Mobile Bay Reef Keepers

I think a cleaner shrimp would only clean visible Ich. Not the cycling ich.

Cleaner shrimp, contrary to popular belief, don't eat ich at all. The only thing they consume is the encysted tissue of the fish that results from the burrowing activities of the parasite.

well i'm reading books out the yang here and they all say that skunk cleaner shrimp eat parasites on the body of in the gills and eyes's of the fish. I witness this first hand with my coral beauty and cleaner. And watched him pulling white chunks off of a yellow tang. So know i'm confused. Where are you citing ur info from so i can read it????

They do eat parasites, but that doesn't include protozoan parasites like ich, unfortunately. This usually consists of much larger crustacean parasites that they actually consume--and they are far, far more common in the ocean than ich actually is. Then, there is common sense on the matter. Ich, or Cryptocaryon irritans (more specifically), is a microscopic parasite. To suggest that a relatively large animal like a cleaner shrimp can selectively find and eat things at the microscopic level to a high degree isn't feasible. They may eat a few cysts incidentally, but it isn't providing enough for relief, let alone a cure. Gut analysis of cleaner shrimp reveals parasitic copepods and isopods, scales, mucus, and the like (as well as a small variety of other things they don't even get from fish). The same applies to cleaner wrasses. Neither of these eat ich to any selective extent. Remember, the white spots aren't ich at all--that is just epithelial tissue from the fish. If those white spots disappear from a cleaner shrimp, it isn't too wise to assume ich is gone--you could take a skin scraping and find that out under a microscope. In any case, here is an article that alludes to this: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/ ... /mini4.htm

Also, consult a marine invertebrate zoologist who is familiar with these shrimp--they will be quick to tell you that this is the case. Dr. Shimek at Marine Depot is a good place to start.

thats the kind of stuff i'm looking for, thanks