Bonaire: Macro, mostly

©2002 Ken Riddick
Spotted Cleaner Shrimp and Giant Caribbean Anemone
at Alice in Wonderland

Commonly found among the tentacles of the giant Caribbean anemone, as here, spotted cleaner shrimp wait for larger fish to stop by for, well, a cleaning.

The fish will hang motionless for a time as the shrimp, searching for parasitic morsels, climbs without fear all over the fish, even in its mouth.

Occasionally, fish will line up like yuppies at the neighborhood carwash waiting for their turn at the cleaning station. The spotted cleaner shrimp gets a meal and the fish gets rid of pests. Symbiosis!

This pair was on the outer reef of the double reef system.


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Pictures from other trips:
Roatan | Little Cayman Island | Galapagos | Grand Turk
French Polynesia | Bonaire | Belize | Saba | Exuma Cays

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