Let's Talk Hawaiian Cleaner Wrasses...

nuxx

nuxx

.Registered Member
Ok so this one is a mystery to me...

I've now tried and failed three times to keep a Hawaiian Cleaner Wrasse (Labroides phthirophagus).

Attempt one (~ 2 years ago):
Kevin at Pacific Island Aquatics sent me one when I ordered a Black and Chevron Tang from him. I had mentioned I ordered a Common Cleaner from NYA and it came DOA. Was very nice of Kevin to send it when I hadn't asked for it.

I kept it in a 20 gallon long QT with the Chevron which had a big bite in it, which Kevin was very apologetic about and gave me an indefinite guarantee on. Anyway, out of nowhere after about two weeks I witnessed the Cleaner dart around the tank and hit some rock, and that was that.


Attempt two (~ 2 weeks ago):
Ross at Picturesque Aquatics sent me a small Hawaiian Cleaner. I kept him in a 20 gallon long QT with a large CBB and small Crescent Tail Fairy Wrasse.

He ate from day one, but bothered the CBB a lot. A day after the Crescent Tail Fairy Wrasse started coming out more, I found the Hawaiian Cleaner dead with red marks on his body and most of his tail gone. Guessing it was the Crescent Tail.


Attempt three (~ a week ago):
Jordan at Among The Reef sent me a large Hawaiian Cleaner with my Bandit Angel. Having known how the Cleaner was a pest to the CBB, it went into it's own 10 gallon QT. The fish was around 2".

The tank was kept at 76-77, with a HOB filter filled with seeded Marine Pure Spheres, seeded filter pad, powerhead pointing at the surface and lots of PVC. 0 ammonia and the tank was treated with Stability each day.

From day one this guy also ate everything offered. Mixture of frozen, eggs, nori, etc...

Today I noticed he wasn't out around noon, so I moved some PVC and he popped out. Around 2 hours later when feeding he wasn't out. I found him having a hard time keeping upright on the bottom of the tank, breathing hard. I checked again a few minutes ago and I thought he was dead. I got a net and when the net touched him he moved a bit.

I'm just not getting it with these guys... I always thought they were hard to keep due to not eating. This doesn't seem to be the case. This most recent one was a pig.

Is there something mental or stress related that kills these guys in small spaces?

We've had a Common Cleaner for nearly two years in the display... zero issues.

Does anyone have any idea about what is happening with these guys?

Maybe if they're in a huge QT with a few large fish they'll make it?

Maybe they need to eat many times a day when by themselves?

I know all the "They should stay in the ocean" opinions with this fish, but those are mostly related to their lack of eating. Looking for more of an answer / theory here.

Naturally I'm done trying...
 
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It would go against everything you work for to put one directly into a established DT but I think some fish like the Hawaiian cleaner don't stand a chance otherwise
 
Dmorty217 said:
It would go against everything you work for to put one directly into a established DT but I think some fish like the Hawaiian cleaner don't stand a chance otherwise
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What do you think ends up killing them?

Definitely wasn't lack of food.

... and yes, 0 chance of a non-quarantined fish going into the display...
 
Dmorty217 said:
Stress of not acclimating to a sterile tank, not feeling safe or natural?? Not really sure there is one answer.
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Sort of what I'm thinking.

I've only really lost new fish to shipping stress. If a fish eats, as far as I've seen personally you're golden.

I guess you could QT with a group of large fish, but not sure even in a 100 gallon tank they'd be ok with it. Also would they last through medications?!?!
 
DopeCantWin said:
Take it from someone who's kept one, kept it alive maybe 2 months, they should be left alone in the ocean. This is how they feed, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byNOXyEcj_s

Unless you can replicate that, let this dream go.
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Not really thinking it's a feeding issue. Also Common Cleaners live off the same stuff, but they aren't that hard to keep.

The first one I had ended up passing away after I started Prazi.

I started ParaGuard on this guy 2 days ago.

Wondering if maybe flukes being treated while in the fishes gills might be causing this.

Maybe they just can't tolerate being treated or having irritated gills.

Have one airstone in there, but just added two more. I'm sure it's way too late to help, but it's worth a shot.

I did see him move a bit... so yeah not sure.
 
My African Cleaner is active and fat. Does his thing with all my tangs and my hands when they're in the water. Been with me for three years.
 
Having dealt with scores of cleaner wrasses over the last 8yrs, from various locations, I can say that common cleaners from Africa fare no worse or better in aquaria than those from Indonesia, Philippines, or elsewhere, perhaps prior to 2008 African ones were better, but not since then.

Hawaiian cleaners have proven to be more difficult to keep, though I do know of one that has been in captivity for a few years. The issues of providing for their needs should be no different than other Labroides species, but if we look at Hawaiian fish we will see a trend that some of their fish are more difficult to acclimate to captivity. Potters angels, potters wrasses, psych head wrasses, are all more delicate than other members of their respective genera collected from other locations.
 
Good insight TJ.

Maybe the Hawaiian Cleaner needs constant food offered. Maybe feeding 1 or 2 times a day leads to some stress in a fish that is used to constantly picking tiny pieces of food off of other fish.
 
nuxx said:
LOL

Even is I was stupid enough to do that (not), good luck getting collectors to get them...
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You ask a collect for a few high dollar fish and I bet they will send you as many as you would like. I obviously wasnt really suggesting you do that...
 
Just out of curiosity, is there a reliable way to tell a Hawaiian cleaner from those sourced elsewhere? I've had two of these, one that lasted almost 8 years and a second that I have now had for about 18 months. No issues with either one, but I'm not sure if they are the Hawaiian variety or not. In the latter case, I did take a very deep breath and put it straight into the display sans QT.
 
ca1ore said:
Just out of curiosity, is there a reliable way to tell a Hawaiian cleaner from those sourced elsewhere? I've had two of these, one that lasted almost 8 years and a second that I have now had for about 18 months. No issues with either one, but I'm not sure if they are the Hawaiian variety or not.
Click to expand...

Hawaiians are the purple and yellow variety (Labroides phthirophagus). Easily the most striking species in the genus IMO.
 
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