- Size
- To about 11 cm
- Snorkel or dive
- Snorkel and dive.
- Best season
- Year-round.
- Conservation
- Least Concern (IUCN).
How to recognise it
A slender fish with a black stripe widening from snout to tail over a white-to-electric-blue body; moves in a distinctive up-and-down dance.
Behaviour in the wild
Runs a cleaning station, removing parasites and dead tissue from visiting fish — from tiny wrasse to sharks and mantas that queue for service.
Where to see it in the Maldives
Cleaning stations on reefs, thilas and manta points atoll-wide.
Visual field notes
See bluestreak cleaner wrasse from more than one angle.
One verified identification image is currently available.
01 · Field portrait · Species reference
Field notes
Cleaner wrasse are one of the few fish to pass the mirror 'self-recognition' test — a sign of surprising cognition in a thumb-length reef fish.
Profile references
References are shown transparently; profile copy may also include editorial synthesis. Seasons and sightings vary with wild conditions.
