Finding cleaning stations

[u4ia]

yes reefdiva- I have the BSDME book which is very helpful and I have Humann and Deloach's reef fish book (not the reef behavior one though), so I am rereading both of those too. I like the early am and late afternoon diving too-- I cant take that midday heat too well!! I couldnt believe the first time I witnessed the wrasse commute, wow it was an endless stream of fish going and going and going... I thought maybe it was some giant fish circle, it seemed like an endless loop. cant wait to go back.

 

[reefdiva]

u4ia ... another great resource is the software from ReefNet available at ReefNet Inc. | Solving problems with deep thinking and in Bonaire. We have it loaded on our laptop and use it almost daily for fish id. There are multiple photos for most fish and even some videos. Lots of info on habits and habitats.

Have a great trip. We are headed back soon. Have been going there several times a year for almost ten years and never get tired of the dives.

 

[pa diver]

Hey pal! What's new with you guys? So we gonna meet this summer and do some camping and shore diving?

Sorry to rub the trip in.

I'll hold you to it..............I just refuse to dive with a dry suit, there is something very, very wrong with that, liquid that cold should have ice cubes and little umbrella's in it (and that will stay my opinion until I actually get to dive with a dry suit, in which case I will need to scrape my pennies together for another expensive twist to my hobbies, hahah). 2008 must have been a pretty good year..................we're gald for both of you. We'll talk soon, been busy here and actually just found our photos from September, yes, that busy (and that unorganized).

 

[b1gcountry]

I second the Humann/Deloach "Reef Fish Behaviour" book. I also like the book "Reef Life" for its better photography, but somewhat less in depth text.

I'll be in Bonaire tomorrow, and I would like to camp out at a couple of the stations and take some pictures of the small stuff. Also, look for the cleaning shrimp as well. They never stray too far from their holes. And fish in general tend to be more active when there is more light on the reef. It lets them see piscivores better and avoid predation. (read the Deloach book, and YOU TOO Can talk like this )

 

[Jetwrench]

u4ia,

As others have said, they are everywhere. Just go slow, look for fish hovering stationary and observe. You will know a cleaning station when you see it, and any dive site will have them. I see them all the time, any time of day.

 

[b1gcountry]

Just got back from Bonaire, and I saw one on a whole bunch of dives. One hint:
Look for the yellow fish. Yellow is a standout color, and a lot of cleaners achieve immunity from predation just by being yellow. It says I'm a cleaner. Learn what a cleaner wrasse looks like, and look for them on the reef.

Cleaners are pretty small. If you only look at the big stuff, you might not even notice it's being cleaned. They don't look like carwashes or anything.

Tom

 

[Phacops]

Interesting cleaning stations are those of Pederson's Shrimp. You can find them in Corkscrew Anemones. Especially early morning when those anemones are out the shrimp will wave their antennae and sway their bodies. If you can keep your hand still in front of them they sometimes swim over and start cleaning. I think that the small stuff on the reefs are lots of fun to see.

 

[Tennessee Slim]

J...One hint:
Look for the yellow fish. Yellow is a standout color, and a lot of cleaners achieve immunity from predation just by being yellow....

In this neck of the woods, the most common yellow cleaning fish are bluehead wrasses. In the juvenile stage they are yellow on top, white on bottom (sometimes with a black stripe separating the two), and have a black dot on the dorsal fin. A gang of them flying in formation is a virtual guarantee of a cleaning station, especially if there’s a “customer” posturing somewhere nearby. They show amazing tenacity; I’ve seen a cloud of them swim maybe 20 feet from their station in pursuit of a parrot fish that was late for an appointment elsewhere but that the blueheads weren’t finished with before retreating to the security of their station.

What bizarre programming!!??!

 

[u4ia]

thanks for all the tips. I just returned from Bonaire too and spotted lots of cleaning stations. with all the advice, i was able to tune into to activity quite easily.

my 2 favorite were a large grouper being cleaned with its cavernous mouth and gills wide open and the same activity by the largest trumpetfish I have ever seen. I couldnt believe how wide the trumpetfish opened its mouth! crazy!

 

[u4ia]

oh I wanted to ask what these little guys are. They werent doing much when I spotted them, but I am wondering if they are some kind of cleaners too. I gotta get me that reef critters book.