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The best known cleaning symbioses are among marine fishes, where several species of small fish, notably of wrasse, are specialised in colour, pattern and behaviour as cleaners, providing a cleaning and ectoparasite removal service to larger, often predatory fish.
"Client" fish congregate at wrasse "cleaning stations" and wait for the cleaner fish to remove gnathiid parasites, the cleaners even swimming into their open mouths and gill cavities to do so. A single wrasse works for around four hours a day and in that time can inspect more than 2,000 clients.
The false cleanerfish primarily lives in coral reef margins among the cleaning stations of the bluestreak cleaner wrasse ( Labroides dimidiatus ), [2] and are usually seen near locations of one or more L. dimidiatus. [6] With its territory primarily overlapping with its model fish, the false cleanerfish mimics both the appearance and ...
The shrimp also eat the mucus and parasites around the wounds of injured fish, which reduces infections and helps healing. The action of cleansing further aids the health of client fish by reducing their stress levels. In many coral reefs, cleaner shrimp congregate at cleaning stations.