Cleaner Wrasses, are they worth it?

[TWYOUNG]

I'm curious about peoples experiences with Blue Striped Cleaner Wrasses. Are they effective at reducing parasites on fish? Do ALL of them perform this function or does it vary among individuals? Are they safe from predation due to their benefit to other fish, i.e., will my Flame Hawk eat it or my Six Line Wrasse harass it to death? Finally, considering their reputation as difficult to adjust to aquarium life is it worth paying 5 to 10 times as much for captive bred? Thank you for your advice!

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

I had one for a few years, they are a cool working fish. Some other fish hate them and they have a tendency to harass other fish with their 'cleaning'. The hawk won't bother with it, the sixline will more than likely hate it with a passion.

 

[TWYOUNG]

I had one for a few years, they are a cool working fish. Some other fish hate them and they have a tendency to harass other fish with their 'cleaning'. The hawk won't bother with it, the sixline will more than likely hate it with a passion.

Hate it as in "sparring" or hate as in Murdering?

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Hate it as in "sparring" or hate as in Murdering?

It's prolly murdering, sixes don't do well with much of any wrasse they can go toe to toe with.

 

[TWYOUNG]

It's prolly murdering, sixes don't do well with much of any wrasse they can go toe to toe with.

Well, guess IF I decide to get one I'd better get the 3" $40 one from my lfs instead of the 1" $225 one from Biota lol!

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Well, guess IF I decide to get one I'd better get the 3" $40 one from my lfs instead of the 1" $225 one from Biota lol!

Yup, lol. I was lucky as mine was wild caught and lasted right at 2 years. Survived a tank swap n all. Also ate prepped foods (pellets & frozen).

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Here is a clip of mine cleaning my hand when in the tank:

April 8, 2022

youtube.com

 

[TWYOUNG]

Yup, lol. I was lucky as mine was wild caught and lasted right at 2 years. Survived a tank swap n all. Also ate prepped foods (pellets & frozen).

Did it do a bang up job helping keep parasites off your fish?

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Did it do a bang up job helping keep parasites off your fish?

Eh... It helps, but it's not a catch all. Remember the fish has to be willing to be cleaned. Not all fishes will accept a cleaner wrasse. If your trying this for parasite control, you'll probably be disappointed.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I'm curious about peoples experiences with Blue Striped Cleaner Wrasses. Are they effective at reducing parasites on fish? Do ALL of them perform this function or does it vary among individuals? Are they safe from predation due to their benefit to other fish, i.e., will my Flame Hawk eat it or my Six Line Wrasse harass it to death? Finally, considering their reputation as difficult to adjust to aquarium life is it worth paying 5 to 10 times as much for captive bred? Thank you for your advice!

Ive had mine (Blue streak) close to 8 years and it keeps going from fish to fish til today and eats everything that he can find.
(top middle of pic)

 

[Lavey29]

I've had my cleaner wrasse for over a year along with 4 other wrasses including a 6 line. He is a model citizen cleaning anyone that wants to be cleaned. Beautiful fish and constant movement.

 

[tweetyfish]

Have a Blue Streak, most entertaining of the bunch.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

I've had my cleaner wrasse for over a year along with 4 other wrasses including a 6 line. He is a model citizen cleaning anyone that wants to be cleaned. Beautiful fish and constant movement.

That's the key, who wants to be cleaned. Not everyone will accept the cleaner wrasse... I had better luck with cleaner shrimp, but due to vast wrasse numbers now, if it's not the largest cleaner shrimp around it's dinner.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Ive had mine (Blue streak) close to 8 years and it keeps going from fish to fish til today and eats everything that he can find.
(top middle of pic)

8 years is amazing! I had them in a few different tanks, 2-4 years seems to be it for lifespan. I've always had them slightly loose color over a few months and then kaput, dead. Figure they were aging out.

 

[mehaffydr]

I have 2 in my tank and love them. They are always on the move, Doing the dirty work. Its really cool when a Tang will open up its Gills and let the wrasse get in there.

 

[Lavey29]

That's the key, who wants to be cleaned. Not everyone will accept the cleaner wrasse... I had better luck with cleaner shrimp, but due to vast wrasse numbers now, if it's not the largest cleaner shrimp around it's dinner.

True not everyone wants to be cleaned all the time. The larger fish are more receptive. The wrasse cleans way more then the shrimp now in my tank.

 

[i cant think]

I'm curious about peoples experiences with Blue Striped Cleaner Wrasses. Are they effective at reducing parasites on fish? Do ALL of them perform this function or does it vary among individuals? Are they safe from predation due to their benefit to other fish, i.e., will my Flame Hawk eat it or my Six Line Wrasse harass it to death? Finally, considering their reputation as difficult to adjust to aquarium life is it worth paying 5 to 10 times as much for captive bred? Thank you for your advice!

The majority will starve and with your six line, even a larger cleaner wrasse will be murdered. Sixlines are relentless and depending on tank size, they will not allow any new fish after they’re established. This is a species I’ve found that can’t stand aggression towards it. Usually the aggression is from other wrasses and not other fish outside of the Labrids.

All of them do seem to setup a cleaning ’routine’ however not every fish wants to be cleaned as mentioned above. They are rather effective at reducing parasites as long as the fish the parasites are on will abide. You really want to keep these guys with larger fish and so in a larger tank. This is to help with their diet and smaller fish may get annoyed by the cleaner therefore if it doesn’t feed on frozen already, it may starve. These help with parasites but also help to remove the older slime coat.

Due to their reputation still being extremely bad, yes you’ll be best getting a captive bred AFTER you remove the sixline. Bear in mind that you will have to get rid of your ‘pest’ hunting wrasse and so if you have a sandbed you’ll want to replace the sixline with something like a Halichoeres assuming your tank is minimum of a 3’x2’x2’.

And finally, a photo of the reef will be 10x better than just hearing you as we don’t know what size tank it is (therefore not knowing what sized fish you have which may result in a wild caught specimen starving).

 

[Thomas Jedlicka]

I like cleaners and they dont solve parasites but personally I think they can help the process of ridding parasites. I have big fish and its cool seeing the tiny little cleaner wrasse pick all over amd the large fish be 100% receptive to it. My emperor snapper that is almost a foot and a half on the other hand is terrified of it

 

[Saltees]

I’ve gone through a few of blue streak cleaners myself before I landed on the longest lasting one coming 9 months. Not surprisingly, it’s also the smallest (wild caught) one I’ve got, under 1”. It’s a very welcome additions to my tank’s habitants, including Wrasses and Anthias, due to its small size.

As I’m managing ICH at the very moment with H2O2+UV, the cleaner wrasse acts as an ICH pointer as well as a good indicator of the current state of ICH infestation.

A must have addition for me.

 

[TWYOUNG]

The majority will starve and with your six line, even a larger cleaner wrasse will be murdered. Sixlines are relentless and depending on tank size, they will not allow any new fish after they’re established. This is a species I’ve found that can’t stand aggression towards it. Usually the aggression is from other wrasses and not other fish outside of the Labrids.

All of them do seem to setup a cleaning ’routine’ however not every fish wants to be cleaned as mentioned above. They are rather effective at reducing parasites as long as the fish the parasites are on will abide. You really want to keep these guys with larger fish and so in a larger tank. This is to help with their diet and smaller fish may get annoyed by the cleaner therefore if it doesn’t feed on frozen already, it may starve. These help with parasites but also help to remove the older slime coat.

Due to their reputation still being extremely bad, yes you’ll be best getting a captive bred AFTER you remove the sixline. Bear in mind that you will have to get rid of your ‘pest’ hunting wrasse and so if you have a sandbed you’ll want to replace the sixline with something like a Halichoeres assuming your tank is minimum of a 3’x2’x2’.

And finally, a photo of the reef will be 10x better than just hearing you as we don’t know what size tank it is (therefore not knowing what sized fish you have which may result in a wild caught specimen starving).

Thanks for the in depth analysis. Tank is 5'x2'x2'. For now I think I'll rely on my UV and cleaner shrimp to assist with parasite control. The shrimp is risky bc I have a Flame Hawk however I'm feeding heavily three times per day to try discourage any between meal "snacking". Can you suggest any special treats to keep the Flame satisfied? I've fed live muscles to Flames in the past but when I tried with this one it was ignored, (actually after some initial curiosity no one in the tank ate it). Should I try muscles again? Should instinct rule, or could the fish be cautious of something new thrown in the tank?