User:Daphyam/Cleaner shrimp

Cleaner shrimp is a common name for a number of swimming decapod crustaceans which clean other organisms of dead or damaged tissue, ectoparasites, and epibiont loads. There are as many as 51 different species of cleaner shrimp, who belong to any of three families, Hippolytidae (including the Pacific cleaner shrimp, Lysmata amboinensis), Palaemonidae (including the spotted Periclimenes magnificus) , and Stenopodidae (including the banded coral shrimp, Stenopus hispidus). The last of these families is more closely related to lobsters and crabs than it is to the remaining families. The term "cleaner shrimp" is sometimes used more specifically for the family Hippolytidae and the genus Lysmata. Cleaner shrimp are found to live in caves and crevices near or in coral reefs.

Mutualisms
Cleaner shrimp are called so because they exhibit a cleaning symbiosis with reef fish where the shrimp clean parasites from the fish. The fish benefit by having parasites removed from them, and the shrimp gain the nutritional value of the parasites. The shrimp also eat the mucus and parasites around the wounds of injured fish, reducing infections and encouraging faster healing. The action of cleansing further aids the health of client fish by reducing their stress levels. In many coral reefs, cleaner shrimp congregate at cleaning stations where up to 25 shrimp live in proximity, but are only found in monogamous pairs. In this behavior of establishing cleaning stations, cleaner shrimps are similar to cleaner fish, and sometimes may join with cleaner wrasse and other cleaner fish attending to client fish.

Signaling
Cleaner shrimp and potential clients use various types of signaling to communicate. When a potential client fish swims close to a station with shrimp present, several shrimp perform a "rocking dance," a side-to-side movement, or clap their claws together, where frequency of performance was seen to increase with higher levels of hunger. When given a choice, client fish were more likely to choose to be cleaned by a hungry shrimp displaying this behavior. Shrimp are also more likely to signal towards a predatory fish rather than a non-predatory fish to establish it's identity to avoid becoming prey. Predatory fish also often have priority in cleaning stations, and non-predatory fish must often be more demanding for a cleaning. When a fish wants to be cleaned, they will stand in front of the cleaner shrimp until it takes notice.

Competition
Cleaner shrimp are very competitive with each other, to the point where they will kill any other competitors when placed in groups of more than two. These killings occur at night, shortly after the victim had freshly molted, as their shells have not fully hardened yet which leaves them in a state of vulnerability. To avoid competition with other cleaners during the day, the shrimp Urocaridella antonbruunii was observed cleaning a sleeping fish at night.

Reproduction
Social monogamy is only found in shrimp with cleaning behavior, possibly because cleaner shrimp remain in their territory as opposed to going out in search of food. Cleaner shrimp are hermaphrodites, meaning that they can produce either eggs or sperm to reproduce. Usually, due to high competition rates among shrimp, more sperm will be produced because it is less cost intensive and can fertilize many eggs. However, as shrimps in monogamous relationships don't have to worry about competition, they can focus on making more cost-intensive eggs.

Sustainable Fisheries
Total fish consumption has risen 122% in the years between 1980 and 2018, making the global aquaculture market worth an estimated US $285,359 billion dollars in 2019 , with a ever-growing demand estimated in the coming years. Because of this, parasitic diseases can heavily impact fisheries, with loses estimated to be around US $1.05 to US $9.58 billion/year globally. In addition, with the increasing awareness for the influence of consumers on the environment, many people are looking for more healthy and sustainable sources of their food without the chemical treatment that most farmed fish are subjected to in order to fight off diseases. These chemicals can cause environmental problems, and there is a concern that fish parasites will build resistance to the treatment. Therefore, fisheries are now looking into employing these cleaner shrimp to clean off these parasites and fight against diseases in a eco-friendly way.

Aquariums
Cleaner shrimps are often included in saltwater aquaria partly due to their cleansing function and partly due to their brightly colored appearance. (Add)