Don’t Eat the Cleaners!

Tiny Fish with a Big Job

Publication date: February 18, 2025
Ages 4-8

Marvel in this fascinating exploration of aquatic animal behavior
in coral reefs around the world!

Preorder now ⇢

Don’t Eat the Cleaners! celebrates the teamwork of the tiny but mighty cleaner fishes and shrimp that scrub larger ocean animals of pesky parasites in return for a tasty meal. 

Children will be amazed to learn that sea turtles, manta rays, and even sharks line up for a scrubbing in “cleaning stations,” just like at a car wash. Some customers return 100 times a day! Cleaners even have specialties, like “sea dentist” cleaner shrimp that clean the teeth of a moray eel. And all the ocean animals must remember the important rule if they want a washing by the cleaning crew: DON’T EAT THE CLEANERS!

Back matter includes images identifying all 30 animals and a fun matching game: can you find the animals in the book?

Some illustrations in the book: