I photographed this Herring Cale Olisthops cyanomelas with its mouth open at Rapid Bay jetty in December. I suspect that it had slowed considerably from its normally fast restless swimming style, and it is behaving as a fish cleaner client at or near a cleaning station (or equivalent to a station, e.g. a gathering of opportunistic hosts such as Pencil Weed Whiting Sheardichthys beddomei): –
I posted this sighting on iNaturalist where I noted “the huddled Spinytail Leatherjacket Acanthaluteres brownii, some of which were definitely being cleaned by Pencil Weed Whiting Sheardichthys beddomei under the same part of the old jetty T section on a dive roughly a week earlier”.
“The Spinytail Leatherjacket Acanthaluteres brownii and Pencil Weed Whiting Sheardichthys beddomei were submitted then under this (Temperate Marine Cleaners) Project, and while I don’t have images from 13/12/2024 proving any Pencil Weed Whiting Sheardichthys beddomei host client interactions, there were plenty of Pencil Weed Whiting Sheardichthys beddomei nearby on this latest Rapid Bay jetty dive. And conditions were favourable for cleaning (outgoing tide, sunny topside and good horizontal visibility with low predation risk).
As one of 3 BSAC dive buddies, with the dive leader having directed us to begin our return to the new jetty exit platform, I didn’t have the luxury of dawdling for careful observation of fish behaviours.
Conclusion: Herring Cale Olisthops cyanomelas surely require, and therefore actively seek cleaning, but whether their main hosts are usually Pencil Weed Whiting Sheardichthys beddomei, or Western Cleaner Clingfish Cochleoceps bicolor, or a mix, remains open to speculation.
I’m going to include this in the Temperate Marine Cleaners Project (Temperate Marine Cleaners of South Australia c/-MLSSA). At the time of writing, there are: 828 Observations featuring 106 Species by 18 People.
I’ve also posted this photo of a Blue Morwong Nemadactylus valenciennesi on iNaturalist: –
Incidentally noted there is that the adult Dusky Morwong Dactylophora nigricans to the right, which is in client mode, probably at a Western Cleaner Clingfish Cochleoceps bicolor station, although no hosts were seen by me at the time. The Blue Morwong Nemadactylus valenciennesi was not involved as far as I could see, i.e. it didn’t appear interested in becoming a client and was merely passing by.