I thought I’d seen the last of a large undulating eel when it slid under a ledge, but it re-emerged, only to slide into a crease in this patch of coral. The tail was visible for a short while, giving me this final peek, until that too disappeared.
Category Archives: Fish
Sailfin tang
Sailfin tang are pretty common. Usually the ones I see are a dark brown with vertical yellow bars and a yellow tail. A close look reveals thinner pale stripes between the vertical bars. There’s a photo here.
These two sailfin tangs, that I saw in shallow, murky water, were a first for me. They’re much paler and brighter, the thinner stripes are clearly defined, and their dorsal and anal fins are extended.
According to my fish book, the fins extension could be because the fish were alarmed, but it doesn’t say anything about them become lighter when this happens. I wondered if it was some sort of mating coloration, but again, my book says the fish darken when they do that.
So I’m not sure what was going on, but was happy to have spotted them and pleased that I got a decent photo given the murky water conditions.
Flowery flounder
As I did last week, I’m using the WordPress photo challenge as the cue for my posts. This week’s theme is ‘Rounded.’
From the right angle, flowery flounders are as round as dinner plates. This one caught the light just so as it glided over the rocks.
Gargantuan blenny
This week’s WordPress photo challenge is on the theme of scale. The idea is to “experiment with placement and scale to show how big (or small) you can feel in a photo.”
These photos don’t do that. It’s not the image that speaks to scale, it’s the name. I mean, this isn’t a big blenny, or a huge blenny, or even a giant blenny. This is a gargantuan blenny. I feel like I should type the word in all caps – GARGANTUAN – to do it justice.
The photos were taken on different days, but in the same area, and it’s probably the same fish. The bright spots are more numerous toward the front and really catch the light in the second photo.
And just how big is this blenny? Typically, they top out at about 7 inches long and this fish was probably about that, but in blenny-world, 7 inches is, well, GARGANTUAN.
Lei triggerfish
Lei triggerfish are quite common in Big Island waters. Sometimes two or three of them can be seen circling, then chasing each other. The two bands behind the eyes can change color from brown to gray or yellow. I like their blue eye shadow and their permanent look of surprise, as if they’re always saying ‘Oooo.’
Spotted boxfish
The spotted boxfish is the most common boxfish in Hawaii. They really are little boxes with a hard carapace. Only their fins, eyes and mouth move. They can also secrete a toxic slime if they’re bothered.
Surprisingly, given their shape, they’re very good swimmers and can easily outdistance a human. Such is their prowess in this regard that they’ve served as inspiration for submarine and car designs.
On a more basic level, they’re always fun to see in the water, puttering along nimbly, and keeping a good distance ahead of pursuing photographers. The top boxfish is a male and the one below, a female.
Stareye parrotfish
There are several kinds of parrotfish in the waters off the Big Island, but the lines radiating out from the eye make the stareye easy to identify. In its initial phase (below), those lines are much less obvious, and the fish blends in with its surroundings so well that it’s sometimes difficult to spot at all.
Whitebar surgeonfish
Whitebar surgeonfish are one of the staple reef fish. They’re regularly seen close to shore, often in large schools. Other reef fish will often join the crowd, such as the yellow tang in the second photo.
Graham's Island 