Do you know how Giant Sea Bass get clean?

[Jr Clark]

I did a little blog post about symbiotic relationships with cleaners and giant sea bass check it out and let me know what you think.

https://experiment.com/u/WAesw

 

[drbill]

A wide range of cleaner species for the giant sea bass. Up in the northern Channel Islands, the diminutive island kelpfish cleans them at cleaning stations. Here in Catalina waters I see a wide range of cleaners... kelp bass, senorita, rock wrasse, sheephead, etc. Here they don't seem to go to fixed cleaning stations, but are cleaned in the open. Of course the fish stay away from the head region so they don't get sucked in! I have seen a number of kelp bass attack parasites on the upper head region by diving down, grabbing the copepod and almost literally bouncing back up off the giant sea bass to avoid becoming a meal themselves.