Cleaner wrasse a no no in captivity

[Paolissimo]

Today I was reading an article on reef builder, and found out that the cleaner wrasse is one of those fish that should not be kept in captivity due to their diet or better yet lack of food in an aquarium. Their lifespan in captivity is very short, compared to their natural habitat. I never owned one, and now I am glad I never did. Thought I share it with people that are not very familiar with the fish and might be tempted to buy it since it's a very interesting fish to watch. If you are interested in buying it, I suggest you do a quick Google search and read what people have to say about the fish. DO NOT BUY IT even if you have tons of fish.

 

[NL146]

Could you list your sources?

 

[saltwaterinbrooklyn]

Wow i never knew that

 

[Paolissimo]

Well I read a few post in other forums, this is one article that give a brief explanation
http://gobiestogrizzlies.blogspot.com/2008/06/coming-clean-on-cleaners.html
Maybe I should have not posted my alarming post, because I don't really have any experience with the fish. But from reading different forums the cleaner wrasse should really be housed by experienced aquarists.

 

[olivier]

I read the same article in the fish magazine.
however, I do have a cleaner wrasse (blue white body not hawaiian). he is thriving in my tank until 2 weeks ago that he jump out of the tank. He was about 2 years in my tank. that really hurt me. anyway, the one i had eat flake food and frozen food along with pods. I am a lucky guy until I remove the tank cover due to maintenance and forget to put it back.
Olivier

 

[duke62]

Huh someone should tell my cleaner wrasse this because he is the strongest eater in my tank. Ive had him for 3 months now and it eats everything ,flakes,mysis,pellets and even the algae from the algae clip.

 

[JonnyJ]

From what I'm told they are hard to get eating. I have tried 2 in the past with zero luck.

I agree with op, leave them in the ocean.

 

[ZANYMASTER]

Liveaquaria has them listed as difficult.

 

[BYU]

i have mine eating everything like a pig x 3 months

 

[Paolissimo]

Well I never had one, but I wrongly assumed that it was an easy fish to keep. Honestly before i buy a fish, i do a quick research, liveaquaria is the first stop and then i go from there, but in the case of the cleaner wrasse, which sell for a fairly decent price, I might have just bought it, without consulting the web or other reefers. I was a bit surprised to find out that they are hard to keep. The couple of article that I read, have them live in a fish tank for about 2 years, compared to 11 years in the wild. It's similar to gonipora, it might do well in a few tanks, but in the majority of tanks it will die a slow death. If your wrasse eats, then I guess you really know what you are doing, or you just might be lucky and hopefully it will live a long happy life.

 

[jerl77]

mine is 3 years old and eats flake food

 

[NL146]

i have mine eating everything like a pig x 3 months

+1. In addition to cleaning the other fish mine eats everything too, including the algae strips I feed the tangs. Plus it's always picking at the rocks.

 

[prattreef]

They have a generally miserable record in captivity that is somewhat dependent on species. There are also an increasing number of success stories for whatever reason. Another issue with cleaners, particularly in smaller systems is that can really pester other fish with their attempts to continually clean them.

 

[Freespool]

I just got a cleaner wrass about 3 weeks ago and it started eating mysis the 1st day. it eats everything i feed my other fish.

 

[pecan2phat]

I agree that they are difficult but I have had mine for about 6 years now.
Contrary to what people think, they do not prevent, alleviate or help with ick outbreaks.

 

[duke62]

I agree that they are difficult but I have had mine for about 6 years now.
Contrary to what people think, they do not prevent, alleviate or help with ick outbreaks.

yeah i heard that before BUT i had put a yellow tang in my system and the next day it was covered in ick.this guy went to town on him was relentless at picking on the yellow tang.3 days later the ick was gone and the cleaner wrasse doesnt pick on him anymore.coincedence i dont think so.if it still cleaned the tang today i would say maybe but it doesnt

 

[KathyC]

yeah i heard that before BUT i had put a yellow tang in my system and the next day it was covered in ick.this guy went to town on him was relentless at picking on the yellow tang.3 days later the ick was gone and the cleaner wrasse doesnt pick on him anymore.coincedence i dont think so.if it still cleaned the tang today i would say maybe but it doesnt

The article in the 3rd post clearly states:

Unfortunately for the aquarist, cleaner wrasses do not consume the most problematic aquarium parasites - the protozoa and dinoflagellates. Therefore, cleaners are not recommended as a means of biological control of for ich (Cryptocaryon irritans) or velvet (Amyloodinium ocellatum) outbreaks.

...so it looks like it was simply a coincidence and that was the point at which the ich was going to drop off the fish anyway.

 

[KathyC]

To the OP of the thread - good for you that you read up before buying a fish that will probably do poorly in your tank

I would like to add one other fact to this discussion...there is not just one fish that is called a 'cleaner wrasse'...multiple fish are referred to by this title, so it is best to use the Latin name/genus to discuss the fish properly.

The fish most talked about in the article is Labroides..and according to the article there are 5 species in this genus. Most of you are probably talking about Labroides dimidiatus (the Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse) and some of you may be talking about Labroides phthirophagus (Hawaiian Cleaner Wrasse).

There is also another genus called Larabicus quadrilineatus (Red Sea Cleaner Wrasse) that to exhibit the same cleaning behavior of other cleaners..when they are juvenilles but by the time they are adults they develop a taste for stony corals. I have had one of these in my 120 since 2007 and he is quite plumb and happy (I have no colored sticks in there) and they can live well off a diet of meaty foods, flake, algae pellets and whatever else he plucks off the live rock.

Best to be specific about what fish you are talking about so others learn what they must know before purchasing a fish :fish:

 

[saltwaterinbrooklyn]

Great thread , and to all who have kept em alive good for you!! its not easy to get a known picky eater to join your feeding menu , for example........ I cant keep a mandarin for anything , but richie has quite a few in his tank doing just fine!! So overall i think that each of us have the perfect aqutic balance for a specific type of sea life its just a matter of figuring out which one..... Awesome thread!

 

[Master Shake]

they are hard to get eating prepared foods in captivity since they are use to a specific diet like many fish of this hobby: morish idols, regal angels, copperbands etc. But once they get eating they are relatively hardy to keep like other wrasses.