cleaner shrimp WONT STOP CLEANING !

oxkisses12ox · #1 01/27/2007, 02:14 PM

my cleaner shrimp wont stop cleaning my angelfish every 5 minutes the angelfish goes back .. he cleans in his gills, mouth, tail, body everything!!! i mean i know they clean fish.. but every time i look at the tank he is cleaning him.. is this normal?? and my clowns wont go near him.. does this take time for clowns to let the shrimp clean them?

teo241 · #2 01/27/2007, 04:07 PM

if the angel is letting the shrimp clean it, i wouldn't worry. the fish will swim away if it is bothered.

oxkisses12ox · #3 01/27/2007, 04:15 PM

oh no it definatly isnt bothered, he likes it, its just..how much cleaning does the fish need? thanks for the help though!

teo241 · #4 01/27/2007, 04:33 PM

how much? good question, i think some fish just like to be cleaned, my passer angel was cleaned for hours on end.

r00onmac · #5 01/27/2007, 05:07 PM

pretty normal.. the angel will bounce if there is no reason for the cleaning...

clowns generally dont take advantage of the "cleaning station" that shrimp setup

RedEyeElf · #6 01/27/2007, 06:37 PM

If i could get my lady to never stop giving me a massage...I would never leave the house either

oxkisses12ox · #7 01/28/2007, 12:28 PM

haha ! thats great.... yeah you guys are right.... i just wish my clowns would get cleaned!!!! have you ever heard of clowns getting cleaned??

thatguy · #8 01/28/2007, 12:58 PM

My maroon clown let my fire shrimp clean her. I thought she would attack him but she liked it. The fire shrimp even cleaned my puffer, so maybe he was just a smooth talker.

DaveJ · #9 01/28/2007, 08:49 PM

Sometimes it takes awhile for a cleaner to setup station but if a fish is annoyed they will just avoid them. In my old tank I had a purple tang that would flip on its side and swim around with the cleaner on its body, then just flip over when it had enough. It was quite the sight.

InvaderJim · #10 01/28/2007, 10:33 PM

Man I gotta get me a cleaner shrimp. haha These stories are so cool.

GuOD · #11 01/28/2007, 11:02 PM

I had 3 cleaner shrimp and all they do is hang around my anemone all day and bring food to it sometimes... then today for the first time they started cleaning my fish. the cooles thing is that the fish LINED up to get cleaned... rabbitfish, tang, and a trigger! here's a pic of the trigger! The damsels waited too but I never saw them get cleaned.

InvaderJim · #12 01/28/2007, 11:25 PM

Wow I'm surprised the trigger didn't eat them. That's awesome.

subcrx · #13 01/28/2007, 11:26 PM

Ive never seen a cleaner clean a clown, clowns always rely on their anenome. And Ive notice my angels loved the cleaner more than the others.

GuOD · #14 01/28/2007, 11:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by InvaderJim
Wow I'm surprised the trigger didn't eat them. That's awesome.

It is a pinktail triggerifsh, which is supposedly the second most "reef safe" triggerfish, after the bluethroat.

Of course, some of these guys will go after shrimp. In the wild they feed mostly on microplankton or something so they don't think of shrimp as food.

I don't know if things will change when he gets larger.

InvaderJim · #15 01/28/2007, 11:41 PM

I might be thinking of a Niger Trigger. But I could be wrong. I am a big fan of triggers and will defiantly be getting one whenever my 90g gets setup.

ConcreteReefer · #16 01/29/2007, 12:21 AM

Maybe your Angel has O.C.D.??

oxkisses12ox · #17 01/29/2007, 12:25 AM

haha !! maybe your right! i dont know but as im filling this reply hes getting cleaned!!! really i am so in love with this cleaner shrimp!

I HAVE THE COOLEST STORY!!!

the other day i went to feed the tank and he actually was hanging upsidedown from the surface of the water which seems impossible?! and i handed him a few pieces of flake food and he ate it as i gave it to him!! and every time i feed the tank he does it now .. i love it!

boilermaker1 · #18 01/29/2007, 12:41 AM

Just hold a small piece of fish or shrimp between your fingers and stick your hand in the water. Mine doesnt even bother taking it back anymore... just eats it sitting in my hand.
Cleaners are definitely show-offs.

To answer the original question, my angel is a frequent to the cleaning station. Only seen the tang there once. The clownfish.... never. The only time I saw it was when the shrimp jumped a sleeping clownfish and when you wake up a clownfish, you definitely dont want to be the closest thing to it.... boy she was mad...

tkeracer619 · #19 01/29/2007, 12:45 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by boilermaker1
and when you wake up a clownfish, you definitely dont want to be the closest thing to it.... boy she was mad...

mnestroy · #20 01/29/2007, 01:08 AM

Is it okay to have multiple cleaner shrimps in a tank?

I'm looking for a very good creature to help get my tank back into shape... so instead of investing in bunch of snails/crabs i was thinking a 2nd cleaner shrimp (got like 10crabs,snails, in my 40 breeder)

Folorin · #21 01/29/2007, 07:24 AM

Does anyone know if any of the following fish would attack cleaner shrimps?

Maroon Clown
Powder Blue Tang
Yellow Tank
Lamarks Angel
Eibli Angel

Thanks

oxkisses12ox · #22 01/29/2007, 01:55 PM

no ... none of them will attack a cleaner

cdangel0 · #23 01/29/2007, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by boilermaker1
when you wake up a clownfish, you definitely dont want to be the closest thing to it.... boy she was mad...

My wife is the same way

zooty · #24 01/29/2007, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mnestroy
Is it okay to have multiple cleaner shrimps in a tank?

I'm looking for a very good creature to help get my tank back into shape... so instead of investing in bunch of snails/crabs i was thinking a 2nd cleaner shrimp (got like 10crabs,snails, in my 40 breeder)

yep
I have 2 cleaners and 2 blood reds in a 75