Common Cleanerfish

Interesting Info

• The Common Cleanerfish, is one of the most recognisable reef fish in the Indo-Pacific, including the Great Barrier Reef, Coral Sea, northern Western Australia, and the islands of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
• Its body is slender and elongated, coloured bright blue with a distinctive black stripe running from the snout, through the eye, and along the length of the body to the tail.
• Males and females look very similar, though males can be slightly larger. Juveniles are darker with proportionally broader black stripes.
• This species is world-famous for its cleaning behaviour: it sets up “cleaning stations” where larger reef fish line up to have external parasites, dead skin, and mucus removed.
• Clients include reef sharks, groupers, parrotfish, surgeonfish, and even large moray eels, which allow the tiny wrasse to enter their gill chambers and mouths without harm.
• By removing parasites, the Common Cleanerfish plays a crucial ecological role in maintaining the health of reef fish populations.
• Although generally reliable cleaners, they have been observed occasionally cheating by biting client fish to feed on mucus instead of parasites, which can cause the client to flee.
• Cleanerfish form long-term territories where several individuals, often with a dominant male and multiple females, share cleaning duties.
• Like many wrasses, they are protogynous hermaphrodites. All individuals begin as females, and the largest female can change sex to become the dominant male if the male is lost.
• Spawning occurs in pairs or groups during late afternoon, with eggs released into the water column to drift as plankton until hatching.
• Their lifespan in the wild is estimated at around 4–6 years, though survival depends heavily on reef health and availability of clients.
• Its Latin name dimidiatus means “divided in half,” referring to the stark black stripe contrasting with the bright blue body.