Hawaiian Cleaner Wrasse

[BighohoReef]

Happy Saturday everyone from Lucky and the rest of the Lagoon! Some of the gang stopping in to Lucky’s cleaning station.

Any other cleaner wrasse success stories? Doesn’t have to be Christmas Cleaner either! Cheers and happy reefing.

So fricken jealous

 

[NashobaTek]

Awesome looking fish. The small food particle size is also what makes the pinnatus batfish a hard to keep fish. Now it's eating chunks.

 

[Tamberav]

Lucky is beautiful! Also wow, they are active! Even for a wrasse... she is zoomin!

 

[ReeferBlaine]

Happy Hump Day from Lucky!

 

[ReeferBlaine]

Evening Reefers.

Well, the last couple days have been interesting to say the least for Lucky...

7/27-7/30 I was out of town on a work trip and of course you feel anytime you leave your reef something isnt right, but that is most likely the helicopter reefer trait in me. When I got back home 7/30 Lucky seemed as though he was weak and experiencing some odd swimming issues. Taking notice of this I decided to do the following: feed, capture information, and then black the lights for the evening. Lucky took to feeding and I could see he/she was eating. Thus, the swimming motion had changed form his regular oscillating style to more of a rapid tail thrusting swimming, and rather than gliding with the current in the tank seemed to be fighting it.

The next morning after a restless night I woke to check on Lucky and was swimming far better seemed hungry again so added some live food for him/her to chase (tigger pods). Responded immediately and chased the food, seemed to dropped the amount of action with its her tail fin and began gliding and diving again. Went to work for the day and returned after a shift to come home to a much happier Lucky. Gliding and diving about the reef as though nothing was wrong... Relief for now.


Initial thoughts.. possible internal parasite issues (backed up), swim bladder issue (common with this species due to the capturing of them in the wild), and or was just tired or sad about dad being gone away so long from the reef LOL!

Hope all are well, and big shout out to @BighohoReef for the support through the struggle.. always nice to have reefing friends to lean on! Have a great weekend all.

 

[ReeferBlaine]

Evening Reefers!

Good news from the King Tide Lagoon!

Lucky is back to his/her typical zoomin' state! Tonight was a great night on the reef to snag some photos and tried my best with this quick little bugger!

Regardless, Lucky is well, and continues to live his/her best life in the tank. All roomies are accounted for and happy to stop by the local cleaner. (Shrimp seems to be getting jealous....)

Cheers all!

 

[ReeferBlaine]

Well all.. it has been just a day shy of two months and..

LUCKY is THRIVING

Lucky is such a fun fish too watch during the day, Lucky has even somehow convinced the female Spotcintcus Clown that he/she means no harm... That girl aint the sweetest either!

So happy to report two happy healthy months in the tank! Hoping for many more. Read many stories that if I pass the two month mark a fish more than likely will continue to survive in the system. Nonetheless I am so happy to say that Lucky is living his/her best life!

 

[ReeferBlaine]

I feel after every couple of weeks we hit a "milestone" for Lucky..

After so many countless hours of research and reading I have come to the realization that if you can maintain this fish *specifically cleaner wrasse* in your tank for a couple months than most likely you have a specimen that's able to maintain a healthy diet through what the tank is provided in nutrients.

That in mind, I would not think a fish could survive over two months in a system with none-to little nutrients. SO I believe Lucky is taking to the Lagoon very well!

Just my own research and thoughts, just feel like a pioneer of reefing science by trying to keep this little guy happy. Lots of interesting things I have seen in this hobby, and Lucky is by far one of them. Hope you all are having a good day, and happy reefing!

 

[ReeferBlaine]

Happy to report Lucky is doing well! Eating like a champion and darting about the tank all day! Happy Labor Day to all!

Also happy labor day to the cleaners out their in the reefing world! The real MVPS!

 

[Mattiejay6]

Great thread!!!! Good info! Thank you!!!

 

[Shredded]

I picked one up a couple of months ago. He's not much into cleaning. I have seen him give the tangs a once over but in general he's just another tank inhabitant. He is the first to the top of the tank at feeding time and climbs into the cup when i pour food in the tank. Absolutely loves fish eggs.

 

[ReeferBlaine]

I picked one up a couple of months ago. He's not much into cleaning. I have seen him give the tangs a once over but in general he's just another tank inhabitant. He is the first to the top of the tank at feeding time and climbs into the cup when i pour food in the tank. Absolutely loves fish eggs.

SO hard to catch photos of them huh?

I always say Lucky is zooming around! Gorgeous specimen, and glad you got it eating right away! Nicely done!

 

[Shredded]

SO hard to catch photos of them huh?

I always say Lucky is zooming around! Gorgeous specimen, and glad you got it eating right away! Nicely done!

Thank you! Yes, fish eggs are just part of the normal cubes i put together for each feeding for the whole tank and realized that after a few feedings that he picks them out exclusively, leaving every other type of food, including Mysis, for the other fish. I realized at that point that a lot of the feeding issues may come from the fishes mouth size. The tiny little spheres are a perfect size for his tiny mouth. Yea, no doubt on the pictures. Those are awful but I can't get him to hold still for two seconds to get a decent shot of his coloration. He's just a blur. Glad Lucky is doing well! These are such pretty fish but they have such a bad reputation for survival.

 

[ReeferBlaine]

Thank you! Yes, fish eggs are just part of the normal cubes i put together for each feeding for the whole tank and realized that after a few feedings that he picks them out exclusively, leaving every other type of food, including Mysis, for the other fish. I realized at that point that a lot of the feeding issues may come from the fishes mouth size. The tiny little spheres are a perfect size for his tiny mouth. Yea, no doubt on the pictures. Those are awful but I can't get him to hold still for two seconds to get a decent shot of his coloration. He's just a blur. Glad Lucky is doing well! These are such pretty fish but they have such a bad reputation for survival.

Absolutely!

Not sure if you saw my post earlier on this thread but I make mention of micron size of food and the correlation to their mouth sizes! I feel that is key to getting them on prepared/ food in general! If they can fit it in they most likely want to at least try it! Found Lucky is very fond of prepared flake food by Ocean Nutrition which is great because that reef flake offers tons of nutritional values for him!

Nonetheless the fish are VERY HARD to get to eat and I see why their mortality rate is so high! All about focusing on getting food in their system. People say they NEED to pick on fish, which may be the case in small amounts, but a balanced diet is the KEY in my opinion!

Looking at developing an article on this fun little species here in the future!

 

[Shredded]

Absolutely!

Not sure if you saw my post earlier on this thread but I make mention of micron size of food and the correlation to their mouth sizes! I feel that is key to getting them on prepared/ food in general! If they can fit it in they most likely want to at least try it! Found Lucky is very fond of prepared flake food by Ocean Nutrition which is great because that reef flake offers tons of nutritional values for him!

Nonetheless the fish are VERY HARD to get to eat and I see why their mortality rate is so high! All about focusing on getting food in their system. People say they NEED to pick on fish, which may be the case in small amounts, but a balanced diet is the KEY in my opinion!

Looking at developing an article on this fun little species here in the future!

How goes it with lucky? Mine is doing extremely well. (Still no name yet) He's got a fat little belly on him because he eats like a pig. when i rinse the food cup in the tank i have to let him swim in to make sure he didn't miss any food. He's still not really big on cleaning other fish. I think he may check out a tang every now and then if the fish presents itself but he doesn't go looking for it. Almost like, i'm full, i don't need to mess with you. This is actually totally the opposite of what i was expecting. Then again, as we all have seen, every fish is different. I may have a lazy fish. I have several fish that are labeled "expert only" that i have had for going on 4 years now and are doing very well with one pair of wrasses breeding periodically. I in no way purport myself to be an expert but I have never hesitated to try a fish because someone stuck that label on it. And this may be a "Captain Obvious" statement but it all comes down to water quality and nutrition. I strive to keep my acropora happy, and with that comes the water quality. Long before my fish notice any issue, my coral are telling me that something is off. On nutrition, I basically just offer everything. My fish food bill is about 80.00 per month. I have never had a fish that couldn't find one item in my "shotgun" approach that it wouldn't eat. I offer 4 different frozen foods, one liquid food, one fresh item, usually clams or mussels, and Nori sheets for the tangs. Since the fish eggs seem to really be the only thing the cleaner seems to be interested in, I did look it up to see what its nutritional value is and i found that it is freshly harvested capelin eggs without any additives, preservatives, or dyes. in researching further, this is actually a fish egg that humans also eat and the nutritional value seems to be very good at least in my opinion which is basically meaningless. lol Below is the breakdown. At this point he seems to be doing well with just the fish eggs but I will try to branch out to find others. As previously noted it does appear with this fish that food particle size is extremely important.

Just 1 ounce (28 grams) of fish roe contains:

• Calories: 40
• Fat: 2 grams
• Protein: 6 grams
• Carbs: less than 1 gram
• Vitamin C: 7% of the Reference Daily Intake (RDI)
• Vitamin E: 10% of the RDI
• Riboflavin (B2): 12% of the RDI
• Vitamin B12: 47% of the RDI
• Folate (B9): 6% of the RDI
• Phosphorus: 11% of the RDI
• Selenium: 16% of the RDI

 

[ReeferBlaine]

How goes it with lucky? Mine is doing extremely well. (Still no name yet) He's got a fat little belly on him because he eats like a pig. when i rinse the food cup in the tank i have to let him swim in to make sure he didn't miss any food. He's still not really big on cleaning other fish. I think he may check out a tang every now and then if the fish presents itself but he doesn't go looking for it. Almost like, i'm full, i don't need to mess with you. This is actually totally the opposite of what i was expecting. Then again, as we all have seen, every fish is different. I may have a lazy fish. I have several fish that are labeled "expert only" that i have had for going on 4 years now and are doing very well with one pair of wrasses breeding periodically. I in no way purport myself to be an expert but I have never hesitated to try a fish because someone stuck that label on it. And this may be a "Captain Obvious" statement but it all comes down to water quality and nutrition. I strive to keep my acropora happy, and with that comes the water quality. Long before my fish notice any issue, my coral are telling me that something is off. On nutrition, I basically just offer everything. My fish food bill is about 80.00 per month. I have never had a fish that couldn't find one item in my "shotgun" approach that it wouldn't eat. I offer 4 different frozen foods, one liquid food, one fresh item, usually clams or mussels, and Nori sheets for the tangs. Since the fish eggs seem to really be the only thing the cleaner seems to be interested in, I did look it up to see what its nutritional value is and i found that it is freshly harvested capelin eggs without any additives, preservatives, or dyes. in researching further, this is actually a fish egg that humans also eat and the nutritional value seems to be very good at least in my opinion which is basically meaningless. lol Below is the breakdown. At this point he seems to be doing well with just the fish eggs but I will try to branch out to find others. As previously noted it does appear with this fish that food particle size is extremely important.

Just 1 ounce (28 grams) of fish roe contains:

• Calories: 40
• Fat: 2 grams
• Protein: 6 grams
• Carbs: less than 1 gram
• Vitamin C: 7% of the Reference Daily Intake (RDI)
• Vitamin E: 10% of the RDI
• Riboflavin (B2): 12% of the RDI
• Vitamin B12: 47% of the RDI
• Folate (B9): 6% of the RDI
• Phosphorus: 11% of the RDI
• Selenium: 16% of the RDI

What a great write up!!!! I feel so similar to this I love it!

With that being said, Lucky is doing amazing! I would agree no doubt a pig. Loves loves LOVES Ocean Nutrition Prime Reef Flakes. A crowd favorite in the tank! You are very right every fish is different. Also, you have the right formula and similar like me... a shotgun of food LOL!

Cheers and happy to hear about another Hawaiian Cleaner Wrasse doing well! Here is Lucky today!

 

[Shredded]

Here is the best one I could get of mine today. I literally took 20 shots and this is the only usable picture. He does not like his picture taken. When the phone comes up, he takes off. I have to freeze and just stand there with the hope he will swim into frame. He is so fast there is no time to zoom in or move. It has to be just right and in focus for that split second. My video camera is working but for some reason I cannot figure out how to share the feed. (embarrassingly enough, I am in IT) I would just let people view it live.

 

[ReeferBlaine]

Here is the best one I could get of mine today. I literally took 20 shots and this is the only usable picture. He does not like his picture taken. When the phone comes up, he takes off. I have to freeze and just stand there with the hope he will swim into frame. He is so fast there is no time to zoom in or move. It has to be just right and in focus for that split second. My video camera is working but for some reason I cannot figure out how to share the feed. (embarrassingly enough, I am in IT) I would just let people view it live.

Great shot! So hard to get a good picture of Lucky as well!

Gorgeous wrasse! Looks great and chunky, seem to have the right recipe for this little guy no doubt!

 

[quirkylemon103]

i haven't tried this but have you tried taking a video and then finding frames in the video that look nice and using that for a picture?

 

[ReeferBlaine]

i haven't tried this but have you tried taking a video and then finding frames in the video that look nice and using that for a picture?

Usually the best way to do it!! How I have gotten my best photos of lucky good point!