What fish utilize cleaner shrimp?

[pkremer]

Hi there! When I had set up my tank, someone had told me I could keep a blue hippo tank in my 46...I now realize this advice was not right, but I have a 46-gallon aquarium set up!

I would like to have a fish that will utilize a cleaner shrimp, let the cleaner clean them. I will have a Coral Beauty Angel, but not sure if this will or not. Are there any fish I could put in my aquarium that will allow the cleaner shrimp to clean them?

Thanks!
Paul

 

[zenn]

IME, there's a lot of fish that will allow the cleaner to clean them. In fact, most fish...if not all....will seek out the cleaner shrimp's services when they have a problem(ie, parasites). But when they don't need the cleaner, they don't really like him jumping on their backs for fun. I have a cleaner shrimp with a yellow tang, watchman goby, mandarin, chromis, and a pair of clowns. I see the goby get cleaned a lot. He realy doesn't mind it. The mandarin doesn't either but i have yet to see it get cleaned a lot. The yellow tang is warming up to the cleaner more and more and just the other day i saw him getting cleaned. The clowns however, really don't like the cleaner...the chromis move too fast for the cleaner to really do anythign with them too.

I think your angel will allow the cleaner to to his work...but not that often. I would get a slower moving fish like a goby or blenny if you really want to see the cleaner in action a lot. HTH

 

[Brenden]

Just about all fish will allow a cleaner shrimp to clean them. My fox face will lay up under a rock at night to sleep. It sleeps like a rock so the cleaners will pull him out and spin him around and clean him and put him back.

 

[zenn]

Just about all fish will allow a cleaner shrimp to clean them. My fox face will lay up under a rock at night to sleep. It sleeps like a rock so the cleaners will pull him out and spin him around and clean him and put him back.

LOL...that must be funny to watch.

 

[ColdFish]

Same here. My watchman goby gets cleaned all the time. None of my other fish will allow it. That's not to say that they wouldn't if they needed the service though. My flame angel generally won't let the shrimp come anywhere near him. My royal gramma actually will drag my shrimp away by the whiskers if he gets too close to the gramma's little piece of turf

 

[dreams]

my angel was offering himself to a hermit, decided he needed cleaners

my blennie also gets cleaned....although, he doesn't seem to be fond of it.....he sits on top of the magnetic cleaner, way at the top of the tank.....they swim up there to clean him......it doesn't make him happy, he comes down when he wants to be cleaned

 

[Nøjo]

I had a coral beauty as well and the second I added two cleaner shrimp to the tank he sought them out, went belly up, and waited to be cleaned. Unfortunately the shrimp were given a rude welcome by my purple pseudochromis and they went into hiding. One didn't survive the first night and the other has a home in the back of the tank he won't come out of. I do see the beauty stop by frequently but as the surviving shrimp's home is right next to a powerhead he can't get any tuneups done. Apparently cleaner shrimp can be notorious for hiding away in the tank.

 

[revhtree]

Ya'll are making me sad. I lost 5 Cleaners in my tank crash, and now I want more.

 

[Guest]

yea, my purple tank, hawkfish, damsiles and clown all enjoy a good cleaning.
Lately its been hanging out right next to my anemoe. He almost climbs across it. Kind of freaking me out.

 

[illuminum]

My Royal Gramma avoids my cleaner shrimp like the plague...