LFS said cleaner shrimps take care of ick?

pufferpoison · 05/16/2006, 11:50 AM

OK well my infamous LFS said that cleaner shrimp will take care of saltwater ick. Is this true or just another rambling from an idiot?

Chromed1 · 05/16/2006, 12:03 PM

I am in no way an expert but, I would highly doubt that advice.

Travis L. Stevens · 05/16/2006, 12:07 PM

They occassionally to help pick at the cysts, but not always. Same thing with Cleaner Wrasses and Neon Gobies. But they can't take care of Marine Ich in the transitional phase or when it is in the sandbed and rockwork.

AquaReeferMan · 05/16/2006, 12:27 PM

They really have nothing to do with killing off the parasite. I will agree with Travis in that they usually pick at the cycts but rarely eat/destroy them. Every now and again I see a spot pop up and I always see the shrimp climbing around the fish. They help remove it from the fish but not the system.

t-dizzle · 05/17/2006, 12:10 AM

Also, some fish are more amenable to being cleaned than others. Your mileage will definitely vary.

T./

Blown 346 · 05/17/2006, 12:16 AM

I wouldnt use shrimp as a ich treatment, sounds like rambling to me to get you to spend your money.

budhorse775 · 05/17/2006, 05:56 AM

I do think they help reduce the amount

boxfishpooalot · 05/17/2006, 06:18 AM

I think its more of a phsycological thing to fish getting "cleaned". Makes the fish feel better, so they get better.

tibbs2 · 05/17/2006, 08:57 AM

I've had much better luck with my neon goby than my cleaner shrimp. My fish don't let the shrimp touch them but the fish will swim over to the goby to let him do his thing.

MiddletonMark · 05/17/2006, 09:20 AM

It will never cure/remove Ich from the tank - meaning you will always have slightly sick fish.

QT, use treatment if necessary ... run an Ich-free tank, not one where you constantly battle it.

All Delight · 05/17/2006, 06:46 PM

My flame got ich and my cleaner shrimp cleaned him what seemed like every 10 mins. After a few days my flame didn't have ich and has never gotten ich since.

sarduci · 05/17/2006, 07:45 PM

Well, not to sound negative, but is there any scientific proof that they help? I'm not saying that they don't/can't help, just that, like MiddletonMark said, take care of the issue, not the symptoms. Run a ich free tank is better than adding creatures to keep it under a full scale break out.

Scuba_Dave · 05/17/2006, 08:19 PM

I've had 2 cleaner shrimp in my tank at all times
My Hippo gets ick every now & then - I never see any on my Sailfin
I see the sailfin by the cleaners on a fairly reg basis
I've never seen the Hippo being cleaned

Never lasts long, it's been months since I noticed any

Amphiprion · 05/17/2006, 08:20 PM

I agree with MiddletonMark. While cleaner shrimps may help alleviate some of the symptoms, they cannot/will not effect a cure. They, coupled with good quarantine procedures, good water quality, diet, etc. make up a good prophylactic regime as well.

IPowderBlueTang · 05/17/2006, 08:29 PM

My cleaner shrimp clean up my Keyhole Angel and Powderbrown Tang, when they had an outbreak of ick. But couldn't help the Powderbrown Tang when it got black ick. Certain fish won't let the claener shrimp clean them for ex: Royal Gramma, Clowns,Yellow clown goby and 6 line wrasse. These are the ones I notice that swim away from the cleaner shrimp when it tries to clean them

Mikehcky43 · 05/17/2006, 09:01 PM

If you have ick try using some garlic added to your food helps build immune system and helps those no eaters to eat

akbuuur · 05/17/2006, 09:18 PM

actaully ive seena savea clown being cleaned by a shrimp

Sk8r · 05/17/2006, 09:48 PM

I've used both cleaner shrimp and garlic and gotten rid of mild cases. No further breakouts after a month and a half.

boxfishpooalot · 05/18/2006, 03:58 AM

most of the time ich appears when somthing new from the lfs is added, and it only gets worse depending on how much food I feed and how much the salinity fluctuates.

mikersx02 · 05/18/2006, 06:53 AM

I dont think the LFS was pulling your chain- they DO do what they say it does. Its not a cure-all for ich. But it definately helps reduce the severity and increases the health of the fish. My fish line up to get cleaned every morning and night when my blue lights come on- I dont think I would have a tank without one of the cleaner shrimps. They are fun to watch themselves, and also when they clean all the fish.

Nothing like seeing your yellow tang swimming around with a cleaner shrimp hanging from the fish.

05/16/2006, 11:50 AM	#1
pufferpoison Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: S.E. Kansas Posts: 684	LFS said cleaner shrimps take care of ick? OK well my infamous LFS said that cleaner shrimp will take care of saltwater ick. Is this true or just another rambling from an idiot?

05/16/2006, 12:07 PM	#3
Travis L. Stevens Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Perry, OK Posts: 13,946	They occassionally to help pick at the cysts, but not always. Same thing with Cleaner Wrasses and Neon Gobies. But they can't take care of Marine Ich in the transitional phase or when it is in the sandbed and rockwork. __________________ Travis Stevens Current Tank Info: Restarting 28g Bowfront

05/16/2006, 12:27 PM	#4
AquaReeferMan Got Reef? Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Under the Sea, Pa Posts: 4,593	They really have nothing to do with killing off the parasite. I will agree with Travis in that they usually pick at the cycts but rarely eat/destroy them. Every now and again I see a spot pop up and I always see the shrimp climbing around the fish. They help remove it from the fish but not the system. __________________ Couple SPS/Zoanthid tanks and a couple of FW planted tanks. Current Tank Info: 5 pieces of glass with some silicone and plastic frames holding them together

05/17/2006, 12:10 AM	#5
t-dizzle Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 158	Also, some fish are more amenable to being cleaned than others. Your mileage will definitely vary. T./ __________________ "Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known." - Carl Sagan Visit my gallery to see my tank evolve from bare glass into a beautiful reef! Current Tank Info: 26 bowfront w/ 40 lbs. Fiji LR, 40 lbs. sand, Remora, 2 MJ1200 PHs, 65w dual daylight/65w dual actinic/moonlight, various snails, 2 ocellaris clowns, 1 diamond goby, 1 skunk cleaner shrimp, and a bunch of softies, mushrooms and zoos slowly moving in!

05/17/2006, 06:18 AM	#8
boxfishpooalot Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: canada, Grande Praire, Ab Posts: 5,824	I think its more of a phsycological thing to fish getting "cleaned". Makes the fish feel better, so they get better. __________________ Its a good idea to have a refrence sample for alk test kits. 1.1350 grams of baking soda in 1gallon of distilled water=10dkh. Check your alkalinity test kit! Algae is Mother Natures phosphate remover Current Tank Info: 220 galon mixed reef.

05/16/2006, 12:03 PM	#2
Chromed1 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Oswego, IL Posts: 130	I am in no way an expert but, I would highly doubt that advice.

05/17/2006, 12:16 AM	#6
Blown 346 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Rockford, Illinois Posts: 6,596	I wouldnt use shrimp as a ich treatment, sounds like rambling to me to get you to spend your money.

05/17/2006, 05:56 AM	#7
budhorse775 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Land O Lakes,Florida Posts: 243	I do think they help reduce the amount

05/17/2006, 08:57 AM	#9
tibbs2 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: IA Posts: 1,422	I've had much better luck with my neon goby than my cleaner shrimp. My fish don't let the shrimp touch them but the fish will swim over to the goby to let him do his thing.

05/17/2006, 09:20 AM	#10
MiddletonMark Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Madison, WI Posts: 14,441	It will never cure/remove Ich from the tank - meaning you will always have slightly sick fish. QT, use treatment if necessary ... run an Ich-free tank, not one where you constantly battle it. __________________ read a lot, think for yourself Current Tank Info: 58g stony reef [250w10k, 250w 20k MH, 2x vho act, Octopus150, 6060 + 6000] ; 60g mixed tub

05/17/2006, 06:46 PM	#11
All Delight Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Long Beach, CA Posts: 4,662	My flame got ich and my cleaner shrimp cleaned him what seemed like every 10 mins. After a few days my flame didn't have ich and has never gotten ich since. __________________ Life's simple, you make choices and you don't look back. Current Tank Info: too small

05/17/2006, 07:45 PM	#12
sarduci Premium Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Wausau, Wisconsin Posts: 1,278	Well, not to sound negative, but is there any scientific proof that they help? I'm not saying that they don't/can't help, just that, like MiddletonMark said, take care of the issue, not the symptoms. Run a ich free tank is better than adding creatures to keep it under a full scale break out.

05/17/2006, 08:19 PM	#13
Scuba_Dave EMERTXE YID Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Asylum, South of Boston, MA Posts: 10,362	I've had 2 cleaner shrimp in my tank at all times My Hippo gets ick every now & then - I never see any on my Sailfin I see the sailfin by the cleaners on a fairly reg basis I've never seen the Hippo being cleaned Never lasts long, it's been months since I noticed any

05/17/2006, 08:20 PM	#14
Amphiprion Premium Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Mobile, AL Posts: 6,611	I agree with MiddletonMark. While cleaner shrimps may help alleviate some of the symptoms, they cannot/will not effect a cure. They, coupled with good quarantine procedures, good water quality, diet, etc. make up a good prophylactic regime as well. __________________ You've done it now, haven't you? Current Tank Info: 40g breeder patch reef w/ seagrass; 2-250w XM 10K; Vortech MP40wES & MP10wES; BM Curve 7 skimmer; carbon & occasional GFO

05/17/2006, 08:29 PM	#15
IPowderBlueTang Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Kalamazoo, Canada Posts: 769	My cleaner shrimp clean up my Keyhole Angel and Powderbrown Tang, when they had an outbreak of ick. But couldn't help the Powderbrown Tang when it got black ick. Certain fish won't let the claener shrimp clean them for ex: Royal Gramma, Clowns,Yellow clown goby and 6 line wrasse. These are the ones I notice that swim away from the cleaner shrimp when it tries to clean them

05/17/2006, 09:01 PM	#16
Mikehcky43 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Boston Posts: 36	ick If you have ick try using some garlic added to your food helps build immune system and helps those no eaters to eat

05/17/2006, 09:18 PM	#17
akbuuur Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Columbia, Maryland Posts: 298	actaully ive seena savea clown being cleaned by a shrimp

05/17/2006, 09:48 PM	#18
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	I've used both cleaner shrimp and garlic and gotten rid of mild cases. No further breakouts after a month and a half. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

05/18/2006, 03:58 AM	#19
boxfishpooalot Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: canada, Grande Praire, Ab Posts: 5,824	most of the time ich appears when somthing new from the lfs is added, and it only gets worse depending on how much food I feed and how much the salinity fluctuates. __________________ Its a good idea to have a refrence sample for alk test kits. 1.1350 grams of baking soda in 1gallon of distilled water=10dkh. Check your alkalinity test kit! Algae is Mother Natures phosphate remover Current Tank Info: 220 galon mixed reef.

05/18/2006, 06:53 AM	#20
mikersx02 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Virginia Posts: 357	I dont think the LFS was pulling your chain- they DO do what they say it does. Its not a cure-all for ich. But it definately helps reduce the severity and increases the health of the fish. My fish line up to get cleaned every morning and night when my blue lights come on- I dont think I would have a tank without one of the cleaner shrimps. They are fun to watch themselves, and also when they clean all the fish. Nothing like seeing your yellow tang swimming around with a cleaner shrimp hanging from the fish.