What parasites can be controlled with a cleaner shrimp? How about a cleaner wrasse? Do these cleaners also help with infections?

salty joe

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 14, 2015
Messages
816
Reaction score
506
Location
Medina, Oh
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I added a cleaner shrimp specifically because one of two juvi blue ring angels grew a white fuzzy patch on its side. I never saw the shrimp working on the angel. I rarely see the shrimp. For that matter, the angels are still skittish and I only get quick glimpes of them unless I stay away from the tank.
Anyway, less than a week after adding the shrimp, the fuzzy patch was gone. It could be coincidence but I feel that it's more likely the shrimp took care of it.

Anybody have experience with cleaner shrimp or cleaner wrasse helping out?
 

reddogf5

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 6, 2021
Messages
135
Reaction score
135
Location
Michigan
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Probably ich, which drops off the fish on its own within 7 days. But it's still in the tank.
If cleaner shrimp cured fish disease, I don't think there would be a "fish disease" forum here.
 

mickeysreef <*))))<

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 6, 2019
Messages
368
Reaction score
248
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
none? maybe bacterial infection but probably not. there is a school of thought that goes like this. fish disease will not exist if you have enough biodiversity. although i do not disagree, my response is that the ocean has plenty of biodiversity and fish disease exists there. however the ocean is large enough for fish to just swim away from disease where our tanks are not. but is it possible to fill our tiny tanks with more biodiversity than the same space in the ocean? everything is trapped in there isn't it? if you figure this out, i'll come to work for you.
 
OP
OP
S

salty joe

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 14, 2015
Messages
816
Reaction score
506
Location
Medina, Oh
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Probably ich, which drops off the fish on its own within 7 days. But it's still in the tank.
If cleaner shrimp cured fish disease, I don't think there would be a "fish disease" forum here.
Not ich. It looked like a 3/16" piece of cotton was stuck to its side. White and fuzzy.

Like I said, The fuzzy patch was gone less than a week after adding the cleaner shrimp. I read about an eel that had a terrible wound that a cleaner shrimp kept clean.

Anyway, the gist of this thread is what healing utility can cleaner wrasse and cleaner shrimp provide in terms of both infections and parasites?
 

reddogf5

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 6, 2021
Messages
135
Reaction score
135
Location
Michigan
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Yeah, I had a tang with a white fuzzy patch that dropped off after a few days. It was ich.
I have had lots of cleaner shrimp, they do nothing to eliminate disease. I would imagine cleaner wrasse are the same, except they will starve if there aren't enough fish in the tank to feed them with dead cells and parasites.
The answer to your question is very little to none. Not trying to be harsh, but you are confusing correlation with causality. You had a shrimp in the tank, which you never saw do anything to the fish with the white fuzzy patch. The patch disappeared. You have made the assumption that because there was a "cleaner shrimp" in the tank, it caused the white fuzzy patch to disappear. But there was also water in the tank, and rock, and glass walls, and silicone sealant, and whatever else you have in your tank. Those things are all as likely to have "cured" the white patch as the cleaner shrimp.
 

andiesreef

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 1, 2021
Messages
483
Reaction score
465
Location
New Jersey
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I've heard of some wrasses picking parasites and pests off of corals such as flatworms, nudis, etc. especially from the halichores family. not sure if that's what you meant by parasites though
 

HWY61

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Jan 1, 2021
Messages
47
Reaction score
61
Location
United States
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I added a cleaner shrimp specifically because one of two juvi blue ring angels grew a white fuzzy patch on its side. I never saw the shrimp working on the angel. I rarely see the shrimp. For that matter, the angels are still skittish and I only get quick glimpes of them unless I stay away from the tank.
Anyway, less than a week after adding the shrimp, the fuzzy patch was gone. It could be coincidence but I feel that it's more likely the shrimp took care of it.

Anybody have experience with cleaner shrimp or cleaner wrasse helping out?
I had some brown spots show up on my foxface a couple months ago. I posted here but couldn’t narrow down the exact cause. Ich was the closest diagnosis but copper treatment did absolutely nothing.

It never spread to other fish so I put him back and figured I’d document it in case anyone else encountered whatever it was. During his QT, I bought a cleaner shrimp. The little sucker chewed the spots right off and I’ve not seen them since.

so the answer is: maybe?
 
OP
OP
S

salty joe

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 14, 2015
Messages
816
Reaction score
506
Location
Medina, Oh
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I had some brown spots show up on my foxface a couple months ago. I posted here but couldn’t narrow down the exact cause. Ich was the closest diagnosis but copper treatment did absolutely nothing.

It never spread to other fish so I put him back and figured I’d document it in case anyone else encountered whatever it was. During his QT, I bought a cleaner shrimp. The little sucker chewed the spots right off and I’ve not seen them since.

so the answer is: maybe?
Very cool, I wonder what the brown spots were...
I only have experience with the skunk cleaner shrimp but it seems to eat more ectoparasites than lesions or anything bacterial/fungal
Any idea what type of parasites it was eating?

Years ago, I had 3 rainfordi gobies and at least one had a worm not much thicker than thread that sometimes hung out of its mouth. I think either a cleaner shimp or a cleaner wrasse would have taken care of that.
I recently read on a thread here that cleaner wrasses from Africa will eat things other than what they pick off fish and not so much with cleaner wrasses that come from other areas. I can try to find that thread if anyone's interested.
 

Westside Guy

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Nov 30, 2018
Messages
1,341
Reaction score
1,976
Location
Hallandale Beach, FL
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I had some brown spots show up on my foxface a couple months ago. I posted here but couldn’t narrow down the exact cause. Ich was the closest diagnosis but copper treatment did absolutely nothing.

It never spread to other fish so I put him back and figured I’d document it in case anyone else encountered whatever it was. During his QT, I bought a cleaner shrimp. The little sucker chewed the spots right off and I’ve not seen them since.

so the answer is: maybe?
I just purchased 2 cleaner shrimps because my Foxface has the same type of spots. It has been 2 weeks now and the spots are still there. I am keeping my fingers crossed that they help resolve the issue.
 

andiesreef

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 1, 2021
Messages
483
Reaction score
465
Location
New Jersey
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I just purchased 2 cleaner shrimps because my Foxface has the same type of spots. It has been 2 weeks now and the spots are still there. I am keeping my fingers crossed that they help resolve the issue.
I would not rely on cleaner shrimp to cure diseases for you, personally. I don't think they've been proven to do much against many diseases in an aquarium. Best of luck.
 

vlangel

Seahorse whisperer
View Badges
Joined
Feb 5, 2014
Messages
5,487
Reaction score
5,371
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Cleaner shrimp have definitely helped with ich in my tanks. They will not help with a tank that is lacking in biodiversity and adequate cycling. However in a mature system a cleaner shrimp can be a valuable member of the ecosystem by helping a new fish who is getting some ich because of acclimation stress. I have had fish line up to be cleaned by the cleaner shrimp. And beside all that, they are very cool creatures.
 

capted

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 18, 2016
Messages
164
Reaction score
130
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Interesting question. I don't believe they remove ich at all but not sure about other stuff. Maybe dead skin spots. I know my emperor angel sleeps with my cleaner shrimp. All my fish pay him a visit once in awhile. I wonder if it just helps clean or kinda scratch the fish and makes them feel better. It's strange how my emperor is "bonded" with this shrimp.
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 67 37.6%
  • Not currently, but I have had feather dusters in my tank in the past.

    Votes: 59 33.1%
  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 25 14.0%
  • I have no plans to have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 27 15.2%
  • Other.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
Back
Top