Cleaner Fish Reduce Aggression in Captive Aquaria
This was my third published submission to Aquarium Fish International.
Aggression among fish is a natural behavior. This behavior tends to get exacerbated in the confines of a community tank, where aquarists mix specimens in a confined space. Researchers from the University of Queensland may have found a solution to the problem. Their research demonstrates that the presence of cleaner fish, specifically lambroides dimidiatus, in a captive aquarium, reduces the amount of aggression in that aquarium. Cleaner fish typically set up ‘cleaning stations’, where ‘client’ fish have parasites removed which are then eaten by the cleaner fish.
Another cleaner fish species
The Australian researchers measured how frequently predator fish chased prey fish. They observed that predators chased prey approximately two thirds less frequently in aquaria with cleaner fish than in aquaria without. The decrease in aggression appears to be tied to the cleaner fish’s behavior of touching the ‘client’ fish with their fins. Cleaner wrasse touched predator fish at least three times more than non-predator fish. Also, the more often they touched their ‘clients’ with their fins, the more peaceful the tank was.
The research does not claim to be a cure-all for aggression, or to be a solution for mixing incompatible species. It does, however, suggest that cleaner fish have a calming effect on the tank’s inhabitants.
Published in Aquarium Fish International: January 2009, page 18
Based on the following article
http://environment.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn14260&print=true
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