Common cleanerfish
Labroides dimidiatus
Illustration: Bloom by Day
A small slim fish, pale in front and blue behind, with a black stripe that widens as it runs back to the tail. It keeps a cleaning station on one coral head and picks parasites off fish many times its size, including ones that would otherwise eat it, with a dancing up-and-down swim.
how to recognise it
- a pale head, with the rear body and tail blue
- a broad black stripe along the side, widening toward the tail
- juveniles are black with a neon blue stripe
- hovers at a cleaning station and works over fish many times its size — which is the surest way to recognise it
- mimicked by the false cleanerfish, Aspidontus taeniatus, which has the same stripe and bites
Field marks read from Fishes of Australia, 2026-10-16. Our wording, their facts. Max size 12 cm TL.
facts
- habitat
- reef
- size
- ~9 cm, to 12 cm
Max size from Fishes of Australia (12 cm TL); the typical size is Bluebird’s, not from a cited source
- records near here
- 39 at 2 of 6 spots
A count of occurrence records near these spots, not abundance. Records are where someone looked.
when it has been recorded
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A gap means no record in the sample, not absence.
the rule
no QLD rule listed — check before you dive
no NSW rule listed — check before you dive
no closed season recorded for this species — that is not the same as open; check the official page
Rules checked 2026-10-13 against qld.gov.au
Rules change. Check before you dive.
Occurrence data: Atlas of Living Australia (ala.org.au), CC-BY 4.0.
Diver transect counts: Reef Life Survey (reeflifesurvey.com), CC-BY 4.0, supplied via ALA.
Target and protected species: Queensland tidal-water size and possession limits (qld.gov.au) and NSW saltwater bag and size limits plus threatened species lists (dpird.nsw.gov.au).
Habitat and size: Bluebird, approximate, from general knowledge. Not cited. FishBase is CC BY-NC and this app is commercial, so it is not used.
Description written for Bloom. RECORDS ARE WHERE SOMEONE LOOKED, NOT WHERE THE FISH ARE. A record count is a count of records near here and nothing else -- it is not abundance, and a species with few records is not rare. Absence of records is not absence of fish.
Diver transect counts: Reef Life Survey (reeflifesurvey.com), CC-BY 4.0, supplied via ALA.
Target and protected species: Queensland tidal-water size and possession limits (qld.gov.au) and NSW saltwater bag and size limits plus threatened species lists (dpird.nsw.gov.au).
Habitat and size: Bluebird, approximate, from general knowledge. Not cited. FishBase is CC BY-NC and this app is commercial, so it is not used.
Description written for Bloom. RECORDS ARE WHERE SOMEONE LOOKED, NOT WHERE THE FISH ARE. A record count is a count of records near here and nothing else -- it is not abundance, and a species with few records is not rare. Absence of records is not absence of fish.