Cleaner Shrimp

Cleaner shrimp, small crustaceans that have been known to remove dead skin cells from the hands of patient divers and even particles from inside the divers’ mouths. Such shrimp provide an invaluable service on the reef by keeping other inhabitants clean and healthy; they clean the teeth and gills of moray eels, sharks and other fish and also rid these animals of dead and diseased skin, bacteria and parasites. Although there are other cleaner shrimp in Hawaii, the scarlet shrimp is the most active and is rather easy to identify. These crustaceans have a red back with a white striped running from head to tail. Like many cleaner shrimp, they have long white antennae that they wave to advertise their services. Sometimes, the shrimp do a little dance- also a form of advertisement. Like other cleaners on the reef, the scarlet cleaner shrimp set up a cleaning station on the reef where the fish line up and wait to be cleaned. Because of the important service they provide, the cleaner shrimp aren’t eaten by animals which would otherwise consider them a tasty meal. Scarlet cleaner shrimp are most commonly found off the leeward shores in crevices or holes below 40 feet. They are often living in the same holes as moray eels. As adults, they can reach up to 2 ½ inches. While most invertebrates are well camouflaged for life on the reef, to avoid becoming easy prey, scarlet cleaner shrimp gain an easy meal by drawing attention to themselves. They are beautiful to look at, but watching the cleaner shrimp in action is truly the entertaining part.