Cleaner Wrasse?

[Kasey Grohowski]

Going to get a couple cleaner wrasse this week. Just wondering if there are any particular species that are better than others? Also I read they do better in groups, what is the ideal amount?

 

[EmdeReef]

They generally don’t do well in captivity unless you have a very large system.

Make sure it’s eating prepared food otherwise it will slowly perish. I don’t think a group is a good idea.

 

[Kasey Grohowski]

They generally don’t do well in captivity unless you have a very large system.

Make sure it’s eating prepared food otherwise it will slowly perish. I don’t think a group is a good idea.

220 gallons

 

[EmdeReef]

220 gallons

I would get 1 and see. They are very efficient and in general clean dozens of fish on a reef a day. I don’t think your tank will have enough for them at 220. I
Would make sure they eat prepared foods too.

 

[mattzang]

is this for your shark tank?

 

[User1]

Usually 1.
Usually only if you have enough other fish to spread out the attention.
Prefer to see them eating prepared food(s) before introducing otherwise they will slowly perish.

Based on those three items I listed from my own research the main factor is having a large enough system with enough fish to distribute his or her attention. The other fish won't like being pestered so it helps spread the love. Also keep in mind that you may not have parasites on the fish you are presently keeping so whatever is there may not be enough to support it which leads to my third item on the list for eating other foods. I've seen a couple videos with large tank owners here who have a pretty good fish distribution and the cleaner is going bonkers from fish to fish to fish doing its job. If it is the same one or two fish over and over it can't be good.

 

[Kasey Grohowski]

is this for your shark tank?

Yeah coral and marbled catshark and 1 clownfish

 

[Kasey Grohowski]

Usually 1.
Usually only if you have enough other fish to spread out the attention.
Prefer to see them eating prepared food(s) before introducing otherwise they will slowly perish.

Based on those three items I listed from my own research the main factor is having a large enough system with enough fish to distribute his or her attention. The other fish won't like being pestered so it helps spread the love. Also keep in mind that you may not have parasites on the fish you are presently keeping so whatever is there may not be enough to support it which leads to my third item on the list for eating other foods. I've seen a couple videos with large tank owners here who have a pretty good fish distribution and the cleaner is going bonkers from fish to fish to fish doing its job. If it is the same one or two fish over and over it can't be good.

Only have 3 fish in here now, no parasites but I just like the insurance.

 

[Kasey Grohowski]

I would get 1 and see. They are very efficient and in general clean dozens of fish on a reef a day. I don’t think your tank will have enough for them at 220. I
Would make sure they eat prepared foods too.

What do you mean you dont think my tank wont have enough of what at 220?

 

[mattzang]

idk anything about sharks or parasites on them, but i think what people mostly agree on cleaner wrasses is you need a ton of fish in the tank. if there's only a few fish, it'll clean those same fish over and over and bother them

do the sharks only eat inverts or something? or is the clown lunch eventually?

 

[Kasey Grohowski]

idk anything about sharks or parasites on them, but i think what people mostly agree on cleaner wrasses is you need a ton of fish in the tank. if there's only a few fish, it'll clean those same fish over and over and bother them

do the sharks only eat inverts or something? or is the clown lunch eventually?

Well these sharks are very docile though if you read about them on the internet a lot of websites and companies that sell them say they're agressive, which is not true. They never bother the clownfish, the only way they'll eat it is if they're starving.

 

[Technewb]

My cleaner wrasse eats everything I throw at him, flakes,pellets,frozen foods. It rarely bothers other fishes and its constantly swimming all over my red sea 750xxl. If it goes near a fish they will let him know if they need cleaning and he knows when to back off. He's more interested in me feeding him food. Been in there for almost a year now.

 

[Kasey Grohowski]

My cleaner wrasse eats everything I throw at him, flakes,pellets,frozen foods. It rarely bothers other fishes and its constantly swimming all over my red sea 750xxl. If it goes near a fish they will let him know if they need cleaning and he knows when to back off. He's more interested in me feeding him food. Been in there for almost a year now.

Red sea reefer? Nice tank

 

[Technewb]

From my experience he only bothers my bigger fishes, powder blue and purple tang, all the small fishes such as royal gramma, clowns, blenny, damsel, cardinal, he doesnt even care about them.

 

[eatbreakfast]

First, even if they are eating prepared food, a large part of their diet is the slime coat of other fish, so having that lightly stocked of a tank may be problematic for the wrasse.

Secondly, the cleaning behavior can be irritating and stressful for the client fish. So being so lightly stocked may be problematic for the other fish, especially the more sedentary sharks you have, that won't be able to readily escape the attention of a cleaner wrasse.

 

[minus9]

You're better off getting a few Neon or Sharknose gobies as cleaners. Great personalities, great cleaners, super fun to watch and they're captive bred. I don't think I would ever have a tank without an Elacatinus species in there.

 

[evolved]

Unless you buy them already paired, buying two individuals and putting them together will likely result in one being killed by the other.

 

[ca1ore]

I’ve been able to keep the common bluestreak on multiple occasions, but only singly and in large tanks with sizable fish populations. Have one currently with 100 plus fish and 400 gallons of swimming room.

 

[Jesterrace]

Going to get a couple cleaner wrasse this week. Just wondering if there are any particular species that are better than others? Also I read they do better in groups, what is the ideal amount?

Don't do it. They generally don't fare well in captivity and can often bother your other fish to the point of harassment as they look to clean. A cleaner type shrimp or Neon Goby would be much better choices. A pair is a really bad idea.

 

[norfolkgarden]

+1 on the neon cleaner goby.

They also eat plenty of frozen foods. Have 2 in a 75 gallon tank with way too many fish.

+1 on *NO* cleaner wrasse!

As already mentioned, a large part of the cleaner wrasse diet is fish slime coat.
They will harass other fish to the point of being detrimental to the other fish!

Scale of cleaner to "cleanee" is also important.
The cleaner fish should be considerably smaller than the fish they are grooming.

Guessing the cleaner shrimp will either make a beautiful addition to your tank that can also eat prepared foods or it may (or may not) make a tasty snack.
Either way there should be no downside to the neon cleaner goby or the skunk cleaner shrimp.

Consider the cleaner wrasse as a deliberate way to damage your sharks. :-/