Bi-color Cleaner Wrasse

The bicolor cleaner wrasse, Labroides bicolor, has specialised feeding behaviour that makes it a demanding aquarium resident. On natural reefs it cleans other fish; in captivity, that behaviour alone does not provide a reliable long-term food supply.

An experienced keeper needs to establish a suitable diet and verify the individual's feeding response before purchase. Offer appropriate small marine meaty foods and watch its condition closely. Provide a mature aquarium with rock overhangs, retreats and enough room for fish to move away from a cleaning interaction.

A cleaner wrasse should not be bought as a treatment for an aquarium disease. It may bother unwilling fish or pick at their surface tissues, and compatibility depends on the community. Keep the aquarium covered because this active wrasse can jump.