Cleaner Wrasse(Sp?)

They worth keeping in a tank for Ick? Read alot of good things about them and Ick.

 

Don't get one!

I had one a few years ago before I knew about the difficulty of keeping these fish. It did seem to help with an Ich breakout on my Hippo but didn't survive because it it almost impossible to feed in captivity. I had one that even accepted prepared foods but from what I've learned, even if eating prepared foods, it cannot get it's proper required nutrition from that alone.

I currently have one of these, acts like a cleaner and eats prepared food Four Line Cleaner Wrasse - Larabicus quadrilineatus, Four Line Cleaner Wrasse OS > Four Line Cleaner Wrasse > Wrasses > Fish

So far so good- have it for a little over 4 months now and seems real happy and easy to care for. All the information I have found on this fish however say that when it gets larger, it will eat stony coral polyps exclusively but I have not had any issues yet and the fish is apx. 3" now. I can only recommend from my experience and if anything changes will post a thread ASAP.

 

Where did you read good things? If you had read up on them you'd know not to keep them
90-95% of them will die due to starvation. Their primary diet is the parasites off of the hundreds of fish that come to them each and every day on the reef. Will that happen in a hobbiest aquarium? Of course not. And since nearly all of them wont except prepared foods, they starve. Of course there is always an exception, but in nearly all cases, this is the outcome. They are better left in the ocean where they can do their job, IMO.

 

I want to get 2 more fish for my tank then I am done for 6 months.

I have,
1 Lemon Damsel
1 Diamond Goby
2 really small clowns


I must order from Petco.com because that is where I got a christmas gift from but, I am lost with what I should get next. I had a Y. Tang but gave him back because I was told it was to soon for my tank.

Any ideas what I should get next I have 100 bucks to spend there.

TIA

 

What size tank? Fish only or reef? How long has it been running?

 

actually i had one that accept chopped shrimp, but it died shortly. better buy a neon goby, cleaner shrimp and if lucky sixline wrasse can clean sometimes.

 

It is reef, It has been up about 2 months.

 

how about buying a clean-up crew? i assume your tank is not yet finish with the algae cycle. what size is your tank by the way?

 

75 Gallon

I have for my cleanup crew

10 blue leg hermits
10 Astrea Snails
10 turbo snails
3 Emerald crabs

Edit:

Algea is almost gone I am getting coraline algea already

 

I would get species of fairy wrasse. They are reef safe, most are hardy and brings color variations to your tank.