Feeding a cleaner wrasse
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ndrwater
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Cleaner wrasses are notorious for being difficult to get eating. Try live brine if nothing else seems to work.
I remember a talk that @evolved did about wrasse husbandry and that this particular species being one that is probably better left in the ocean.
Best of luck regardless..
I remember a talk that @evolved did about wrasse husbandry and that this particular species being one that is probably better left in the ocean.
Best of luck regardless..
I've not had any issues with them, my first one must have been old and passed had him over 2yrs. Came home from the Philippines for business and found him passed away. My current one I've had over a year, originally he was on the small side less than 2". The trick that has helped me is you have to have multiple fish in the tank he can pick off of until he becomes acclimated to frozen foods. Mine eats anything I put in the tank, frozen brine and Mysis mix and he goes for the meaty stuff. Then he will pick at the Seaweed like all my other wrasses and anthias will pick it off that is floating in the water column.
How big is your tank and what fish do you have in the tank for the wrasse to clean?
fishguy212
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i have a 105 gallon with 3 x 2inch yellow tangs, 2 x pair clown fish 1.5 inch and 3 x firefish. I did feed the tangs nori today and saw it was eating it. It also was eating some flake food. I am hoping it will do better over the next few days.
Tuan’s Reef
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Bought one last week from my LHS on impulse...I know....
Read they are finicky eaters but mine is eating frozen LRS I use to feed all my fish.
It’s in a fishless frag tank along with a fire fish I bought with it.
I regretted buying on the way home but it’s turning out to be ok. If nothing turns up with him in a month , in the display he goes. He’s peaceful too, the fire fish was scared at first but is out and about all day now
Read they are finicky eaters but mine is eating frozen LRS I use to feed all my fish.
It’s in a fishless frag tank along with a fire fish I bought with it.
I regretted buying on the way home but it’s turning out to be ok. If nothing turns up with him in a month , in the display he goes. He’s peaceful too, the fire fish was scared at first but is out and about all day now
ca1ore
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Not all the cleaner wrasses are the same. Some, like the Hawaiian cleaner, are reputed to be essentially impossible. Others, like the red sea cleaner, are only cleaners when young then obliagte coralivores. The common blue streak, particularly the African ones, are much easier. Still not easy, but easier. Personally I’ve not had any issues, other than them being jumpers. I do have larger tanks with some larger fish which helps. Had my first blue streak for almost seven years before it died. Second for three years before it found the crack. Third I’ve had now for about three years so far. Never had any issues with any of them eating frozen.
Intense37754
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Not sure what cleaner wrasse we have but watched him eat some prepared food at the store and bought him with a yellow tang. Same with Scooter and Mandarin. I guess what I’m saying is I always ask what they eat and then see if they will show us feed them
boeingn747
Active Member
From all the research that I have done on cleaner wrasses is there are several issues with keeping them, that is why most people suggest they are better left in the ocean. The first problem is that they are notoriously finicky eaters. In the wild they rely on eating parasites and dead skin off of other fish. The problem in the home aquarium is that most of strive to keep our fish extremely healthy, keeping parasites off of our fish is what we strive for. The next in the ocean cleaner wrasses have a unlimited supply of fish to feed off of. In our tanks we are limited by the amount of fish we can keep. So basically you need a large tank with a large number of fish, that makes the smaller tanks a no go. Another issue is getting them on to other foods. If you can get them eating frozen foods the next obstacle is long term success is that the cleaner wrasses in the wild are eating all day long, going from fish to fish picking a morsel here and there. Typically us reefers are ultra worried about phosphates and nitrates so we tend to feed sparingly and once a day. The consensus is that the cleaner wrasse just can't survive under these conditions. So, yes you can get them eating frozen, and you might have a tank with 12-20 fish in it, but at the end of the day most people lose these fish over time because their nutritional needs are just not met. Most of them slowly starve to death. From the reading that I have done the people that tend to have success keeping the cleaner wrasse for its entire life are the ones who can dedicate the time and regimented feeding schedule that these fish need which is a minimum of 3 feedings per day, but ideally 5 times per day. For most of us that just isn't practical. That is why most people recommend that these fish be left in the ocean. Now does that stop people from buying them? No! Most people who buy these fish becasue they find ich in their tanks and think that the cleaner wrasse will eat the ich off the fish. That is a myth and has been scientifically proven that cleaners do not eat the ich on fish. Ich when on a fish is actually under the fish's skin. So at the end of the day people will still be buying the cleaner wrasse becasue they think they are the exception and not the rule. Some people might have success, but most will not. They are amazing fish if you can meet their special requirements. I will add that a good food that they seem to eat right out of the gate is live brine shrimp and fish eggs. There is a product called coral feast Ova, that cleaner wrasses, mandarins seem to love. I'm not here to judge the people who buy these fish, I just want to share what I know. Good luck!
boeingn747
Active Member
So that is a great start. Are you feeding him more than once per day? If not my guess is that's where you will run into problems. And I'm not saying that they don't live for a year or more with once a day feedings. I'm saying their life span is supposed to be 4- 5years. If you manage to keep one successfully for 4 or 5 years then you are definitely the exception, and you should share your secrets with the community. I have 2 currently that I am doing an experiment on. One is in a mixed reef tank 150gallons with 15 fish and fed once per day. The other is in a 75 gallon soft coral tank with 5 fish and is fed 3 times a day one day and 4 times a day on day two. I have had them both for just over one year. Mine are both eating froze foods very well, I also stock with pods and rotifers monthly. I'm hoping to get a better idea of longevity with the different feeding methods.
blaxsun
10K Club member
He gets fed 6x daily weekdays, 5x daily on weekends.
4 of these are a mix of algae, marine and Goji pellets and the rest is a mix of calanus, brine, two types of mysis and LRS Reef FRenzy.
Not including the red/green TLF seaveggies which is 2x daily or the 1x Nyos phytoplankton daily. He is just over 2 years old and resides in a 160-gallon display.
I don't watch every feeding, but given that he's an enthusiastic participant at feedings - I suspect he gets his fair share. We call him "Mr" (as in Mr. Clean).
Chris Spaulding
Well-Known Member
I have had one now for 3 years. First 1 1/2 years he was in a smaller tank 54 gallon Redsea reefer 250 with 4 other fish. Now he is in a 150 with 30 fish. Tank is fed 5 cubes twice a day . 2 Pe mysis 1 hikarie mysis 1 pe calarnes 1 cyclops. 1 sheet Nori every odd day . Mastic on even days and Avast feeder feeding every 90 min During lights on. He still makes his rounds to every fish multiple times a day but is also the first one to come eat when feeding the frozen.
boeingn747
Active Member
Will the bluestreak cleaner wrasse eat live rotifers? I know I've seen mine eat other types of live pods but wasn't sure on rotifers specifically. Thanks
Chris Spaulding
Well-Known Member
I just started cultivating rotifers so not sure but I am confident that mine will. He eats everything that I feed and when not feeding the tank he is always on the hunt.
