Category Archives: Fish

A small world

Tiny fish shelter in a tangle of lines in the waters off Hawaii

During a recent swim, I saw a small tangle of lines floating in the water. While I’m not a fan of debris ending up in the ocean, I know these kinds of thing can have a positive side, so I headed over to check it out.

While I liked the color and reflections of the scene, what I was looking for was whether this floating raft sheltered anything. I had to look closely, but saw a few tiny fish hiding in the lines. As I approached from one side, they disappeared to the other. We played this game for a while and I was able to get a few photos.

I don’t know what the fish were, but they were likely juveniles of one of the pelagic species. They were very small, a half to three quarters of an inch long. The clump of line itself was only 6 to 9 inches across. But such environments provide valuable shelter for a variety of tiny creatures. It was only when I looked at the photos that I noticed another one, the small orange crab on one of the lines.

Oceanic Blacktip Shark

OK, so it’s not a great photo, but this is the first time I’ve seen an Oceanic Blacktip Shark. At the time, I didn’t know what it was, but another snorkeler, who has had a few encounters, was able to ID it.

Reef sharks aren’t considered dangerous here, but there are oceanic varieties of both blacktips and whitetips. Oceanic Whitetip Sharks are considered very dangerous, but are rarely seen close to shore. Oceanic Blacktips are more of an unknown quantity, something to be wary of on the rare occasions they’re encountered.

Square-spot Goatfish

A school of Square-spot Goatfish swim by in shallow water. I love how they catch the sun.

The Numbers Game #65

Kilauea Volcano in late April 2018. Original post here.

The idea of The Numbers Game is to enter a number into the search bar of your computer and then post a selection of the photos that turn up. This week’s number is 186. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

A female Pearl Wrasse catches the light.

Has he gone yet?

A Peacock Grouper peeks out from below a rock in the waters off Hawaii

This Peacock Grouper had scooted under a ledge when I swam by, but I waited and it poked its head out briefly, likely wondering if the coast was clear.

The Numbers Game #64

The idea of The Numbers Game is to enter a number into the search bar of your computer and then post a selection of the photos that turn up. This week’s number is 185. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

Curious Scrawled Filefish

A scrawled filefish in the waters off Hawaii

On a recent swim, this Scrawled Filefish came right up to me to check me out. I’m willing to bet that its expression roughly translates into, ‘What a weird-looking creature!’

The Numbers Game #63

Water surges into a cavern at South Point.

The idea of The Numbers Game is to enter a number into the search bar of your computer and then post a selection of the photos that turn up. This week’s number is 184. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

Sunset off the coast of North Kohala, Hawaii — Raccoon Butterflyfish in formation.

Graham's Island

Life on the Big Island of Hawaii