Wednesday 20 February 2008

Nine years ago today I caught my oldest cleaner wrasse at Shelly Beach near Manly. This is now my second oldest fish. It has been in my 6' tank for its whole time in captivity, other than the 2 weeks it spent in quarantine after it was first caught.

This cleaner wrasse, , was only 30mm long when I caught it and has now grown to 80mm. I believe its growth has been somewhat stunted as I have another cleaner wrasse, in 180G which is nearly 7 years old but is 120mm in length. As both fish are in identical sized tanks, the tank size is unlikely to be the cause of the reduced growth. The 6' tank has had relatively high nitrate readings for at least the first 5 years and this may have stunted the wrasse's growth.

The wrasse has always been a good eater, taking just about any food that is offered.

The cleaner wrasse, L. dimidiatus in May 2006.