Quote:
Originally posted by bronco7777
marcel,
Finally, I'll make one last suggestion that is not a big hit with many hobbyists.
That is, get yourself a cleaner wrasse. Not the ones from hawaii with the purple and yellow. Just your standard cleaner wrasse and the younger it is, the better. Fairy wrasses are such active fish that they will never sit arond for a cleaner shrimp to work them over. However a cleaner wrasse is accepted by fairy wrasses because the cleaner will swim WITH them. If you are truly serious about putting together an all - fairy wrasse tank. I think these guys are indespensible. Because wrasses are such nervous fish, small flare ups of ick are not uncommon. Even in a totally quarantined reef system. Having a cleaner wrasse in an all fairy tank helps keep ick in check and provides the cleaner with some source of regular parasite food. I think the trick is to get the cleaner as young as possible. This way its meatbolism can grow into accepting and sustaining itself on a diet that is mostly consistant of frozen mysis and cyclopeeze but at the same time it can still nip away occassionally at small ick flare ups that can occur with wrasses. I'm not saying this as a blanket statement for all cleaner wrasse situations. But in the past 5 years that is the experience I've had with cleaners and I've been able to keep them alive. Currently I have one cleaner that is about to turn 3 years old with me. The one I had previous lasted 2 1/2 years and the only reason he died was due to a temperature accident when a heater I had in the tank broke. (PLEASE NOTE THAT IN ALL THE SITUATIONS I HAD SUCCESS WITH CELANERS IN MY TANK IT WAS DUE TO THE FACT THAT I HAD THEM IN A TANK WITH MANY WRASSES...NOT JUST A COUPLE)
I don't like encouraging the purchase of cleaner wrasses. Specially for typical fish tanks that have several different species of fish. But for an all-fairy wrasse tank I have found them to be usefull and long-lived becuase they get many of the requirements they may lack in other tank setups.
Quite honestly I detest the fact that big pet chains like Petco continually bring these cleaners in for sale. A great majority of those sold go to situations were they willl likely die. But the reality is that Petco will not stop bringing them in.....just like they won't stop bringing in Mandarins and placing them in non-LR/LS tanks. So I try and rescue these when I can because I feel they will have a chance in a all-wrasse tank.
Anyway, I'll get off my soapbox and say that a cleaner could be a great protection to the large investments you make in pricey fairy wrasses.
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Hey Bronco,
Are you referring to a common cleaner wrasse - Labroides dimidiatus? Thanks for the info on Ich. Fighting my first case right now.