Choose This Not That - Cleaner Wrasse Edition

In the wild, Cleaner Wrasses inhabits the coral reefs primarily in the surge zones. Aptly names, they feed the parasites, mucus and dead skin of other reef fish and will even create cleaning stations.

Traditionally, this species of wrasse has been considered sensitive and challenging to care for, as wild caught fish can be notoriously difficult to feed properly. Thus they have always been recommended for more experienced hobbyists; Within the last 5 years major advancements in aquaculture have led to the Hawaiian Cleaner Wrasse becoming available aquacultured. Another alternative is to purchase “Captive Conditioned” wrasses when they are available as they are much more likely to accept prepared foods.

Cleaner Wrasses aren't aggressive, and should be housed tank mates of similar temperament. However, they can be territorial towards other fish that look similar, like small gobies, dartfish and fangblennies, so it may be best to avoid adding multiples except to exceptionally large systems. Like all cleaner species they will continually try to clean tankmates, so it is good to house them in aquariums that are densely populated which not only distributes this behavior between many fish, but also offers more opportunities for them to get their wild diet.

For many aquarists, it is the flash of neon blue and the very active swimming that are the draw towards the diminutive cleaner wrasse. For those of you looking for this same flash of neon color, but in a less challenging fish to keep, we suggest looking into very similar looking fish in the Broadstripe Neon Cleaner Goby (Elacatinus Prochilos) which also fill the “cleaner fish” niche, and the Neon Blue Goby (Elacatinus Oceanops). While these are both very similar looking, they are much more sedentary and better suited to smaller aquariums.

Another option is the Deepwater Helfrichi Firefish (Nemateleotris Helfrichi Cf.) which is a still small, but bigger fish than the cleaner wrasse that is better kept in groups. They do have a very active profile, not dissimilar to that of the Hawaiian cleaner wrasse. They are a shy fish and as such shouldn't be housed with overly rambunctious tankmates, or in aquariums that are very densely populated.

If nothing short of an exact copy will do, the False Cleanerfish (Aspidontus Taeniatus) is a mimic fish that is incredibly similar (so similar they are sometimes seen being sold as a cleaner wrasses!) While this is an easy fish to keep, it will attempt to take nips out of tankmates so keep them well fed, and house with many (perhaps also more aggressive) fish. All of these are excellent aquarium fish that fit different needs and all are gorgeous in their own right. Pick the correct one for your aquarium and happy reefing!