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Symbiotic relationship – Cleaner shrimp and moray eel

Arthropods: Arthropoda, Bony Fishes: Osteichthyes, Crustaceans: Crustacea, FL, Fishes, Florida, Invertebrates, Marine Life, Moray Eels: Morays: Muraenidae, Palm Beach County, USA, United States, West Palm Beach, behavior, cleaning, cleaning station, macro, marine, ocean, purplemouth moray: Gymnothorax vicinus, scarlet-striped cleaning shrimp: Lysmata grabhami, scuba, symbiont, symbiosis, symbiotic relationship, teeth, underwater, underwater photo

Some areas of the coral reef, called cleaning stations, contain numerous species of shrimp and fish whose role it is to rid other animals of parasites. Here a scarlet-striped cleaner shrimp rids a purplemouth moray of parasites. The shrimp is in little danger of becoming the moray eel’s food. Predation at these cleaning station ceases almost completely according to a scientific study.