Black-spot Cleaner Wrasse (Labroides pectoralis) Care Guide
Labroides pectoralis is an Indo-Pacific cleaner wrasse with a black spot at the pectoral-fin base; it feeds on ectoparasites and is demanding in captivity.
Compiled by Aquairi from published sources · Published · Updated
Overview
Labroides pectoralis is a small cleaner wrasse named for the prominent black spot at the base of its pectoral fin. FishBase records a maximum of about 11 cm total length. Like its congeners it maintains cleaning stations where other fish come to have ectoparasites removed.
Taxonomy
- Family: Labridae
- Genus: Labroides
- Scientific name: Labroides pectoralis
- Common synonyms: Blackspot Cleaner Wrasse
Habitat
The species ranges across the Indo-Pacific, from the Cocos-Keeling Islands to the Line and Pitcairn islands, north to the Bonin Islands and south to the Rowley Shoals and the Great Barrier Reef. It inhabits coral-rich areas of seaward and clear lagoon reefs from the surface to about 30 m, occurring singly or in pairs.
Tank requirements
- Minimum tank volume: 300 L (79 gal)
- Temperature: 24-26 °C (75-79 °F)
- pH: 8.1-8.4
- Specific gravity: typical marine range
- Lifespan: 8-15 years
Diet
Labroides pectoralis is a carnivore that removes crustacean ectoparasites and mucus from client fish at its cleaning stations. This obligate cleaning diet is hard to sustain in aquaria, making the species suitable only for experienced marine keepers.
Compatibility
It is a peaceful mid-water fish compatible with a broad range of robust reef companions, which it services rather than competes with. Persistently aggressive species that may harass it should be avoided.
Breeding
The species is oviparous with distinct pairing during breeding. Members of Labroides are protogynous hermaphrodites.
Conservation status
IUCN Red List: Least Concern (assessed 2008). It is taken for the aquarium trade.
Blackspot Cleaner Wrasse Breeding Guide (Labroides pectoralis)
Overview
The blackspot cleaner wrasse (Labroides pectoralis) is one of the cleaner wrasses of the genus Labroides, native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans, distinguished by a black spot at the base of the pectoral fin. Like its congeners it is a cleaner fish that services larger client fish at cleaning stations and shares the genus's demanding feeding requirements.
Sexing
Cleaner wrasses of the genus Labroides are protogynous hermaphrodites living in harems controlled by a dominant male; when that male is lost, one of the larger females changes sex to take over the territory. Sex therefore follows social rank, and a fixed visual sex marker for an individual is not reliable.
Spawning Behavior & Trigger
Cleaner wrasses maintain cleaning stations and pair from within the harem to spawn. As oviparous reef wrasses they are pelagic broadcast spawners, releasing gametes into the water column so that fertilised eggs drift away as plankton. No captive spawning trigger is documented for this species.
Egg & Fry Care
Fertilised eggs are pelagic and hatch into planktonic larvae dispersing in open water. This larval phase is the central barrier to captive rearing, and there is no home-aquarium fry-rearing protocol for the species.
Common Challenges
The principal obstacle is the parasite-and-mucus cleaning diet, which many individuals do not replace with substitute foods, leading to starvation in captivity. Together with the harem social structure and the pelagic larval phase, this rules out home breeding, and the species remains wild-caught.