Then explain to me why I have a 6" vlamingi in a 90 gallon a 5" yellow tang and 4" bi color angel 6" foxface and have never seen a drop if ich in my tank. Maybe ur shrimp or wrasse are lazy mine are not
I'm not here to have an argument with you. You're wrong and here's just a small review of the biological facts that say it...
_____________________________________________________________________
"
Cleaner Wrasse (Labroides Dimdiatus) and Cleaner Shrimp (Lysmata Amboinensis) eat Ich- WRONG. Wrasses and shrimp eat necrotic tissue, damage scales, and scabs. It has been well documented that the symbiotic “cleaning stations†in the reefs by wrasses and shrimps are there to help heal wounds from carnivore attacks, territorial fights, and other skin/scale injuries. It is possible that these cleaners might knock the parasite off the fish while doing this, but do nothing to control the reproduction and life cycle of Ich in your aquarium."
The Marine Ich Epidemic Joe Jaworski’s Weblog
_____________________________________________________________________
"If you care to read a study where they examined the gut contents of cleaner wrasse or Labroides dimidiatus you can find it in the Marine Ecology Progress Series, volume 197: pages 241-246 that was published in May of 2000, Alexandra S. Grutter. They found that the largest portion of their diet consists of gnathiids which is a parasite, but it is not ich. Parasitic copepods, non-parasitic copepods and scales comprised the remaining portion of the diet. They did not find
Cryptocaryon irritans in the stomach contents of any of the fish they examined. Perhaps cleaner wrasse will eat some ich, but certainly not enough to affect a cure. They are going to exhibit their natural cleaning behavior whether the subjects being cleaned have ich or not."
from:
Do cleaner shrimp and cleaner wrasses help with ich? - The Reef Tank
And if you want the article:
http://www.int-res.com/articles/meps/197/m197p241.pdf
_____________________________________________________________________
"No, they can't cure ich for the simple reason that they don't eat ich. They feed on juvenile parasitic crustaceans, mucus, and dead skin; that last one being the most significant for hobbyists.
Because the actual ich parasite is located
under the skin of the host, it's not susceptible to attack by cleaners except for the very short period when it's burrowing in. That naturally occurs in the wee hours of the morning while the cleaners are asleep, and only lasts a few minutes anyway, so in reality there is no period when cleaners can eat the parasite without wounding the fish. Even in studies where cleaners have been added to tanks and allowed to clean specifically during the attachment period, they ate so few of the parasites that there was no statistically significant change in parasite loads.
While they won't eat the parasite itself, the fact that the number of white spots is reduced isn't necessarily due entirely to coincidence. However, the white spots are not the parasite. The size of the parasite itself is at the low end of what the human eye can resolve. If you have 20/20 vision, are sitting close enough, and it's on a dark-colored fish, you could in theory see it, but just barely. The white spots are just nodules of damaged skin overlying where the parasite is embedded. Most cleaners will be more than happy to eat damaged skin, so they
can directly reduce the appearance of white spots. However, removing the white spots does nothing to cure the fish of the parasite."
From:
Can a cleaner wrasse cure ich? - Reef Central Online Community
_____________________________________________________________________
Is that enough for you or do I need to get some more info? Again, it is biologically proven that cleaner shrimp and cleaner wrasses (far better off left in the ocean, btw) do not consume marine ich to the point that they are a "cure" for anything. Are they a treatment method to help clean up the wounds on the fish, absolutely. Do they cure it? Absolutely not. I do and always will keep cleaner shrimp in my aquariums. I like them and like the fact that they help fish recover from disease by assisting with damaged tissue removal.
Also, there's no need to turn this into personal attacks. If you've got evidence or facts that prove, from a biological research standpoint, that cleaner wrasses and cleaner shrimp cure marine ich, please provide it.
