the ocean. There are just some fish that us humans haven't figured out yet and i think this is one. I have heard that even if they do eat they will eventually die of malnutrition anyway because we cannot provide them with their natural diet. Very similar to the problem with Moorish Idols, we just don't know enough about their diets to keep them alive long term.

 

[MT79]

JM, that is what I was afraid of. I take back my earlier post then, and I'll continue to avoid them. FWIW I also just read they have a profound effect on reefs when removed. That along w/ their low success rates, has stopped some people from collecting/selling them.

 

[melosu58]

Yes Scott I was feeding them frozen brine which I know isnt the best but they were eating.

 

[produceb]

Melosu was yours this varety cleaner or the large golden? I will be surprised if mine starves because eats every frozin I have. I have heard these smaller varities are easier then the larger. I actually caight boh in Hawaii(they are easy since they are fearless}, but I let the larger golden go, becuase they sound much more difficult to keep fed.

 

[JM]

The fact that they feed on a variety of frozen food items means nothing. Their primary diet in the wild is parasites off of other fish. They can get nowhere near enough natural food off of the fish in your tank. These fish clean constantly in the wild to get the nutrition they need and there is simply not enough fish in anyones tank to fullfill this requirement.

Here is a small peice of text from a website i found that has some info about them.

Very difficult. Though reef safe and peaceful the Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse is only for advanced to expert aquarists. Out of all the Labroides this cleaner has the best survivability record, still many will last only a couple of weeks to a month before dying from malnutrition even if they are feeding on prepared foods.
Unlike 'facultative' cleaners such as cleaner gobies and cleaner shrimp, cleaner wrasses are 'obligate' feeders. Facultative cleaners engage in removing parasites from other fish but this in not their primary diet. For 'obligate' cleaners such as these wrasses, the cleaning activity provides them with their primary source of food. Most of the Labroides will accept prepared foods, but still starve due to malnutrition.

I know it says for advanced and expert keepers, but for the most part that means good luck keeping it alive.

 

[melosu58]

Yes mine was like yours. Neon blue and dark blue. I call it the common Cleaner wrasse.

 

[macman7010]

The Cleaner Wrasse is one that is best left on the natural coral reef. We are really hitting mother nature with a double wammy when we buy these guys. 1st thier survival rate in the home aquarium is very, very dismal, probably one of the worst survival rates of any fish other then a Moorish Idol. 2nd when we buy these fish we are only encouraging aquarium shops to continue ordering them thus encouraging developing nations to continue taking them off the reef.

Finally these fish are responsible for cleaning hundreds if not thousands of natural reef fishes when they are at home in their enviroment. When we remove them it may give parasites a chance to gain a foothold on the natural coral reef.