Who has a cleaner wrasse?

[Der ABT]

so who has a cleaner wrasse (any pics ), how long have you had it, any issues getting it on to frozen food.

 

More specifically anyone have a Hawaiian Cleaner wrasse (freaking sweet fish)

 

Been thinking about adding one or two for the new tank but often hear bad stories or issues with them acclimating to tank life.

i like them more then the gobies but if they end up dieing that often ill probalby just end up with a pair of gobies.

 

Pics pics pics, most importantly post your pics

 

found this one for reference/inspiration, would rather see your in tank pics though

Edited December 11, 2012 by Der ABT

[SunWyrm]

Not a hawaiian but I've kept 4 total within my 2 years in the hobby. No issues getting any of them to eat, (I fed pellets before I started Jan's food and they were all fine) but I've lost 2 just due to aggression issues. The one I'm down to now doesn't do a good job cleaning (from what I've read I think he's cheating with eating slime coating in the gills? I don't remember, I'll have to find the article.) and therefore none of my larger fish like him. My naso frequently chases him for a poor job. I wouldn't keep more than one unless you try to make sure the "harem" is a good ratio.

 

Writing this all out made me want to try for a group again...

 

I think the best way is to do like Jan, with 1 wrasse and a few gobies as well.

 

Edit: I gots no pics - he always ends up as a little blue streak.

Edited December 11, 2012 by YiatzOfEden

[GraffitiSpotCorals]

We have had our cleaner for years, maybe 4? It gets alone great and eats everything from Nori to stuff off fish. I have even seen it take a big bite out of our brain coral.

 

I had one in each tank but when I combined them one would keep ending up in the overflow so I gave it to Marisa. Do you still have it?

[SunWyrm]

I don't and when he died that was a really sad day. He jumped and I didn't have a lid. He was a really "good" cleaner compared to the one I have now, as he would spend a lot of time on one fish - I feel like that's a good indicator, rather than the fish getting pissed and chasing the cleaner away lol.

 

He just barely missed going in the big tank.

 

I'm sad now...

[Coral Hind]

I have had several over the years. All have lived long happy lives and one even lived with a grouper that never messed with it. The bigger ones seem easier to get to eat frozen foods like brine as the smaller ones seem to only like smaller food portions so you should offer something like cyclopeze at first.

 

[zygote2k]

In all the years that I've been doing this, I've only known 2 people who have kept them alive for longer than a year but both of them jumped.

[Sharkey18]

I have one in QT now. Eating frozen ( very small bits) and cleaning the anthias.

 

It did take a few days to start eating frozen.

[fry_school101]

I have two (separate tanks), both eat frozen with no trouble. I'd take a picture, but every time I get close to the tank they think it is feeding time and stop paying attention to the other fish

[swffan]

I put a regular one in my moms 72 FO tank about 6 months ago. It has eaten frozen brine and even flake food since day 1. It's constantly swimming around with her blue hippo and cleaning it. Pretty cool to watch. When we first put him in the tank, the hippo basically stopped and let the cleaner wrasse go to town cleaning it.

 

That Hawaiian Cleaner wrasse looks awesome!!!

[Coral Hind]

In all the years that I've been doing this, I've only known 2 people who have kept them alive for longer than a year but both of them jumped.

I think most die because they are not properly house in a tank with a cover and end up skydiving. They should also be feed often as they have a fast metabolism like anthias do. I had one that was four years old but sold it to a club member when I moved. A week later he found it inside is cone skimmer.

 

They can live a long time. The Nancy Aquarium had a cleaner wrasse for 11 years.

[lmeyer]

I don't have one and don't plan on getting any. I don't have enough personal knowledge to have a valid opinion, but I have always accepted Bob Fenner's assertion that these fish don't have a place in the hobby. See http://www.wetwebmed...m/labroide.htm

[L8 2 RISE]

To answer your Hawaiian Cleaner Wrasse question, they cannot be kept in captivity. Most show up in very bad shape because they dont handle shipping well and starve very quickly. I have never heard of one live more than a month in captivity and rarely hear of them ever eating. This past Summer we (Reef eScape) took over care of a (I believe) 600 gallon tank that had a ton of fish. About a month before we started, the owner added a Hawaiian and we found that it ate and competed voraciously for food. It also cleaned all the fish. About 2 weeks later it started struggling for no apparent reason and then died. Every other fish was fine. Hawaiians just can't and shouldnt be kept.

[SunWyrm]

Does anyone know about other cleaner wrasse? Like the allen's and others listed on bluezooaquatics? I've also heard other wrasse will "act as cleaners"; does anyone have other types of wrasse that actually do this?

[Coral Hind]

I've had neon gobies that also cleaned fish.

[trockafella]

I've had neon gobies that also cleaned fish.

 

+1.. I had a small group of them and they were excellent cleaners. I had a nice carpenters wrasse that would spread his fins all the way open and they would go right to it and clean away. Id love to have them again, but I worry my tusk would make them a snack.

[Amuze]

Hawaiian's are no good and best left on the reef. The other common blue and black ones do well and last years if healthy and kept fed. The ones I've gotten from brk in the past have all eaten pellets. They can be a bit of a pest to other fish though.

[countryboy]

I have a common blue and black one for close to a year and he eats anything I throw in the tank. The other fish don't mind him except for my dogface puffer because he won't leave him alone I suppose because of the slimecoat on the puffer