Fish doctors
A snaky, speckled, moray eel lurks in the shadows of a coral reef. It is
an ugly looking creature, with a wide, fang-filled mouth. And it is one
of the most ferocious inhabitants of this part of the sea.
Abruptly, a brightly colored, four-inch-long fish appears. Boldly, it
swims straight to the eel, as if unaware of any danger. Any moment, the
eel is sure to gulp it down!
But—what’s this? The little fish swims about the eel, often touching
the eel with its mouth. And the eel remains perfectly still! Wonder of
wonders, the little fish even swims right into the eel’s half-open
mouth. It spends several minutes there, then swims out again! Not once
did the fierce and everhungry eel try to eat the little fish! Why not?
Well, believe it or not, the little fish is a \”doctor”! And the eel is
one of its \”patients”! You see, over a period of time, fish pick up
many unwelcome riders on their bodies—tiny worms and other creatures.
These little creatures itch and irritate the fish. Fish also get sores
on their bodies. So, frequently, fish with sores and lots of riders go
to the \”doctor.”
The doctor is a little fish called a wrasse (ras). It goes over the
\”patient’s” body, eating all the tiny riders and nibbling the ragged
edges of wounds. The wrasse is simply getting an easy meal this way. But
the other fish is getting rid of creatures that irritate it. And it is
having its sores cleaned up so that they won’t become infected.
another at other times, will wait patiently nearby for their turn to see
the \”doctor”!
Somehow, the fish seem to understand this. Although many fish would
quickly snap up a small fish like a wrasse, they quietly let the little
wrasses clean them.
Wrasses often have \”offices” in a special place, such as near a coral
reef. Groups of fish that might try to attack and eat one
