#cleaning stations

[wakatobidiveresort]

Most cleaning stations can be found in the shallower areas of the reef, which allows divers to spend more time observing the activity. Finding one for the first time is not hard, but can require a watchful eye and little patience to see and recognize the activity. Wakatobi’s dive guides are experts at locating cleaning stations and will often help guests learn how to quickly spot the services being performed. (Photograph: Walt Stearns)

[marine-conservation]

The Underwater Car Wash

I remember the first time I got to witness a cleaning station on a dive. I was face to face with a pretty big potato grouper, and it was not moving one bit. It was leisurely floating there, slowly moving its fins to stay in position. All of the sudden, it opened its mouth and I could see very tiny fishes working in and out of the grouper’s gills. What in the world was happening? Are those fishes crazy?

(A grouper getting its gills cleaned by cleaner shrimps. Source)

Now years later, witnessing gigantic marine animals getting cleaned is one of my favorites. 

Cleaning stations are a great example of cleaning symbiosis. When a bigger animal (such as manta rays, sharks, sea turtles, groupers, or eels) approaches a cleaning station, it will usually slow down its movement and open its mouth wide while parking very still in order to signal to the smaller organisms that it needs cleaning. The cleaning itself is usually performed by cleaner shrimps, small gobies, wrasses and occasionally tangs.

(Numerous yellow tangs are removing algae off the shell of this green sea turtle. Source)

The shrimps or fishes will then start working to remove and eat the parasites from the skin, fearlessly swimming into the mouth or gills of the animal being cleaned. The ‘cleaners’ obviously benefit from a free nutritious meal without having to do much efforts or risk being eaten in return.

(Here is a cleaner wrasse hard at work on its customer’s gills. Source)

The ‘customers’ benefit from the cleaning, as parasitic infestations can kill fish or sometimes impair their ability to swim, mate, or feed. Sometimes, it might simply be a little too itchy for their liking, and a good, quick cleaning will solve everything!

(A cleaner shrimp working on a moray eel. Source)

Cleaning stations are usually located around coral reefs, and the cleaning sessions might last for hours. Michael Kingsford, a James Cook University professor in the School of Marine and Tropical Biology, observed in a study that “the manta rays would cease all movement of their fins while in the cleaning stations. Their gills were often flared and mouths open, but never wide enough to suggest feeding. Several cleaner fish would then migrate upwards towards the animal and begin cleaning." The rays did stay at the stations at length.

Kingsford reported that sharks showed a different behavior, and some even took an almost vertical pose to indicate they were ready for their turns to be cleaned. Their cleaning was much faster, as “each interaction would last anywhere between 5 and 10 seconds before the client would move away from the station and the cleaners would immediately retreat to the reef."

(Here is a lemon shark getting a little tooth cleaning by a wrasse in the Bahamas. Source)

Divers may also get cleaned if they stay very still. I have gotten ‘manicures’ by cleaner shrimps in the past. It hurts a little bit while they were plucking away at my dead skin, but it is quite fascinating to observe and pretty awesome to witness!

“Jacques I said no cleaning!”