Striped Cleaner Wrasse
Labroides dimidiatus
Summary 3
The bluestreak cleaner wrasse, Labroides dimidiatus, is one of several species of cleaner wrasses found on coral reefs in the Indian Ocean and much of the Pacific Ocean, as well as many seas, including the Red Sea and those around Southeast Asia. Like other cleaner wrasses, it eats parasites and dead tissue off larger fishes' skin in a mutualist relationship that provides food and protection for the wrasse, and considerable health benefits for the other fishes.
Biology 4
Inhabits coral rich areas of inner lagoons and subtidal reef flats to seaward reefs (Ref. 1602). Feeds on crustacean ectoparasites and mucus of other fishes (Ref. 9823, 48636). Monogamous (Ref. 52884). A protogynous hermaphrodite (Ref. 55367). Stays in stations where other fish come to be cleaned. Cleaning intensity is not related to client size or commonness (Ref. 28019). Cleaning stations are occupied by a pair of adults, a group of juveniles or a group of females accompanied by a dominant male where a female becomes a functional male if the dominant male disappears (Ref. 5503). Some adults solitary and territorial. An unfamiliar visitor is usually greeted by dance-like movements with the tail maneuvering the back part of the body up and down. Juveniles behave this way when divers approach closely (Ref. 48636). Minimum depth range of 1 meter in Ref. 27115.
Sources and Credits
- (c) John E. Randall, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://d1iraxgbwuhpbw.cloudfront.net/images/species/ladim_u0.jpg
- (c) Elias Levy, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://www.flickr.com/photos/67374204@N00/6997583331
- (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labroides_dimidiatus
- (c) FishBase, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/21021068
