[3][4] The countries and territories that it occurs in include American Samoa, Australia, British Indian Ocean Territory, China, Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, Comoros, Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, Kiribati, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mayotte, Micronesia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Northern Mariana Islands, Oman, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Réunion, Samoa, Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, United States Minor Outlying Islands, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Wallis and Futuna and Yemen.
Given its wide range, the exact population is unknown, but it is considered relatively common (except in the Philippines and Malaysia, where it is rare in some sites).
It, both individually and in groups, feeds on fish mucus and crustacean ectoparasites such as the Gnathiidae, and has been found to clean and interact with a variety of species, including the striated surgeonfish, the brown tang, parrotfish and the closely related bluestreak cleaner wrasse.
[7] It is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN and it not considered to be significantly threatened although it was once was targeted by the aquarium industry, and coral degradation may occur in some parts of its range.
It occurs in several protected areas throughout its range but research is needed on sustainable harvest and trade and the impact of collection.