Keeping the Clients Happy
- Written by CSA Ocean Sciences
- Category: Blog

Cleaning behavior by fishes is a phenomenon in which an individual of one species (the “cleaner”) removes annoying external parasites (ectoparasites) as well as mucus, dead skin, and other material from the body surfaces of another species (the “client”). Cleaning behavior occurs in a variety of environmental settings including freshwater, but it is best documented on coral reefs.