The late Sascha Schulz posted these photos of Eastern Cleaner Clingfish, Cochleoceps orientalis on iNaturalist back in mid-2018: –
It was sighted at Rock Islet, near Cronulla, NSW. Several other people agreed with his ID of Eastern Cleaner Clingfish, Cochleoceps orientalis, including David Muirhead.
David also commented, “I’ve zoomed in on your 3rd pic which includes most of the stalked tunicate’s body, and I wonder if there are several much smaller C. orientalis also present as follows: –
#1 ? a juvenile peering from beneath the tunicate’s body @ lower Left (i.e. near to where the upper end of the tunicate’s stalk joins the body), with the eye glint being the only hint it may be more than just a shaded part of the tunicate’s lower profile(shaded by one of the tunicate’s bigger rounded tubercles).
#2 ?? a TINY juvenile a short distance to (lower) Right of your main subject adult. It is almost completely transparent, but that’s almost exactly how the equally tiny juveniles of Western Cleaner Clingfish (WCCs) look here in SA, I can assure you (I’m talking about babes only a few mm long).
#3 ??? a very small – but not tiny- juvenile peering from beneath and slightly to R edge of another tubercle, being the tubercle closest to the siphon i.e. a bit further to Right of image centre than the first 2 possibles per above.”
David responded, “I humbly beg to differ @saschaschulz (or at least offer another, almost insolent, interpretation, from the deep south!!): IF the tunicate is Pyura spinifera (which seems likely to me; but as I always say, infuriatingly, I’m no expert) then the tunicate’s body is probably ~10cm long, which would mean the main fish could be of the order of 20-25mm long. I must emphasize I’ve NEVER seen an Eastern Cleaner Clingfish ECCs) in the wild or even alive, however my limited understanding is that it shares many similarities with WCCs, and they both attain lengths of ~4 cm. Unless yours is a juvenile, surely it will be closer to 2-3cm than 1cm ? And, it seems to have adult markings and colours, just going on standard references and the many photos I’ve seen of ECCs. ….)
Sascha replied, “It is P. spinifera, and was about 7cm long maybe. 9m depth.”
The dive at Rock Islet had been held in overcast conditions. David later commented, “….in certain lowlight conditions, these tiny fish can sometimes be seen, by scuba and freedivers, surprisingly well from afar. Because their eyes (doubtless as an evolutionary advantage, being cleaning host specialists that want to be seen by all potential clients) reflect ambient light remarkably well, and so even if you can’t see the whole fish, you can see two tiny but very bright specks of light. Very close together, but consistently only a few mm apart.”
Harry Rosenthal commented, “We are actually seeing somewhat more of these critters (Eastern Cleaner Clingfish, Cochleoceps orientalis) this year (2026) on the east coast.