FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Newswire.net — January 29, 2013) London, UK — A member of the cleaning staff who services Newquay’s Blue Quay Aquarium has been asked to do a cleaning job with a difference. One of the aquarium’s residents, a large loggerhead turtle named Omiros, needs to be cleaned on a regular basis in order to stay healthy, and the regular “cleaning staff” responsible for keeping the turtle clean are unable to do the job properly.
In the wild, which, for Omiros, is the ocean around Greece, turtles are cleaned by cleaner wrasse fish. These minute fish perform the task of removing dead skin, loose scales, algae and parasites from turtles’ shells in a symbiotic relationship: the fish get a source of readily available nutrients while the turtles are kept healthy and well groomed. Without the help of a cleaner wrasse fish, a turtle is more prone to infections and illness. Although Omiros does share his aquarium tank with a few cleaner wrasse fish and some other species of marine life, he has grown so large (he is 1.5 m long from nose to tail) that the few cleaner wrasse fish in his tank are unable to clean his scales properly.
As the cleaner wrasse fish are unable to keep Omiros healthy, the staff have had to use long-handled brushes to scrub his scales to keep the dead skin particles and algae away. The staff have to use long handles on their brushes, as loggerhead turtles have very powerful jaws and are capable of inflicting a savage bite on handlers if they got into the water. The bristles on the long-handled brushes have to be firm enough to be able to remove the dead skin and algae but not so firm and stiff that they scratch the scales in Omiros’s scales.
A representative from the London based cleaning company Anyclean, which specialises in the full range of domestic and office cleaning services, said “It just goes to show how you have to be prepared for absolutely anything if you’re a professional cleaner. While we’ve never been asked to clean a turtle yet, our team of professionals would do their best to clean anything that they’re asked to do. I guess most pet owners will probably want to groom their own turtles, some of our domestic cleaners would probably oblige if asked to. I guess that the long-handled brushes are a good idea for an animal this big – they’re good for lots of cleaning jobs. For small ones, you could try a toothbrush.”
Loggerhead turtles are an endangered species that is found in warm waters around the globe. Nets and other debris are a major threat to turtles, as they become entangled in them. Before moving to Newquay’s Blue Quay Aquarium, Omiros was rescued from a fishing net in the seas around Greece, and he showed signs of scarring from fish hooks. Although Omiros is larger than the average loggerhead turtle, he is not the largest example of his species, as they can grow up to 2 metres long.
Editor’s note:
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