Labroides rubrolabiatus, Red-lipped cleaner wrasse : fisheries, aquarium

Labroides rubrolabiatus Randall, 1958

Red-lipped cleaner wrasse
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Labroides rubrolabiatus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Labroides rubrolabiatus (Red-lipped cleaner wrasse)
Labroides rubrolabiatus
Picture by Randall, J.E.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Eupercaria/misc (Various families in series Eupercaria) > Labridae (Wrasses) > Julidinae
Etymology: Labroides: Combination of the labrid genus Labrus and the Greek suffix -oides meaning ‘resembling’ or ‘to bear likeness to’, presumably referring to its similarity with the genus Labrus (or simply other members of the family Labridae); rubrolabiatus: Name from the Latin ‘rubro’ meaning ‘red’, and ‘labrum’ meaning ‘lip’, referring to the colour of the lips in life.
More on author: Randall.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 1 - 32 m (Ref. 9710). Tropical

Distribution Territories | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Pacific Ocean: disjunct distribution, widespread in central and southeastern Pacific Ocean. Replaced by Labroides pectoralis in the disjunct portion of its range, and in the remainder of the western Pacific Ocean.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 9.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9710)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 11; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 10; Vertebrae: 25. This species is distinguished by the following characters: D IX,11; A III,10; pectoral-fin rays 13-14; upper procurrent caudal-fin rays 6-7, lower 7; principal caudal-fin rays 8 + 7; circumpeduncular scales 18-20; body depth 3.7-4.1 in SL; head length 2.9-3.4 in SL; snout length 2.8-3.7 in HL; orbit diameter 3.6-5.4 in HL; orbit diameter 1.3-1.9 in snout length; caudal-peduncle length 2.0-3.8 in HL; pored lateral-line scales 24-28; scale rows above lateral line 3, below lateral line 9-10; total gill rakers 12-13. Colouration: head and anterior body pale chartreuse, with lower head sometimes with narrow dusky streak from corner of mouth to lower edge of opercle, sometimes extending to pectoral-fin base; median lateral black stripe is distinct only to about anterior half of body, attenuating and becoming increasingly indistinct or absent towards middle and posterior body; middle portion of body to caudal peduncle (where median lateral stripe has been attenuated) is suffused with bright tangerine orange; caudal fin black with upper and lowermost edge of caudal fin pale blue to lilac (Ref. 138889).
Body shape (shape guide): fusiform / normal; Cross section: compressed.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Inhabits lagoon and seaward reefs up to a depth of at least 32 m (Ref. 9710). Feeds on small small parasites and damaged tissues of other fish (Ref. 89972); client fish Pycnochromis margaritifer (Ref. 138889).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Oviparous, distinct pairing during breeding (Ref. 205).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Westneat, Mark | Collaborators

Tea, Y.-K., L. Baraf, Y. Menkara, W.B. Ludt, G.R. Allen, J.-P.A. Hobbs and P.F. Cowman, 2026. Cleaning up the cleaner wrasses: revision of the Labroides phthirophagus and Labroides bicolor species complexes, with rediagnosis of Labroides quadrilineatus and descriptions of two new species (Teleostei: Labridae). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology v. 74: 403-443. (Ref. 138889)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2 (Global))

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 19 February 2009

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items (preys)
Diet composition
Food consumption
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Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
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Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
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References

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | OneZoom | Open Tree of Life | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | TreeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index
(Ref. 82804) 		PD50 = 0.5039 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight a=0.00977 (0.00462 - 0.02067), b=3.07 (2.89 - 3.25), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level
(Ref. 69278) 		3.8   ±0.6 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience
(Ref. 120179) 		High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability
(Ref. 59153) 		Low vulnerability (14 of 100). 🛈
Price category
(Ref. 80766) 		Very high.
Nutrients
(Ref. 124155) 		Calcium = 126 [73, 231] mg/100g; Iron = 0.879 [0.499, 1.658] mg/100g; Protein = 18.4 [15.5, 20.6] %; Omega3 = 0.172 [0.104, 0.285] g/100g; Selenium = 23.1 [12.8, 43.2] μg/100g; VitaminA = 160 [49, 636] μg/100g; Zinc = 2.06 [1.37, 3.26] mg/100g (wet weight);