Fish

Bluestreak cleaner wrasse

Labroides dimidiatus

Tiny cleaner wrasse hold reef cleaning stations where larger fish pause to have parasites removed. Hang still at the edge, and never crowd or chase the station.

Least ConcernIn 51 Atlas countries

Least Concern (IUCN, 2010) means it is not at high risk of extinction worldwide today.

Bluestreak cleaner wrasse with black stripe and blue tail — Photo: portioid, iNaturalist, CC BY

Bluestreak cleaner wrasse swimming past soft coral — Photo: portioid, iNaturalist, CC BY

Cleaner wrasse cleaning a large grouper on the reef — Photo: Susan Prior, iNaturalist, CC BY

Cleaner wrasse cleaning inside a pufferfish's gill area — Photo: Georgina Jones, iNaturalist, CC BY-SA

Bluestreak cleaner wrasse hovering above plate coral — Photo: Julien Renoult, iNaturalist, CC BY

Bluestreak cleaner wrasse with bold black lateral stripe — Photo: Georgina Jones, iNaturalist, CC BY-SA

Two bluestreak cleaner wrasses over a coral head — Photo: portioid, iNaturalist, CC BY

Cleaner wrasse approaching a goatfish at a cleaning station — Photo: Susan Prior, iNaturalist, CC BY

Photos show the species, not always the places on this page.

Length

Usually about 7 to 10 cm (2.8 to 3.9 in); largest recorded about 14 cm (5.5 in)

Weight

Not reliably measured; adults in one study weighed about 3 to 5 g (0.1 to 0.2 oz)

Next to a person

About the length of an adult's finger to palm; even the largest is shorter than an adult hand

What it eats

Tiny parasites picked from other fish, mostly young crustaceans called gnathiid isopods, plus some of their mucus. Where parasites are scarce, they take more mucus bites.

Around people

Harmless

How it lives

Bluestreak cleaner wrasse run cleaning stations, where larger fish come to have parasites removed. A station may be held by an adult pair, a group of young fish, or several females with a dominant male. If the male disappears, the top female becomes male. They signal to visitors with a dance-like tail movement, and can change sex in either direction in about 14 to 18 days.

Where it goes

Bluestreak cleaner wrasse do not migrate. They stay on their home reef and keep the same cleaning station, and the visiting fish come to them.

We only draw a journey on the map when scientists have tracked it or clearly documented it. For this animal we have not found one yet.

Populations

Indian Ocean and Red Sea fish tend to have narrower stripes and rounder tail markings, while western Pacific fish often have wider stripes; the two groups overlap near Papua New Guinea. Where parasites are scarce, cleaners inspect for longer and nip their visitors more. Near Japan, cold winters cause seasonal population crashes.

Meet it respectfully

Hover outside the cleaning station and keep your fins off the coral. Do not swim through active cleaning, and never touch, chase or crowd the cleaners or their visitors. Avoid long bright lights or flash. If the cleaners or their visitors leave because of you, you are too close.

Fun fact

Tap the bulb to light it up.

Where you may meet it

Bluestreak cleaner wrasse in the Ocean Atlas

Places we have researched where this animal is recorded. It is never guaranteed, and some places are for watching from the boat only.

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Sources for this page

Facts checked 26 September 2026. Photos: Unsplash licence, or Creative Commons as shown on each photo.

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