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Most familiar to divers is the blue-streak cleaner wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus), which set up stations to clean small parasites and pockets of decay from the skin, mouth and gills of larger reef fish. Some wrasse act as cleaners only when young (for example, the colorful lyretail hogfish, Bodianus anthoides).

The largest of the family is the Napoleon wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus), which can reach 1.8 meters. This is one of the largest fish a diver will see on many dives. These stately animals, also called the humphead wrasse, have a prominent forehead and formidable-looking snout and cruise the outer edge of the reef in loose groups, with one large male and a few smaller females.

The Napoleon wrasse, or humphead wrasse, Cheilinus undulatus, is the largest wrasse and—at up to two meters — often the largest fish of any kind one will see on a given dive. This predator on crustaceans, gastropods, fishes and echinoderms is usually a solitary rover, but sometimes a pair or a small "squad" will be seen. Australians call this fish the Maori wrasse.