Cleaner Wrasse Laying on Bottom

Agsellers04 · Sep 16, 2020

Yep. Looked all those places.

ca1ore · Sep 16, 2020

Don’t think cleaner wrasses bury in the sand ..... AFAIK they find a nook in the rocks to sleep. Prob died in/under a rock.

Zionas · Sep 17, 2020

This is a difficult genus, unfortunately. Many just don’t do well in captivity for whatever reason. Sure some people have kept them for years, maybe even a decade or more, but your odds with this genus aren’t as good as they’ll be with some other genuses of wrasses. Wrasses as a whole are more hardy than not, but Labroides sp. are significantly more challenging. If anything LFS should stop importing them due to their high mortality rates and also because they play an important role on the reef.

92Miata · Sep 17, 2020

Zionas said:
This is a difficult genus, unfortunately. Many just don’t do well in captivity for whatever reason. Sure some people have kept them for years, maybe even a decade or more, but your odds with this genus aren’t as good as they’ll be with some other genuses of wrasses. Wrasses as a whole are more hardy than not, but Labroides sp. are significantly more challenging. If anything LFS should stop importing them due to their high mortality rates and also because they play an important role on the reef.

ORA appears to be breeding them now. From my experience with other captive bred fish - the ORA are probably a drastically better choice than wild.

Zionas · Sep 17, 2020

That’s right. Unless one can find a Captive Bred one, they should stick to other genuses.

mattzang · Sep 17, 2020

i wouldn't get another if it died, they're difficult to maintain and really need a big tank with big fish to clean

if you like the cleaning mechanic and even look, get a captive bred neon cleaner goby

Agsellers04 · Sep 17, 2020

Well I found him tucked between my power strip and the window on the sill just now stiff as a board. FIrst time I have ever had a fish navigate out of my tank.