Fish and cleaner shrimp in the wild have a symbiotic relationship, with the fish lining up at shrimp 'cleaning stations' to have the shrimp comb them for parasites.

Now, after a multi-year search, scientists at James Cook University in Australia have nominated the peppermint shrimp as the best variety to take forward to commercial trials.

PhD student David Vaughan led the study, working with Dr Kate Hutson at JCU's Centre for Sustainable Tropical Fisheries and Aquaculture.

The team were looking for a natural alternative to chemicals for cleaning parasites off farmed fish. Four shrimp species were tested against each other in a set of experiments to see which one would be the best for potential commercial application.