Latin name | Labroides dimidiatus - (Valenciennes, 1839) |
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Local name | Cleaner Common Wrasse |
Family | Labridae - Labroides |
Origin | East Indian Ocean, West Indian Ocean, Australia, The Red Sea, Indonesia, East Pacific, Central/West Pacific |
Max length | 11 cm (4.3") |
Minimum volume | 500 l (132 gal) |
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Hardiness | Average |
Suitable for aquarium | Suitable with care |
Reef safe | Always reef safe |
Aggressiveness | Mostly peaceful but might be aggressive towards similar species of same gender |
Recommended |
Parasites Small crustaceans (Krill, mysis, artemia...) Zooplankton (Cyclops, pods...) |
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This species sometimes nibbles at clams including Tridacna species.
This species can be fastidious and in an aquarium it can be very difficult to get them to eat sufficiently.
There is a greater chance of success with this species if one can supply a living feed to allow it to adapt to the tank.
This fish requires feeding several times a day, especially when newly added.
When the fish can find its natural food in the aquarium it requires less frequent feeding.
They can live as a pair provided they are introduced simultaneously.
This species can change gender from female to male.
When a male is needed, a female changes sex and takes on the role.
This species can be bred in captivity, one can therefore consider asking your local fish store for a captive bred specimen.
This species is able to remove parasites from fish.
It does not have a great impact on a large outbreak of marine ich (Cryptocaryon), for example, but it contributes towards keeping fish parasite free.
Constant cleaning can stress the fish in the aquarium, so one should not add this fish which removes parasites, if the fish are already weakened through other causes.
Not all specimens actively clean fish.
The aquarium should house many fish, so the Wrasse can find enough parasites, although this can be supplemented with other food types.
Cleaner Wrasses, of the labroides genus, remove parasites from fish, but only particular types of parasites.
They do not remove marine ich (Labroides dimidiatus are the easiest to keep in an aquarium as they will often happily eat frozen food, especially if helped along by having live food to begin with.
These fish can be kept in pairs or alone, but two males will kill each other.
As it can be problematic to distinguish gender, one should buy these fish at a young age, if one wishes to have a pair.
They sleep in a mucous cocoon between the rocks.
Even though predatory fish will rarely eat Cleaner Wrasses in the wild, the same cannot be said for in captivity.
Wrasses are nearly always seen in reef aquaria, since many of the species are both attractive and useful in battling a range of unwanted invertebrates like i.e. flatworms, pyramide snails.
These fish live of everything from zooplankton to large crustaceans, sea urchins and the like.
The needs and behaviour of Wrasses vary greatly, so it is vital to familiarize oneself with the specific species before buying one.
Aquarium trade | Yes |
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Distribution | Indo-Pacific: Red Sea and East Africa (Ref. 4392) to the Line, Marquesas, and Ducie islands, north to southern Japan, south to Lord Howe and Rapa islands. |
English common names |
Wrasse Common cleanerfish Bluestreak cleanerfish Bridled beauty Bluestreak cleaner wrasse Cleaner wrasses |
Danish common names |
Almindelig pudsefisk |
French common names |
Poisson nettoyeur commun |
German common names |
Putzerfisch |
Bob Fenner. Cleaner Wrasses in the Genus Labroides - Wet Web Media - (English)
Scott W. Michael. 2009. Wrasses and Parrotfishes (Reef Fishes Series Book 5) - TFH Publications / Microcosm Ltd. - (English)
Minimum volume
"Minimum volume" indicates the size of the tank needed to house this species under optimal conditions.
This is based on a medium size animal, which you want to keep for several years.
It might be possible to keep smaller specimens for a limited period in a smaller tank. A larger tank might be needed for fully-grown specimens.
Hardiness
"Hardiness" indicates how resistant this species is to disease and how well i tolerates bad conditions in general.
Some species doesn't handle transportation very well, but that doesn't mean that the species isn't hardy under the right conditions.
Suitable for aquarium
In this case, a "normal" aquarium is a reef aquarium with mixed corals or a fish only aquarium with an approximately salinity of 1.026 (sg) and a temperature close to 26°C.
Species requiring more than a 4000-liter tank are considered not suitable for home aquarium.
Special aquariums may cover tanks with low salinity, sub-tropical temperature, deep sand bed, sea grass etc.
Reef safe
Always reef safe: No sources indicate that this species will harm corals or other invertebrates.
Often reef safe: Only a few aquarists has reported problems keeping this species with corals and other invertebrates.
Reef safe with caution: This species may be a threat to some types of invertebrates.
Reef safe with luck: Most specimens will harm corals and/or other invertebrates, but you might be lucky.
Not reef safe: This species is a threat to most corals and/or other invertebrates.