At the base of a large antler coral, a pair of butterflyfish that really didn’t want to leave, even when a large and noisy diver is sitting just a few feet away. I love these opportunities, any chance to get a closer shot of a fish that usually swims quickly away when approached.
Category: Postcard from the Reef
Photos from the wet
Postcard from the Reef – Helmet Urchin
They are everywhere in the tide zone, an extraordinarily common species. So common I usually forget to take a picture. A closer look shows a cool animal. The spines are modified, no sharp needles here, armor plates instead. An excellent arrangement for resisting the fury of the waves and still giving protection from would be predators.
Postcard from the Reef – Roommates
Just another whitemouth moray. But then, I hadn’t seen anything interesting to photograph for a few minutes as I wandered along the reef face. May as well shoot a few frames. Wait? There is a second eel in the cavity! A dwarf moray?
Postcard from the Reef – Devil Scorpionfish
I didn’t spot it this time either. It was Mark who was pointing at the coral. I looked, looked again… Oh! There is something there. The camouflage these fish utilize is impressive, even from quite close they blend amazingly well with the coral and algae. I wonder how many times I have drifted past one of these fish without seeing it.
As Olivier and I got closer to take a few photos, the fish began to walk away. Yes, I said walk. The fish would walk several feet on its pectoral fins then try to sit still and hide again. A truly weird thing, watching a fish walk across the reef.
Postcard from the Reef – Gaudy
Camouflage color schemes make sense, bright colors can be evolutionarily useful. Sometimes the color schemes exhibited by reef fish just seem weird…
Postcard from the Reef – Nudi Eggs
A little spiral on a rock, an odd looking thing, a bright white against the reds and yellows of the sponges. I spotted the spiral from some distance away across the cave. But I know what to look for, sweeping the rock with my dive light.
The nudibranch themselves are nearby, on the same face of the rock. I find three white-margin nudibranch, two quite large at about 3cm, the largest I have seen this species. A much smaller specimen is close by, less than half the length of the adult. These are a handsome species, always nice to find.
I am surprised that the eggs are not quickly eaten by fish or other predators. There must be some defense mechanism in play, a foul taste, a toxin, nudibranch are known to employ such tactics.
Postcard from the Reef – Snapping Shrimp
Put your head below water near any tropical reef and the first thing you hear is the cacophony of snaps. This is the popping or crackling noise of hundreds of snapping shrimp. Rarely seen, these small shrimp are everywhere, I find it amazing that these small shrimp have such an impact on the reef environment.
This pair was deep in a cauliflower coral, not easy to photograph. Even worse, I was snorkeling, not diving, it took three dives, and three attempts to get the photo…
Slipper Lobster
Postcard from the Reef – Bigeye
Shine a dive light into any small cave along a Hawaiian coast and you will see a swirl of red fish… Soldierfish, squirrelfish and bigeyes. They are all some shade of red and all possess large eyes for foraging in the night. During the day these fish shelter in caves, crevices and overhangs. There are a couple dozen species, identifying each is a bit of a challenge…
Postcard from the Reef – Leaf Scorpionfish
Dave spotted it, what appeared as a piece of debris lying in the coral. A closer look showed this ‘debris’ has fins. It is a Leaf Scorpionfish crouching low in the coral. I have seen a few members of this interesting family lately, often challenging to spot.