Cleaner Wrasse

Photo: Hickson Fergusson · © all rights reserved

Bluestreak cleaner wrasse operate fixed cleaning stations on prominent coral heads and are responsible for the remarkable turtle behavior that makes Turtle Point famous. They advertise their services with a distinctive side-to-side dance that signals safety to client fish and turtles. Removing parasites and dead tissue from larger animals they could never overpower, cleaner wrasse are a cornerstone mutualism of the reef — experimental removal of cleaner wrasse from reef patches causes client fish populations to rapidly decline.