Book 6, Question 90
Why Do Cleaner Fish Pick at Bigger Fish?
Cleaner fish and cleaner shrimp eat pests and dead skin off bigger fish. The big fish gets cleaned, and the cleaner gets a meal. It is like a spa day on the reef, and both sides win!
From the book
Page from A Million Whys Book 6
More fun facts
- The bluestreak cleaner wrasse runs an underwater health spa, picking parasites off bigger fish.
- A fish that wants a cleaning holds very still near a cleaner shrimp. This is called posing.
- Cleaner shrimp wave their antennae to show they are ready to clean, and they get a meal of parasites.
- Shrimp that waved their antennae cleaned the visiting fish in 80 percent of cases.
- Reef fish use sea anemones as landmarks to find cleaner shrimp from far away.
- A sneaky fake cleaner fish copies the wrasse's look, then bites off the scales and skin of bigger fish.
Sources: National Geographic, National Geographic, National Geographic
Questions kids ask
Why don't big fish eat the cleaners?
The cleaners help them by removing parasites, and both use signals that show they are cooperating.