cleaner shrimp.... do they really clean?

of so i had gotten a suggestion to add a cleaner shrimp as a couple of my fish have come down with ich. do they actually help with ich? also what about cleaner wrasses?

While this is generally a function of both cleaner shrimp and wrasses in the wild, the use of either as a substantial control measure for ich in an aquarium settling is generally not so effective. We've been most successful with a two prong approach of UV sterilization along with food supplemented with garlic. This effectively interupts the life cycle of the parasite, and for fish that are still eating, generally leads to a full recovery. Now adding a cleaner shrimp in addition will likely not harm the situation, but it shouldn't really be used as the first attack to the problem. IMO.

Steve

one of the two fish eats NLS pellets with the garlic but the other will not eat :(

Cleaner shrimp are better at cleaning (aka stealing) the food you feed your coral than cleaning parasites from fish. IME.

Tom

yes, mine will molest my tang every so often, but it is really great at eating fish poop. Some times he will follow a pooping fish just to clean up after it. . . yum

They generally clean until they learn fish food is an easier meal and will be routinely offered.

They wont cure fish but cleaner shrimp and even more cleaner wrasses will help make fish more comfortable and help keep them chowing food. At least that has been my experience, fish can live through ich without copper or hypo but if they stop eating they are toast. Again just my experience and Im not claiming that shrimp or wrasses can cure ich.

I would avoid cleaner wrasses, these guys as a general rule should not be collected for our hobby. Many other cleaning organisms to utilize before these guys.

thanks guys, ya i think i may as well get a cleaner. the wrasse no longer has spots on it but it still wont eat since i bought it :(

Cleaner shrimp are pretty cool regardless. My Blue tang has had ich twice in the 6 years I had her. I just soaked the pellets in garlic for both times and it worked. She got it at first, and then later on after my incident when I lost all but two of my fish when I added a scopus tang.

I used to put my hands in the tank and watch as the cleaner shrimp pick at my fingers.