Cleaner Wrasse??

[dacookster]

What's the deal with these poor guys??? I just got one from a local lfs, quite large actually, only to read up that they are horrible to keep in a reef and will not last long. Judging by the size of this guy, he's made it a long time in captivity. He's almost 5" long. Anyways, annihilates any type of food I put in the system. I feed my tank only once a day. After reading some articles and watching some youtube videos, I'm freaking out thinking I've sentenced him to death. Any thoughts??

[jtbadco]

I'm afraid I may have done the same thing. I saw one is a friend reef and bought one for mine. He eats like crazy...I feed twice a day, but he keeps getting skinnier.

[BlueWorldAquatic]

They have been known to survive for quite some time. Unless they aren't eating, they should do ok. Don't let the body shape fool you.


A well balanced and mixed diet should do him fine

[daniella3d]

Mine is fat as can be. I have it for about 4 months now and he's grown a lot and he is getting fat. The thing is, I feed it live white worms and he loves thoses. I think that's what really keep him healthy and fat.

He's in top shape and eats anything. I feed it mysis which he has problem eating but eats some bits, I also feed it frozen cyclopeeze, caplan eggs (fish roe) and live white worms. With this diet he has grown quite a bit in a few months and has keep gaining weight.

I feed it twice per day. None of my fish need it because they don't have any parasite and don't accept being cleaned by it, but he's got enough good food it seems.

Originally Posted by jtbadco

I'm afraid I may have done the same thing. I saw one is a friend reef and bought one for mine. He eats like crazy...I feed twice a day, but he keeps getting skinnier.

[dacookster]

Well here's hoping. He sure is a fun guy to watch.

[windcoast reefs]

Not to start anything here, but I've had my cleaner wrasse since November 2010. Im not the only one either, most ofvthe reefers in my area have kept them for long periods of time! He will eat anything from nori to pellets to frozen. But it really likes cyclopeze, that's what he started eating. I had people bash me from day one about buying one but he has become my favorite fish! Just make sure you give him small food several times a day and find what it likes, after that it's smooth sailing!

[badfish!]

I'm babysitting some fish and one of them was a cleaner wrasse, I was told he was a couple of years old.... Then I added a fuzzy dwarf lion fish (I figured that if the stonefish didnt eat the wrasse, a fuzzy should be fine...) My mistake . I have another cleaner in a different tank and he is a pig, eats anything and everything I put in there from mysis, nori, plankton and he even picks at the silversides I feed to my snowflake. And he is super entertaining to watch, especially when he tries to clean unwilling participants, he can be quite persistant.

However, I remember reading an article someone posted here about how detrimental it is to remove cleaner wrasses from natural reefs, I cant remember exactly the numbers, but the study showed that there were fewer fish and fewer varieties of fish in the areas that the wrasses were removed from. But like I said, cant remember who posted the article and where, and I'm sure quite a few of us on here have them anyways... I guess just dont put them in with lion fishes

[Mike-fish]

I have had mine 3+years now eats like a pig i think the trick to them is large system tons of live rock and a tang or two. he eats mysis, brine, cyclopizee even nori ( i think hes is anyway)

[naesco]

The chances of a cleaner wrasse surviving more than a week or two are almost nil.

Reefers who are lucky enough to have one survive for a longer time post though, giving the impression that is it is ok to buy them.

It is not ok to buy them. They should be left in the ocean doing the great job they do cleaning other fish that we buy that do survive.

[jtbadco]

Aren't we holier than tho?!?,.....like you aren't keeping fish in a glass box too.

By your standard they would all be better off left in the wild.

I don't disagree with your point but don't try to come off like you are so much better.