Category Archives: Fish

Ember parrotfish

Ember Parrotfish with bite wound

A couple of shots of ember parrotfish here.

The top one shows something of the peril of life in the ocean. This ember parrotfish is missing a chunk of its dorsal fin and back. I see it often when I go snorkeling and it doesn’t seem the least bit affected by its wound. It’s not unusual to see fish with a tail missing or a chunk removed from part of its body. If it heals, they seem quite able to carry on as normal.

In the photo below, this ember parrotfish has no wounds and is quite healthy. A couple of things of note about this fish. One is the dark algae ‘mustache.’ The other is that its eye looks exactly the same as the eyes of a teddy bear I had when I was a kid. Awww!

Ember Parrotfish

Spotted pufferfish and squaretail filefish

Spotted Pufferfish and Squaretail Filefish

These two very distinct fish that are regularly seen near shore. The squaretail filefish on the left is distinguished by the white patch above the base of its tail fin, while the spotted pufferfish is black or brown and covered with small white spots.

These two aren’t traveling together, as some other types of fish do, to hunt or feed. They just happened to be in the same vicinity.

Fivestripe wrasse

Fivestripe Wrasse

This is a supermale fivestripe wrasse. There are many colorful wrasses in Hawaii, but the fivestripe wrasse is one of the less common varieties. Despite the impressive name, it’s less than five inches in length.

Snowflake moray eel

Snowflake eel

This is an adult snowflake moray eel. Their distinctive markings make them one of the easier eels to identify. Unlike other eels, they don’t have sharp teeth, but pebble-like plates which they use to crush the shells of their invertebrate prey.

Bluespine unicornfish being cleaned

Bluespine Unicornfish and cleaner wrasse

Bluespine Unicornfish being cleanedThe bluespine unicornfish must be a contender for any ‘Grumpiest Looking Fish’ awards. This one though was enjoying the attention of a small yellow and blue Hawaiian cleaner wrasse.

Cleaner wrasses establish territories where other fish come to be cleaned, removing mucus, dead tissue, and parasites from their customers. This service is obviously valued by other fish. They will line up to be cleaned, waiting their turn. Often times, their expressions are quite blissful during the process. But most significant, cleaner wrasse perform their services on bigger fish, including predators, without becoming prey.

How long is a zebra moray eel?

Zebra Moray Eel

Zebra moray eels are one of the easiest eels to identify, their circular stripes differentiating them from any other eel. They feed mostly on crabs, which they crush with their blunt teeth.

These eels can grow to five feet in length, but are usually smaller. This one though is probably about as large as they get. The yellow tang near its head could be as long as six or seven inches, while the saddle wrasse at its tail tops out at ten inches. That would make this eel somewhere between four and five feet long. It’s certainly the biggest zebra moray that I’ve seen.

Gang activity

Bird Wrasse, Bluefin Trevally and Blue goatfish

I happened upon this little gang of fish while I was swimming. At the top is a bluefin trevally, in the center a pair of blue goatfish, and at the bottom a male bird wrasse. Trevallies and goatfish regularly hunt together, often in the company of an eel or octopus. They try to flush out or ambush small fish as their prey. The bird wrasse eats mostly marine invertebrates but will also take small fish .

I often see fish like these hunting, but have yet to see any of them snag a meal, though they clearly are reasonably successful hunters.

Pearl wrasse

Pearl Wrasse grazing

Pearl WrasseThe pearl wrasse, which is endemic to Hawaii, gets its name from the markings of the female, which look like strings of pearls. The male pearl wrasse is predominantly green with fine blue lines.

I hadn’t seen a pearl wrasse before, or at least not identified one, until this female showed up in a fairly shallow area. She was there for several days before apparently moving on and I haven’t seen her again since.

A striking fish at any time, this one was particularly brilliant when the sun caught her colors.