Details
Labroides dimidiatus
The bluestreak cleaner wrasse is a small reef wrasse that removes parasites and dead tissue from other fishes. Its cleaning stations let it approach even large predators at close range.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
It lives on bright reefs and reef slopes across the Pacific, the Indian Ocean. Cleaning stations are usually set beside coral heads or open rock where client fish can gather by day.
Length 8-14 cm; weight 5 g-20 g. A slim body carries a blue stripe and a dark lengthwise band that narrows toward the tail. The small mouth is suited to picking tiny animals from skin and gills.
Diurnal and social, it defends a cleaning station alone or in small groups. It signals to clients with a dancing motion before working near their mouths and gills.
A carnivore, it feeds on external parasites, tiny crustaceans, and bits of mucus or dead skin. Cleaning is not just service behavior but its main way of feeding.
Pairs or small groups release eggs into the water column during spawning. The eggs and larvae drift before young wrasses settle back onto reefs.
It is listed as Least Concern, though local populations can still be affected by habitat change, collection, or pollution.
