Cleaner shrimp

Cleaner shrimp are marine shrimp that pick parasites and other material from visiting fish, often at persistent cleaning stations. This cleaning relationship can benefit both shrimp and clients.

Cleaning station: A site where cleaner organisms repeatedly remove material from visiting animals. Cleaner shrimp use these shared sites to attract fish clients and provide repeated cleaning.
Coral reef: A marine ecosystem built around reef-forming corals and their associated organisms. Many cleaner shrimp and their client fishes interact on coral reefs.
Decapoda: An order of crustaceans that includes shrimp, crabs, and lobsters. Cleaner shrimp belong to this larger group of ten-legged crustaceans.
Lysmata amboinensis: A Indo-Pacific cleaner shrimp commonly known for its red-and-white stripe and cleaning behavior. It is a widely recognized species seen at reef cleaning stations.
Cleaner fish: Fish that remove parasites and other material from larger aquatic animals. They perform a similar service, but are a different kind of cleaner organism.
Fish ectoparasite: A parasite that lives on a fish’s outer body or gills. These parasites are among the food items removed during cleaning.
Caridea: A diverse infraorder of shrimp, including many familiar marine shrimp. Cleaner shrimp are caridean shrimp, distinguished by their cleaning behavior rather than one single species.
Lysmata debelius: A red marine shrimp with white spots, commonly called the fire shrimp or blood shrimp. This species is a conspicuous cleaner shrimp found in reef habitats and aquariums.
Mutualism: An ecological interaction in which both participating species benefit. Shrimp gain food while clients may lose parasites and unwanted tissue.
Fish health: The physiological condition and disease status of an individual fish or fish population. Parasite removal links cleaning encounters to the condition of client fishes.

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RhynchocinetidaeCompared with: Some hinge-beak shrimp are kept as cleaners, but the family is not defined by cleaning behavior.