Long-term memory retention in a wild fish species Labroides dimidiatus eleven months after an aversive event

we document correlative evidence of cleaner fish<i>Labroides dimidiatus</i>remembering being caught in a barrier net for eleven months. In 2015, about 60% of cleaners from one large isolated reef had been used for laboratory experiments and then returned to their site of capture. Eleven months later, 50% of cleaners at the same site showed an unusual hiding response to the placement of the barrier net, in contrast to three control sites where no cleaners had been caught during the last two years. The results suggest that a single highly aversive event (i.e., being caught in a barrier net) resulted in cleaners storing long-term vital information that allowed them to avoid being caught again.