Atlantic Spadefish

Atlantic Spadefish, Guanaja, Bay Islands, Honduras, Feb./March 2009

When we first spotted this Atlantic Spadefish it was acting strangely. Fluttering weakly on its side in a shallow depression in the sand not far from reef, it appeared injured. As we approached though it turned upright and swam away. Turns out we had interrupted the fish's session at a cleaning station.

A cleaning station is a location on or near coral reefs where small shrimp and fish such as tiny wrasses and gobies offer their services to remove parasites from larger fish. When the fish approaches a cleaning station they will pose in an 'unnatural' way to show the cleaner fish that they want to be cleaned and pose no threat, this can be pointing in a strange direction, flaring the gills and opening the mouth wide. The cleaner fish will then eat the parasites directly from the skin of the cleaned fish. It will even swim into the mouth and gills of the fish to be cleaned.

On another dive we interrupted a large barracuda at a cleaning station. When it swam away, two gray angelfish took its spot. By the time the barracuda returned it had to wait at the end of the line for another turn. Kinda made me feel a little bad.