A young Tiger Grouper [
Mycteroperca tigris] at a cleaning station, taken at Red Slave in Bonaire. The cleaners are two Yellownose Goby [
Gobiosoma randalli] and a juvenile Spanish Hogfish [
Bodianus rufus]. Groupers are particularly plagued by an assortment of external parasites. These are mainly isopods and copepods that burrow into the tissues around the eyes, nortrils, under scales, and lining of gills and mouth. To keep their infestation under control, Groupers spend a significant amount of time at cleaning stations where parasite-eating fish and shrimps dine on their pests.
