Cleaner wrasse... Safe or not?

[Clint24]

I've done some research & talked to some lfs's & I get a lot of mixed information about these fish. Some say they r great & others say they do more harm to the fish in aquariums than they do good. I was just wondering what some of the experienced fellow reefers on this site has had with them. Is it better just to use cleaner shrimps rather than a cleaner wrasse? Thanks.


CD

 

[reeferman]

they are better left in the ocean where they play a very important role on reefs.they rarely ever eat prepared food also.

 

[Oxylebius]

Go for the cleaner shrimp, not the cleaner wrasse. Cleaner wrasses end up starving in a lot of tanks. Only a select few people have been able to keep them and those have usually been in really big tank, 100s of gallons, and by someone who is very experienced. Most live shortened lives by dieing too young.

For a number of good reasons there are a many fish varieties 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 us.

This is one fish better left on the reef.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/blog/just-how-important-are-cleaner-wrasses-to-reef-ecosystems

 

[Clint24]

Thank u reefer man & oxy. That is pretty much the conclusion I came to after researching the animal more in depth but I figured I'd ask some enthusiasts that have more experience than I do. Thanks again.


CD