Joey Jojo, USA
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A Mysterious New Cleaner Wrasse in the South Pacific
The Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus) is one of the most well-known and well-studied species of Indo-Pacific reef fish, famed for its habit of ingesting the parasites found on other fishes. Countless scientific studies have examined the particulars of this symbiotic feeding relationship and ultimately shown that this small fish is one of the most singularly important species for the overall health of coral reef ecosystems. But, despite this fish’s abundance and prominence in the wild, it appears that generations of researchers may have missed one crucial detail concerning it… there is more than one species of Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse!
Since the last significant review of the genus by John Randall in 1958, the fish we know as Labroides dimidiatus has been treated as a single widespread species found from the Red Sea to the Marquesas and absent only from the Hawaiiian Islands. It can be readily separated from the four other species in its genus based on the greater number of lateral line scales (>50 vs. Animalia (Kingdom) > Chordata (Phylum) > Vertebrata (Subphylum) > Gnathostomata (Superclass) > Pisces (Superclass) > Actinopterygii (Class) > Perciformes (Order) > Labridae (Family) > Labroides (Genus) > Labroides cf.dimidiatus (Species)
Jumping guard
A jumping guard prevents (nocturnal) fish from jumping out.
Wrasses, blennies, hawkfishs and gobies jump out of an unprotected tank in fright if their night rest is disturbed, unfortunately these jumpers are found dried up in the morning on carpets, glass edges or later behind the tank.
https://www.korallenriff.de/en/article/1925_5_Jump_Protection_Solutions_for_Fish_in_the_Aquarium__5_Net_Covers.html
A small night light also helps, as it provides the fish with a means of orientation in the dark!
The Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus) is one of the most well-known and well-studied species of Indo-Pacific reef fish, famed for its habit of ingesting the parasites found on other fishes. Countless scientific studies have examined the particulars of this symbiotic feeding relationship and ultimately shown that this small fish is one of the most singularly important species for the overall health of coral reef ecosystems. But, despite this fish’s abundance and prominence in the wild, it appears that generations of researchers may have missed one crucial detail concerning it… there is more than one species of Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse!
Since the last significant review of the genus by John Randall in 1958, the fish we know as Labroides dimidiatus has been treated as a single widespread species found from the Red Sea to the Marquesas and absent only from the Hawaiiian Islands. It can be readily separated from the four other species in its genus based on the greater number of lateral line scales (>50 vs. Animalia (Kingdom) > Chordata (Phylum) > Vertebrata (Subphylum) > Gnathostomata (Superclass) > Pisces (Superclass) > Actinopterygii (Class) > Perciformes (Order) > Labridae (Family) > Labroides (Genus) > Labroides cf.dimidiatus (Species)
Jumping guard
A jumping guard prevents (nocturnal) fish from jumping out.
Wrasses, blennies, hawkfishs and gobies jump out of an unprotected tank in fright if their night rest is disturbed, unfortunately these jumpers are found dried up in the morning on carpets, glass edges or later behind the tank.
https://www.korallenriff.de/en/article/1925_5_Jump_Protection_Solutions_for_Fish_in_the_Aquarium__5_Net_Covers.html
A small night light also helps, as it provides the fish with a means of orientation in the dark!
