Back Putzerlippfische German Cleaner fish English Peces limpiadores Spanish ماهی نظافتچی Persian Poisson nettoyeur French דגי נקאי HE 掃除魚 Japanese Poetsvissen Dutch Peixe-limpador Portuguese Рыбы-чистильщики Russian
Cleaner fish are fish that provide a service to other fish species by removing dead skin and ectoparasites.[1] This is an example of mutualism, an ecological interaction that benefits both parties.
A wide variety of fishes show cleaning behaviors. They include wrasse, cichlids, catfish, and gobies, as well as by a number of different species of cleaner shrimp.
There is also at least one predatory mimic, the sabre-toothed blenny. It mimics cleaner fish but in fact bites off pieces of fin.
- ↑ Curry O. 2005. Morality as natural history[permanent dead link]. University of London Ph.D. dissertation. Accessed 2009-06-08.