Who works at The Turtle Carwash? Videos reveal three new types of cleaners

A turtle cleaning station in the waters off the U.S. Virgin Islands recently discovered three species of fish that were not known to clean turtles. The interaction is something of a symbiotic relationship, as both the hungry fish and the grubby turtles benefit from working together, but there is growing concern that it could also be a hotspot for the spread of a herpes-like disease.

The three fish that had not previously been documented as turtle cleaners were juvenile French angelfish. Pomacanthus paruyoung queen angelfish, Holacanthus ciliarisand slippery tail wrasses, Halichoeres bivittatus. There seemed to be a natural division of labor, as the angelfish primarily cleaned the head, shell, and plastron, while the wrasse nibbled on the turtle’s soft parts.

Symbiosis and cleaning stations

Turtle cleaning stations are an enchanting form of symbiosis, but it’s difficult to spot unless you’re there when the turtles show up. For this reason, identifying the fish that work as cleaners can help scientists find the stations, which themselves are not rare.

“Anywhere you find sea turtles you’re likely to find cleaning stations, it’s just a matter of locating those spots,” lead author Jessica Michael of the Coral World Ocean And Reef Initiative told IFLScience. “Sea turtles in general, especially green sea turtles, take great care to keep their shells clean.”

So it’s understandable that the scientists were eager to take advantage of the opportunity to film this special cleaning station, which was located right next to the dock at the University of the Virgin Islands. The station was visited by several green sea turtles, Chelonia mydaswho are known for being particularly proud, and subsequent footage showed them defending their position with poise when necessary.

“If a turtle was sitting at the station posing and another turtle approached, it was more than likely that turtle would exhibit antagonistic behavior,” Michael explained. “Either bite [the first turtle to arrive]or you push for it and try to dominate the station and get the other person to leave.”

They will do what we call the turtle twerk.

Jessica Michael

It’s not just turtles, as the study also captured images of a stingray and large fish such as mackerel and barracuda, which took advantage of the fish’s greed for snatching up annoying parasites. Cleaning sessions lasted about six minutes on average, but one turtle seemed to bask in a 69-minute session, and their intentions were clear from the moment they arrived.

“The turtles usually approach the area slowly and adopt a posture in which they are supported on all four flippers,” said co-author Dr. Paul Jobsis from the University of the Virgin Islands told IFLScience. “This is not their normal position when grazing, namely with their plastron (belly) on the seabed. Once in this position, the fish quickly approaches and begins cleaning. Another common activity is “rubbing.” The turtles rub themselves against the rocks, the sand and each other to keep themselves clean.”

Why do turtles visit cleaning stations?

Michael also works with captive turtles at Coral World, where one of her jobs is cleaning their shells. Without a natural cleaning station, it helps its inhabitants stay clean with the help of a scrub brush, and the turtles seem eager to settle inside.

“They’re going to do what we call the turtle twerk,” she said. “They lower the posture of their hind flippers a little bit and then just rotate their butt back and forth. So it’s like a turtle twerk. They really seem to enjoy this. You don’t want to risk that [using] Anthropomorphizing words, but it’s something they seem to like.”

It all makes sense when you remember what’s inside a turtle’s shell.

Staying clean can keep turtles healthy, but there is concern that the fish nibbling on their bodies could increase the transmission of diseases such as fibropapillomatosis, a form of herpes that causes tumors. Therefore, collecting data on the role of these cleaner fishes can help scientists study both the ecology of marine ecosystems and the health of green sea turtles in the Caribbean.

“Ecosystems and food webs are complex and dependent on many species,” Jobsis concluded. “Green sea turtles need a healthy ecosystem that can support the many species necessary for them to thrive.”

The study was published in the journal Marine Biodiversity.