Cleaner wrasse question

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powerkit

Spiral OUT
Oct 23, 2008
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Hi everybody :)!
I have a Tesla Eel (name Nicolai), he is doing great. He is in the tank with a few damsels and a big ole red hermit crab. He is a great eater, he takes everything we've offered so far, silversides, sand eels, shrimp, squid and scallops. He's been with the damsels for about 5 months now, and none have come up missing. Also he was raised in a tank with other fish at his previous owner.
Anyway, for my question, what do you all think about him getting a cleaner wrasse??? I have a friend who has one in their eel tank with a zebra, a golden and a snowflake, but I think those eels are not piscivores like Nicolai is. I'd like to see him have his teeth done and all, but I wonder if it would be worth the risk. Do you guys think he would recognize the wrasse as being a helper?????
 

Nolapete

Monster Tank Builder
May 29, 2007
5,274
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New Orleans, LA
Most aquatic animals will recognize cleaners. You could introduce the wrasse in one of those net breeder things to see how he responds to it. I am fairly certain it'll be fine considering he hasn't gone after your other fish.
 

OldManOfTheSea

AC Members
Mar 21, 2007
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Hillsborough NC
Hi there young lady, I can call you it due to the fact im a daughter who is 44 of age. In your picture gallery your largest tank is a 150 gals, if this tess moray is to live in this tank through its growing to its adult size, you will find that this tank is not idealist. On average of all those before you owning a tess moray, the largest tank a number of those had a 180 gal tanks and very few who had a 240 gal tank.

I wish to bring to bring to your attention the facts in what your to face, or will be facing. Your eel from one photo shows its a very young juvenile species, in which case it shouldn't be to difficult for you to locate it a new home, one who would offer your tess the home it would need when it grows to adult size, a far and greater size aquarium system.
Your eel is an explorer day or night and in time, your a more difficult problem in to better securing your tank to keep the eel safe from carpet surfing. I not see one who a Tess moray before you who still owns this eel today.

The message above to warn you in what your doing, now I will answer your thread to your line of questioning and answers already giving.
I kept a great many species of eels through the years and found that damsels when are tank mates with a larger growing eel species will survive far better off then if your a goldentail moray or so on. I believe that a larger eel species even when a young juvenile knows that for the most part your damsels will do nothing much to cure its appetite. So it will make little effort to none in catching them. As is, a larger eel species sometimes to often would get hurt against the LR in your tank. You must have noticed that your damsels stay clear of the danger that lurks near by and often will not venture to far from their safe zone, meaning lair.

Silversides also is by no means a nutrition diet for any eel which body carries mostly water. Sand eels, even thou I consider them to not be eels, and they do have scales you know, and true eels do not. And you can add to the tess moray diet fresh strips of fish and octopus.

As far a cleaner wrasse, it will not last. You need to understand that your eel isn't facing the dangers of parasites out in the wild where eels and sharks a like go to their cleaning stations. This is however one of the better reasons in why its best top have a QT.

Also, after my first few years in keeping eels, after that I not once had a wrasse cleaner and never had and eel taking ill for whatever reason. feed the best in a variety nutritional diet and maintain low nitrate levels, better if at untraceable levels, and always maintain a study pH level at all times, no sudden drops.

So the cleaning wrasse thought, forget it please for if you do,. the wrasse will not last as long as the damsels are.

Now im a question for you young lady, what size tank are you going to keep this eel in for its life time? What type of skimmer you have on this tank? And what are your plans for feeding him when his a larger specimen? the eel will not be cheap to feed when a larger size. You be able when its 3' or more to buy it the larger frozen octopus and in time buy it 12" or more whole fish and gut them before feeding, if the fresh fish market not already done so.

I also assume that you already know that your not be able to have any main tank mates with this eel? This eel when becomes larger is with the ability to bite in half any prey it goes after and its body will be that of a football in thickness, and is a eel species for only experts.

Buddy
 

SubRosa

AC Members
Jul 3, 2009
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Cleaner wrasses eat more than just parasites. I watched group of 3 live in a very nasty bite wound inflicted on a 14" Doctorfish by a Blacktip Shark. The wound was a perfect outline of the shark's upper jaw, and there was a flap of tissue hanging off the side of the fish at a 30 degree angle. The wrasses debrided the wound constantly. In about two weeks all that was left was a bunch of dimpled scars marking each tooth. They will happily do dental work on your eel, but a Banded Coral Shrimp will do the same and is easier to maintain long term.
 

powerkit

Spiral OUT
Oct 23, 2008
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Thank you for the responses!
Buddy, thankyou for all the advice. Yes, I am fully aware of the pet I have chosen. He was actually a 'surrender' at the store where I work. I have done some research as to how to properly care for him. I do appreciate your knowledge, however, and will not be aquiring a cleaner wrasse for these purposes.
 

OldManOfTheSea

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Mar 21, 2007
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I hope you not mind and will forgive me for im somewhat at a lost to what research you done on this eel. Also, most of what you find is that the tess moray needs a very large tank, nothing smaller then a 500 gal tank, and larger would be better. Also, your rock work would need to be drilled and bolted together in making the tess a large lair for when the eel grows larger, it will knock around the LR your in the tank like ping pong balls so to speak.

As for most of what anyone will find on eel researching is mostly basic information. Also your eel when adul,t size will be of such power, something you not want just because you think you understand what you have there, as for so many others before, they too thought they understood the tess better just because they owned it for a little while.
I owned this eel myself about 55 years ago and back then there were no data much to find unlike todays computer age and I kept him in a 300 gal tank. Later I realized some 5-6 years later that the tank was too small a system to keep this eel and sold him to a large city aquarium zoo in the NY, state area. When upon having the tess in transit to his new home, they measured him at 6' 4", it was mostly due to his healthy diet and high water quality.

If you researched around as you said you did, you also would know that the tess is a swimmer, it moves around a lot.

You failed to answer my few questions to you> they were again:
What size tank are you going to keep this eel in for its life time? What type of skimmer you have on this tank? And what are your plans for feeding him when his a larger specimen?

Please don't make the error so many others I done, thinking your all the answers all on your own, for there is a huge difference from a little research on the species, then having and done it as well as maintained a large number of other moray species.

I mean, look around, what you see as their suggestion to a tess moray eels tank size be? They say 180 gal tank, right? First thing you need to know is that those suggestions are from others who most likely not ever maintained this animal and they assume i think just because for most in a home aquarium, the tess will only grow an average 5'. So yes, the eel can fit in a 180, but it has no place where it can swim around, this would place your tess eel in a greater health risk early on.

You can either take me at my word, or go a head on your own assumption that your all the answers from your research on the species. Just please then take my word as a warning to what is to come. best of Luck ;)

Buddy
 

FinFanatic

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Feb 26, 2010
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I know this thread is a little old and you've probably already made your decision, but I would stay away from the cleaner wrasse, for no other reason that they are starting to become rare in the wild, which is where they are really needed.
I believe they are only indiginous to Hawaii and the harvest of these cleaners are already being felt on the reefs there.
While they look cool and provide a service, I think it's best to leave them in the wild.
 

Ace25

www.centralcoastreefclub. com
Oct 3, 2005
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There are many types of cleaner wrasses. While the majority of them I would agree with your thoughts, better left in the ocean, there is one that I think is suitable for some aquariums. Labroides dimidiatus. If you can show me any scientific studies showing the decline of this species in the wild then my opinion may change, but if your just going on hearsay of what other reefers have said, then I have to disagree.

When talking about a cleaner wrasse, the Common Cleaner Wrasse or Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse is the fish that is generally being referred to. Though there are actually five species of Labroides, the Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse is the best known. It has the widest natural distribution in the tropical Indo-Pacific of these cleaners, it has been the focus of most research studies, and it is the species most commonly seen in fish stores.

The Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasses will form a symbiotic relationship with the other reef fish by cleaning them of unwanted parasites. Cleaner Wrasses are peaceful attractive fish with a most intriguing "dance" that they perform to solicit clients (other fish) and to calm them, allowing the cleaners to remove parasites and other debris from their clients bodies, fins, and mouths. They often set up a "cleaning station", an area where the other fish can visit just for this beneficial service. Often times the fish can be seen inside the mouth of much larger fish cleaning away!

Habitat: Natural geographic location: The Common Cleaner Wrasse or Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse is found in the Indo-Pacific from the Red Sea to the Line, the Marquesas, and Ducie Islands, Japan, and Lord Hoe and Rapa Islands. They are found at depths of 1 to 30 meters (3.28 to - 98 feet). It inhabits all reef areas of inner lagoons, reef terraces, and outer reefs.
 
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