Got parasites on ur fishies?

[BaronVonDango]

I recently have experienced one of the greates things about the ocean. Teamwork.
we all think of eco systems as food for other critters but never think about what happens when fish get sick in the wild? There are a few shrimps and fish that are qualified surgeons, and I don't mean tangs.

My 3 striped damsel had popeye...would not let me catch him, and really started getting to me...I didn't want whatever was wrong to spread.

Then I remembered the cleaner shrimps....but I have puffers...oh yeah, the 6 lined wrasse. I picked up a medium sized one and within a week the popey went down..the wrasse went straight to work on him. Since then I don't really worry about ick or anything. This is not new info, just a reminder that there are alternatives when u don't want to drain ur tank to catch a 5 dollar fish.

I think the wrasse is the best choice as far as compatibility. They are so fast they can even nip at my lunar wrasse when he has sand on his scales....from digging.
not to mention they look awesome zipping around my rockwork

 

[snorvich]

Cleaner shrimp and cleaner wrasses do not clean ich which is below the skin.

 

[MrTuskfish]

Cleaner shrimp and cleaner wrasses do not clean ich which is below the skin.

Very true. Cleaners can do nothing to cure or prevent ich. BTW, the "white spot" that some cleaners may find isn't even the actual parasite. Its buried well out of their reach.

 

[BaronVonDango]

Ich starts outside the skin. It floats as a cyst, lands on a fish, than burrows.
The damsel may not have had ich (I said he had a form of popeye). Im no marine biologist, but my wrasse nipped my damsel, my damsel got better, and I shared with the world.

Im aware the 6lined wrasse eats bristle worms and what not.

I guess if you want I could say to HELP PREVENT SELECTIVE PARASITES.

Its not like I said to put a panther grouper in your tank to get rid of nitrates...that's just absurd.
what I stated was merely an observation