Great Barrier Reef snorkelling tips: The fish to look out for

If you want to see plenty of fish while snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef, look out for the blue and black cleaner wrasse.

There are more than 1,500 species of fish on the Great Barrier Reef, but there’s one that snorkellers should look out for in particular.

Most visitors to the Great Barrier Reef will have an idea of what they want to see. It might be angelfish, or groupers, or clownfish, or Dory from Finding Nemo.

But the number one Great Barrier Reef snorkelling tip is to look out for the ocean’s unsung hero – the cleaner wrasse.

Find your ideal Great Barrier Reef tours by location

Great Barrier Reef tours run from numerous destinations along the Queensland coast. Different tours cater to different tastes – some make sure they go to the best snorkelling spots, others build in beach time and some throw in extra such as underwater observatories and glass bottom boat tours.

Use the following links to start picking the best Great Barrier Reef tour options where you’re going on holiday.

The best Great Barrier Reef tours in… 1770 | Airlie Beach | Bundaberg | Cairns | Cape Tribulation | Mackay | Magnetic Island | Mission Beach | Palm Cove | Port Douglas | Townsville.

What do cleaner wrasse do?

Cleaner wrasse have a symbiotic relationship with other reef fish. They pick parasites, dead tissue and excess scales off other fish, and feed on it. The cleaner wrasse gets a free meal, the other fish gets tidied up. Everyone wins.

The cleaner wrasse are so useful that some of the bigger, more predatory fish avoid eating them. Getting cleaned up is more important than getting a feed.

What are cleaning stations on the Great Barrier Reef

Cleaning stations on the Great Barrier Reef are where cleaner wrasse hang out. Other fish visit them there to get cleaned.

Therefore, the best place to see fish while snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef is a cleaning station. Instead of swimming around in search of different species, find a cleaning station, then save your energy. Float effortlessly, and wait for the fish to come.

What do cleaner wrasse look like?

A cleaning station is basically wherever cleaner wrasse hang out. Searching for one is made a little more complicated by the fact that there are several different types of cleaner wrasse. However, easily the most common cleaner wrasse on the Great Barrier Reef is the bluestreak cleaner wrasse.

It’s about 10cm long, largely blue, but with a black stripe along the length of its body.