blue streak

[Zoaelite]

Tank raised FTW ! If the cleaner is eating prepared foods then you should be fine.

[blueyota]

Thanks again Kevin ... He did pop out and surprise me ...and i think i will keep him as he seems to be doing great as my two tags keep taking turns to get in front of the cleaner ..and is such a nice fish to watch ....

[fishytime]

fyi we saw one of the others that came in the same shipment eat brine today.

[naesco]

For a number of good reasons there are a many varieties f livestock that are unsuitable for captivity. Specialized diets, growing to too large a size, easy susceptibility to disease, poor adjustment to aquarium conditions, being too dangerous, too rare, or performing a needed function in the wild among other traits preclude certain species being attractive to aquarists.

Unfortunately this list includes specimens that are regularly offered to the hobby. Why? The answer not surprisingly is someone will buy them. I would like to believe that mainstream aquarists are an informed, conscientious lot dealing from a position of knowledge with intelligent, honest dealers, wholesalers, transhippers... all the way back to the collectors and breeders. Alas, I must be dreaming. How much do any of us know re what we do? Is it enough to have the means and desire to "buy" what you want?

This is the genus of obligate Cleaner Wrasses most celebrated for establishing stations in the wild that are frequented by "local" reef fishes and pelagics for removing parasites and necrotic tissue. Perhaps shocking to most aquarists, all the Labroides rate a dismal (3) in survivability, even the ubiquitously offered common or Blue Cleaner Wrasse, Labroides dimidiatus. None of the Labroides should be removed, not only for the fact that almost all perish within a few weeks of wild capture, but for the valuable role they play as cleaners.

The above is from http://wetwebmedia.com/labroide.htm
Robert Fenner

[Drock169]

I think a lot has changed with feeding since articles were posted on wetwebmedia. There is now a larger range of foods available since the last article that was referenced. I find most cleaner wrasses now accept some frozen food. I have two, and I've had one of them for 2 years and the other is over a year.

[naesco]

Originally Posted by Drock169

I think a lot has changed with feeding since articles were posted on wetwebmedia. There is now a larger range of foods available since the last article that was referenced. I find most cleaner wrasses now accept some frozen food. I have two, and I've had one of them for 2 years and the other is over a year.

Although progress has been made with special foods and understanding certain fish's requirements like the mandarin goby as an example, that is not the case for cleaner wrasse and other species like the Gold Rim tang (A. nigercans).
They require something in their diet which at this point is unknown.
There are cleaner wrasse from the Indian Ocean area and Africa what have better survival rates but they are not yet available here.