Category Archives: Fish

Kayak fisherman

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This week’s Friendly Friday challenge theme is ‘Color Harmonies.’ See more responses here.

I like the colors in this photo of a kayak fisherman, with his red hat and yellow kayak. He has a fairly typical setup, with two or three rods attached in one way or another. He’ll have some bait in the kayak and probably a few beverages and snacks.

I was surprised to see him passing so close, but figured that he’d seen me and was being careful. In the end, I was glad I stopped to take this photo because just after I started swimming again, a large lure and hook passed in front of me on his unseen trailing line. Had I not stopped I’d probably have been hooked, reeled in, gutted, and barbecued. Not a bad way to go, really, I guess.

Better Days: Eel on the hook

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I hope this photo doesn’t ruin anyone’s breakfast, but I run it for a couple of reasons. First, a lot of people fish around the island and most of them don’t like eels. Snag an eel on your line and there’s not much to be done. The eel will wrap itself in knots and the only way to be rid of it is to cut the line. The person fishing could try removing the hook and releasing the eel, but even if they were so inclined, the feeling is, ‘why release an eel so that it can tie itself in knots next time you throw a line in?’

And that brings us to the other reason for running the photo, and which also explains another reason no one wants to remove that hook. Look at those teeth! Rows of them, front and back, side to side. Reach for that hook and chances are you’re going to get bitten. This is also why it’s not a good idea to mess with anything in the water. Even little fish that look harmless can have a powerful bite, or sharp spines, or some other nasty surprise.

What color is this octopus?

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The answer to the headline is that it depends on the moment and the background. I surprised this day octopus when I came around a corner and it instantly changed color. Then it moved and changed color again. I edged away and it moved and changed color again. It changed about five times over the course of a few minutes and each change was like hitting a light switch – one moment this, next moment that.

Their default color is a gray-brown, but I didn’t see that on this occasion. The red of the center photo is a reaction to being surprised and the two mottled patterns are camouflage attempts.

Posted in response to Becky’s July Squares challenge theme of ‘Perspective.’ See more responses here.

Yellow tang

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  • Yellow tang feeding
  • Yellow tang feeding on coral
  • Yellow tang
  • Yellow tango
  • Yellow tango
  • Yellow tango

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Yellow.’ See more offering’s here.

I thought I’d try the WordPress gallery feature for this post, which features yellow tangs, the first fish everyone notices in Hawaii. These bright yellow fish putter about in fairly shallow water, sometimes singly or in pairs, but often in large groups. They feed on algae, and occasionally can be seen cleaning turtles for this purpose. Unlike some fish, juveniles look the same as mature yellow tangs so shoals often contain a variety of sizes. The lower three photos show a pair of yellow tangs engaged in what I think is some kind of mating ritual.

Yellow tang are long-lived fish. They can live to be 20 or 30 years old. They’re also fish that are very popular in the aquarium trade but, since they don’t breed in captivity, all aquarium fish are collected from the wild. Currently, there’s a moratorium on the aquarium fish collection trade here, because of concerns about fish stocks and the sustainability of the practice.

Also posted in response to Becky’s July Squares challenge theme of ‘Perspective.’ See more responses here.

Yellow tang in Hawaii

Little fish

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A shoal of small fish stretch away into the distance. I think these are juveniles but I’m not sure of which fish. They’re small and silvery and zip around in a harmonious way, changing direction as if connected by invisible wires.

Posted in response to Becky’s July Squares challenge theme of ‘Perspective.’ See more responses here.

Stareye parrotfish

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The magenta lines around the eye of this fish identify it as a supermale stareye parrotfish. Parrotfish have initial and terminal phases. Most adults remain in the initial phase throughout their lives as either males or females, though some parrotfish are all females.

Terminal phase parrotfish are called supermales. These are female initial phase fish which have reversed their sex. They will fertilize most of the eggs laid by initial phase females in their territories. When one of these supermales dies, another initial phase female will reverse sex and take its place.

Big and small bluespine unicornfish

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Adult bluespine unicornfish, such as the one above, are liberally trimmed with blue on their fins, spines, and tail streamers. They also have a horn jutting from their brows. Juveniles are also tinged with blue, but while they have blue spines, they don’t yet have tail streamers and they don’t have a horn. Once they grow a horn, their cuteness will disappear and they will acquire the grumpy look of most unicornfish.