Honsome Wrasse Care Guide | Role as a Cleaner Fish and Tank Introduction | ブリちょく
Marine Fish| ✍️ BreederDirect Editorial
Honsome Wrasse Care Guide | Role as a Cleaner Fish and Tank Introduction
This guide explains the care methods for Honsome Wrasse (Cleaner Wrasse), including its cleaning behavior in the aquarium, relationships with other fish, and precautions when introducing it.
Key Takeaways
This guide explains the care methods for Honsome Wrasse (Cleaner Wrasse), including its cleaning behavior in the aquarium, relationships with other fish, and precautions when introducing it.
Honsome Wrasse — The Ocean's Beautician
Honsome Wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus) is a saltwater fish known as a "cleaner fish," famous for its symbiotic relationship where it eats parasites and necrotic tissue from the body surface, gills, and mouth of other fish. In wild coral reefs, these fish gather at specific locations called "cleaning stations" nestled in rock crevices, where fish of all sizes from large to small wait their turn to be cleaned.
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Aquariums often feature "cleaning shows" as popular attractions, but there are several important points to understand before introducing them to home reef tanks.
Aquarium Setup and Basic Care
Tank Size: A minimum of 60 liters is recommended. Since they are territorial, avoid keeping multiple individuals of the same species.
Water Quality: They can be kept under standard saltwater fish conditions (specific gravity 1.025, pH 8.1–8.3, temperature 25–27°C). While not a particularly sensitive species, they are vulnerable to sudden water quality changes, so thorough drip acclimation is essential.
Feeding: The biggest challenge is feeding. Wild-caught individuals feed primarily on parasites, and many struggle to transition to artificial food. The basic approach is to start with frozen copepods and rotifer powder, gradually acclimating them to flakes and pellets. It is important to select captive-bred individuals from domestic breeders or fish confirmed to be eating artificial food at aquarium shops.
Tank Mates: They have a gentle temperament and can coexist without problems with most saltwater fish and corals. However, be careful not to confuse them with the False Cleaner Wrasse (a fake cleaner fish) which has a very similar coloration.
Observing Cleaning Behavior
Cleaning behavior can be observed even in home aquariums. They perform a "cleaning dance" with relatively mild-mannered fish like Clownfish and Gobies, and the sight of other fish opening their gills to accept the cleaning is quite captivating. However, parasites are less abundant in captive tanks, so it is essential to ensure adequate food supplementation for their health.
Effectiveness Against Ich (White Spot Disease) — Beware of Overconfidence
There is a common misconception that "adding a Honsome Wrasse will cure white spot disease," but relying on this is dangerous. While they do have some effect on reducing early-stage white spots, they cannot provide complete treatment. White spot disease (Cryptocaryon irritans) spends much of its life cycle hidden in substrate and rocks, so cleaner fish can only be effective when the parasite is on the fish's body surface where they can directly access it.
If white spots are observed, do not rely on the presence of a cleaner fish. Instead, move corals to a separate tank and treat the fish-only tank with copper-based medication or hyposalinity (low specific gravity) therapy.
Bred vs. Wild — Why You Should Choose Captive-Bred
Wild-caught individuals are difficult to train to eat artificial food, so we strongly recommend selecting captive-bred (CB) individuals raised on artificial food by breeders when possible. CB Honsome Wrasses are gradually becoming more available in Japan, significantly improving long-term survival rates.
When purchasing from breeders on Breeder Choku, it's a good idea to check their "transition status to artificial food" in advance. Purchasing from breeders with proven husbandry experience is the shortest path to successful long-term keeping.
