Cleaner Wrasse

Description

Cleaner Wrasse, Labroides dimidiatus, are adorable, ribbon like fish, that also go by the name Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse. As the name suggests, these fish are mostly blue in colour. Their silver underbelly nicely offsets a bold stripe that extends down the length of them.

Labroides dimidiatus Ecology:

These fish live in the Indo Pacific. They range from: the Red Sea, Africa, Japan and the Persian Gulf.

Cleaner Wrasse live on rich coral reefs and lagoons, from the coast to the outer slopes. They swim around in loose aggregations, darting amongst the coral branches, or other structures they hold as cleaning stations. These fish have a mutualistic relationship with its neighbours on the reef. As the name suggests, Cleaner Wrasse feed on small parasitic crustaceans that they pick off the bodies of larger fish. They signal their availability as a cleaner by doing a dance. As a result of this behaviour, these fish can be useful to have in a marine tank. We recommend consulting a member of staff if pest control is what you are after.

Cleaner Wrasse are also protogynous hermaphrodites. Which means that, when they get old enough, breeding females transition into a male. As a result, all juveniles are immature females.

Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse In The Aquarium:

It is important to imitate the natural environment by provide plenty of nooks and crannies for the wrasse to hide in. Hobbyists should invest in a jump guard to prevent any unfortunate mishaps.

Cleaner Wrasse do best when fed a varied diet. They will accept enriched frozen mysis shrimp and enriched frozen brine shrimp. They will also devour live foods, such as copepods and amphipods, that can be cultivated in attached refugium. Over time they will accept high-quality pellet or flake. We adapt all our wrasse to aquarium life before they leave us. We focus on their health, and most are eating a good quality flake food and/or pellet, such as JBL Maris, before being offered for sale.

The Fish pictured here are representative only and the livestock you receive may vary in pattern, coloration, and shape.