Cleaning Workers of the Seas

What occurs to you if you see a small fish that is about to enter the mouth of a big fish? You think that the big fish will swallow the small fish, and you wonder why the small fish comes so close to it.

It is undoubtedly unusual that the big fish lets the small fish swim around it, does not attack it and does not care about its swimming in its mouth or through its gills. It is, however, possible to see such scenes a lot in the oceans. It is not only some small fish that fearlessly swim around big fish. Sometimes shrimps, too, may be seen near the mouths of big fish. These are cleaner shrimps whose job is to clean some big fish.

There are many kinds of cleaner shrimps. The shrimp in the picture is one of them. The red and white stripes of the shrimp make it stand out like a lighthouse and help a fish which needs cleaning find the shrimp. When the shrimp, with its two long white antennae, settles in on the fish, the fish begins to wait patiently for the shrimp to eat the parasites on its skin or from wounds. The cleaner shrimp can even enter the fish’s mouth to remove disturbing parasites. In this way, it finds its own nourishment. The shrimp keeps working until it makes sure that the fish is clean all over. When the job is done, the big fish does not do the slightest harm to the shrimp, which in fact could represent a lavish meal. The shrimp acts without worrying whether the big fish will attack it or not. As seen in the picture on the left, these two creatures get along very well.

Concepts like “getting along well”, “giving guarantee” are peculiar to humans, who have intellect and intelligence, and therefore cannot apply to these creatures. Yet, Allah, Who has control and power over all things, taught these creatures to behave so, to trust and co-operate with each other. So, they can live with no trouble.