This wrasse, Labroides dimidiatus [Valenciennes, 1839], a cleaner wrasse, swims the reef crest operating his cleaning station.
Fish come to the station, & offer to be cleaned. The wrasse inspects the fish for any pests or parasites , then removes them as part of his lunch.
Most do not fare well in a captive situation, so it is better to leave them in the wild, so as to not deplete the natural population.
They serve a very important function on the wild reef, by keeping the parasites off of other fish.
This little wrasse, is not harmed by other fish no matter the size.
A strange thing occurs at night with this wrasse, as well as some other wrasses. It creates a sheath of mucus around itself, & sleeps in it, a little transparent sleeping bag.
You may want to go to "Planet Earth" to see what`s "Under Noah`s Ark".
10 comments:
My, my, what an interesting little creature.
The salt water tank world seems to get more bizarre by each succeeding day.
I'm beginning to see how one could be continuously fascinated with maintaining such an endeavor.
The slide show will have to wait for high speed at the motel tomorrow Friday night. Dang!
Wow. How, when do you get a photo of a creature like this?
This is amazing, the lighting is incredible.
(waves at ndd and catharine)
fantastic - so vibrant, and I enjoy the nuggets of info regarding each day's star of the show
I second what NDD said -- every pic is a fascinating view ... and the colours! Pink and electric green ... :)
That photo of the wrasse just glows.
Hi, NDD,
Yes it does indeed become bizzare.
Sometimes strange creatures, in a begining state of developement, will "hitch-hike" in, on a piece of rock or coral, then become apparent sometimes a year later. You might see something move furtively into a small hole in the rockwork, & attribute it to imagination, or possibly a mushroom flashback.
After trying to find it again over the course of time, you discover it`s a strange crab, or a coral.
Here`s one, for instance.
ORANGE BALL
Catherine,
Most of my photos are a result of a causual glance at the tanks, & seeing something I had`t seen yet.
I always have a camera ready.
I put a link above to see an example of what I`m talking about.
Thanks Catherine.
Manny,
I don`t think they`re nugets.
I think they`re fish sticks.
Olivia,
A lot of corals fluoresce in the dark.
The green background is a Green Bubble.
This one is the nicest, biggest, & brightest Green Bubble, I`ve ever seen in real life, or in research books.
Hi Boran 2,
That`s another fish that`s difficult to shoot.
It`s serpentine movement & sudden direction changes leaves me quiting that fish as my target & switch to another target.
I have a few more shots of it in the slide show at "Planet Earth".
See you tomorrow
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