Trivia question for Nov-25-2011

Olivia chose these fish because she said they were very kind fish.  Lets see if you can figure out what she means.  These are colorful coral reef fish that feed on parasites and fungal infections that plague other fish.  These fish are vital to other reef fish who start to lose condition if the cleaning service is suspended.

These fish usually can be found around cleaning stations. The bigger fishes recognize them because they have a lateral stripe along the length of the body and their movement patterns. Upon recognizing them and successfully soliciting its attention client fish adopt a species specific pose to allow the these fish access to its body surface, gills and sometimes mouth.

So here are Olivia’s questions:  Tell us what this fish is called and tell us what happens to one of the females in a harem when the male dies off?  Also, tell us what these guys do at night to get a safe good nights sleep?

Good Luck 😉

Answer:

Congratulations goes out to Sabina Finch from Bassingbourn Royston, Cambridgeshire England for being the first with the correct answer. The fish we featured is the Blue-streak Cleaner Wrasses. The bluestreak cleaner wrasse is one of several species of cleaner wrasse 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 fish.

All cleaner wrasses start their lives as females. In a group of 6–8 cleaner wrasses there is only one male, the rest are females or juveniles. The strongest female changes its sex when the male dies, an occurrence known as sequential hermaphroditism.  Cleaner wrasses sleep in crevices between rocks or corals, covered in a slime layer that is secreted at dusk. In the morning these can be seen floating on the surface.  Here is more on these helpful fish: Blue-streak Cleaner Wrasses

Thanks for playing along 😉