Find a Fish
False Cleanerfish
Aspidontus taeniatus Quoy & Gaimard, 1834.
A False Cleanerfish at a depth of 22m, "The Gut", Rodda Reef, far northern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, December 2001. View larger image.
The False Cleanerfish is blue above, pale below, and has a black stripe running from the snout to the caudal fin margin (stripe on snout pale in image).
Its mouth is overhung by the snout. The teeth are small with the exception of pair of very large curved canines on the lower jaw . There are four cirri (glossary) in a row across the chin.
This species grows to 11.5cm in length.
The False Cleanerfish resembles the Striped Cleaner Wrasse (view fact sheet), a species that cleans parasites from the bodies of larger fishes. This mimicry allows the False Cleanerfish to "safely" approach larger fishes and bite off pieces of fins and scales. The False Cleanerfish also eats fish eggs and the branchiae of tubeworms.
The False Cleanerfish can be distinguished from the Striped Cleaner Wrasse by its more pointed snout and longer dorsal fin base.
This species occurs in tropical marine waters of the Indo-Pacific.
In Australia it is recorded from the central coast of Western Australia, around the tropical north and south to the central coast of New South Wales.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
The False Cleanerfish looks similar to the Lance Blenny.
Further reading
- Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 292.
- Allen, G.R. & R. Swainston. 1988. The Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia. A Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 201.
- Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 433.
- Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Gary Allen. Pp. 437.
- Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 557.
