Just bought a cleaner wrasse...

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weekf

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Oct 9, 2005
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Any one has any experience with them? I saw this fish cleaning the tangs' body this afternoon and couldn't resist to buy one since I will be keeping tangs in future need it to rid the parasites off my tangs.

But before I bought it I have already read that they are hard to keep in captivity, because they seldom accept foods other than parasites, mucus or dead skin off fishes. Today before I bought it I asked the guy at LFS is it true he showed me by putting mysis shrimp in the tank. The cleaner wrasse gobbled them down like there is no tomorrow. After I have seen this I bought it right away.

Acclimatised it, he start checking my yellow tang body. The yellow tang also let him nib at him. Then I did the feeding with garlic soak brine shrimp, all fishes went for the food including the cleaner wrasse.

So my question is, if he is eating alright will there be a problem? I saw on the net somewhere it says even they accept other food also won't do them any good because these foods don't give the nutrients they need, only parasites, mucus or dead skins can provide that, is that true?

If it is true does that mean I am doom? Will he be dead few weeks, or even few days down the track? Anyone has experience keeping this cleaner wrasse at all?

Any comments, ideas, helps will be much appreciated. Thanks.
 
I've heard of folks who've kept them for some time when they eat prepared foods. Wish you the best..... but there are some from the school of thought that believes in not buying them at all because of the vast majority of them that starve and die in captivity. Trying to suggest to suppliers that they shouldn't harvest them.

Sounds like you got an unusal one and hopefully one that will be OK.
 
I`m sorry to tell you that they will not make it. I`ve had a couple of them and the LFS told me up front that he will only live a few months. Mine was eating also and I was thinking they would live forever only after a few months to find them dead. The longest I`ve had one to live is 4 months. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
 
Argh.... I might as well return this tomorrow to the LFS. Don't want an innocent bystander die in my tank... But I was thinking if he could make it a few month if I add a blue tang tomorrow he can still clean him up when he has whitespot. After the whitespots are gone then I can return him to LFS.

How does that sounds? I want a blue tang soooo bad I like it very much. But my tank is not mature enough will sure cause stress to the blue tang (One month old tank nothing happened to the yellow tang).

Will you suggest me to add a blue tang now to a one month old tank?
 
If you have a good test kit I would check your water parameters a couple times a day for a week and see if you have stable conditions. If ammonia or salinity or PH or others are bouncing around then I would say not yet. I cant remember past post but what makes you think you have ick or do you have a QT?
 
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