Cleaner Shrimp can't clean...

[silly34]

I have 2 cleaners in a 125gallon your basic fish (2 Perc, 3 damsels, 1 hawkfish) I assumed these fish would take to the cleaner shrimp, I had a oriole angel (bi-color) he passed a week ago but never used the cleaners either. Is it only certain fish that use the cleaners?

Oh and would a UV sterilizer harm the cleaners food source/supply?

Thanks,

B.

 

[grav]

The only fish that respond to cleaners (quickly) are those that have seen similar cleaners either in the wild, or in another tank. Of course they can and will learn the trick by seeing other fish get cleaned.

My guess is that the damsels and percs are tank raised?

I don't think a UV light will make a diffrence.

 

[Kevin1000]

Sometimes you find the there is so much food in the tank the cleaners just don't want to clean anymore -

 

[clyde]

cleaner shrimp dont prevent fish deaths

 

[taikonaut]

it is off topics, but damsel are not tank raised, while most percs are.

 

[Meloco14]

Be careful with that hawk in there with the shrimp. Hawkfish naturally prey on shrimp, so if he is of any size I would be wary...

 

[Anonymous]

i've seen cleaners solicit fish, and get ignored

i've seen fish solicit cleaners, and get ignored

i've never seen a pattern that would indicate it makes a difference if a fish is wild caught or not-fish will learn from their tank cohabitants in a very short period of time to solicit a cleaner

it doesn't follow a 'law' that's readily observable-it may be part luck if both 'hook up', or there may be other cues missing that we can't measure, by simple observation (like chemical cues, etc)

using cleaners as 'ich' (cryptocaryon) 'insurance' is a line mostly propagated by your average(maybe well meaning, but not knowledgeable), lfs employee, or hobbyist that was told so by someone else that heard it from an lfs employee :wink:

a uv sterilizer just isn't a good investment for a single tank system, imo-especially in the area of disease/parasite control

it's main strengths are really best realized when used in a multiple tank system, to help slow down the rate of spread of a pathogen from tank to tank

my $0.02