Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse | Caring for Labroides dimidiatus

How cool is a fish that cleans other fish? Although the bluestreak cleaner wrasse is an iconic species that can be found for sale at most aquarium stores, it’s not actually suitable for your average home aquarium.

Should you get a blue streak wrasse? And if so, what does it need to thrive? Let’s find out below.

Bluestreak cleaner wrasse description & natural habitat

Description

The bluestreak cleaner wrasse’s common name gives a lot away: this species does indeed sport the brightest of blues. A black horizontal band runs across the side from the nose to the tail, where it widens, although the exact width of this band varies based on the subspecies.

One of the smaller wrasses, bluestreaks can reach a maximum size of around 5.5”, though most stay smaller.

This wrasse is not sexually dimorphic, meaning there are no visual differences between males and females. To make things even more confusing, they can change sexes: the species lives in harems, with the largest female turning male if the dominant male dies.

If multiple males end up in one harem, one of them will turn back to being female.

Did you know? Researches have found the bluestreak’s blue streak may be more important than you’d expect. Larger, predatory fish actually use this horizontal line to identify cleaner fish and will refrain from eating them. Their small size is also an indication of their cleaner status.

Habitat

Labroides dimidiatus has a wide natural range and can be found pretty much across the Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea all the way to the Western Pacific islands.

In its natural habitat, this fish inhabits coral reefs down to 130ft. Noting that it’s locally common, the IUCN Red List has marked it as a species of Least Concern for now.

Bluestreak cleaner wrasse aquarium

The bluestreak cleaner wrasse is generally not considered to be a species suitable for beginning aquarists, although this has more to do with their dietary requirements than the aquarium itself.

Tank size is their only real requirement: although they don’t grow too large, it’s a good idea to provide a sizeable tank. This is an active fish that likes plenty of swimming room and lots of tankmates, which is just not possible in a small aquarium. We’d recommend 110 gallons as a minimum, but this is definitely a case of “the bigger, the better”.

Normal reef water parameters work fine for the hardy bluestreak cleaner wrasse. Just provide some hiding places and a soft substrate for it to burrow in, and your wrasse should be content.

Bluestreak cleaner wrasse compatibility

This is not an aggressive or territorial species, nor does it have much to fear from other fish due to its talent for cleaning. Even most larger, predatory species will mostly leave it alone. The only issue is other wrasses, including if you combine two male bluestreak cleaner wrasses. They tend to get territorial with species that look too much like themselves.

If you’d like to keep multiple bluestreak cleaner wrasses, that’s an option, although keep in mind that it already tends to be difficult enough to keep one of them well-fed.

If you do decide to go for it, a pair or harem is the best option. Don’t worry if you can’t find a male: as we’ve explained, similar to clownfish, the dominant female will turn into a male if one is lacking.

Bluestreak cleaner wrasses are considered reef-safe and will leave your corals alone.

Bluestreak cleaner wrasse diet

Okay, so what are these difficulties with feeding that we’ve been alluding to? Well, this species isn’t called a “cleaner wrasse” for nothing.

Both in the wild and in the aquarium, a bluestreak cleaner wrasse will set up a cleaning station, which will be visited by an array of other fish species.

Wild diet

As we’ve mentioned, its horizontal body stripe and small size advertise the bluestreak cleaner wrasse’s cleaning abilities. And if that wasn’t enough, they also have another trick up their sleeve: a funky advertising dance.

These wrasses set up “cleaning stations”, usually run by a harem of females with a dominant male in charge (according to studies on sex differences in bluestreak cleaner wrasses, the male’s territory might include multiple such cleaning stations). It can also be run by a mated pair.

At the station, the clients receive a full cleaning, being relieved of anything from parasites to dead scales. In some cases, the wrasses even cheekily try pecking at the client’s protective mucus layer rather than cleaning it!

The wrasses are not afraid to get up close and personal while doing their cleaning work, often swimming straight into the mouths of predatory species like moray eels to pick off any tasty bits they can find.

Did you know? There is a species of blenny, Aspidontus taeniatus, known as the “false cleaner”. It imitates bluestreak cleaner wrasses, but once a client approaches, it takes a quick bite out of them rather than ridding them of parasites!

In the aquarium

All of the above is pretty cool if you ask us, but it does tend to cause issues in the aquarium. The bluestreak cleaner wrasse’s diet is so specific that it’s extremely hard and sometimes even impossible to get them to eat any “normal” aquarium fish foods.

This causes them to have to rely on the bits they can pick off their tankmates, but since that’s often just not enough, many of these wrasses sadly tend to starve to death within a few weeks or months. The exceptions are bluestreaks kept in very large (commercial) tanks with many other fish.

So what can you do? Well, first of all, consider whether this is the right fish for your system. Secondly, although buying a bluestreak cleaner wrasse that accepts commercial fish foods at the aquarium store isn’t a guarantee that it will also accept them at home, it’s a start.

You can try offering small quantities of meaty foods like vitamin-enriched (thawed) frozen or live foods, as well as chopped small shrimp and squid.

Tip: If this description has led you to decide against purchasing a bluestreak cleaner wrasse, why try a cleaner shrimp instead? You can also consider one of the many other wrasse species that do better in captivity.

Breeding the bluestreak cleaner wrasse

If you have multiple bluestreak cleaner wrasses and have managed to get them to eat, healthy specimens are likely to spawn (after all, they’ll always manage to pair up, as at least one will turn into a male or female if one of the two is lacking!).

It’s all rather straightforward: the male performs a little dance, the female lays her eggs, and then the male fertilizes them. If there are multiple females present, he’ll also mate with the others.

The eggs float and are carried away by the current. They hatch after around 24 hours, with the exact time depending on the water temperature.

Now, if you’d like to raise the fry, things become very complicated. This species has been raised successfully in commercial hatcheries, but it’s only quite recently that aquaculturists managed to do it! Unfortunately, we haven’t heard of any hobbyists having success with it so far.

Conclusion

Some aquarium fish, including the bluestreak cleaner wrasse, are not suitable for the beginning aquarist. That’s where we come in!

FantaSEA Aquariums is here to design, build and maintain your aquarium, offering advice and making sure your fish and corals do well in the long run. You can contact us here with your ideas.