A pair of baby convict tang putter around in a shallow tide pool.
In my attempts to identify what I see in the water, I use John P. Hoover’s book The Ultimate Guide to Hawaiian Reef Fishes, Sea Turtles, Dolphins, Whales, and Seals. His website is hawaiisfishes.com.
This predominately brown shoal of whitebar surgeonfish and whitespotted surgeonfish is enlivened by the yellow and orange of a male cigarfish and a flash of pink from the aptly named pinktail triggerfish.
In my attempts to identify what I see in the water, I use John P. Hoover’s book The Ultimate Guide to Hawaiian Reef Fishes, Sea Turtles, Dolphins, Whales, and Seals. His website is hawaiisfishes.com.
These are another of those fish that look quite different when they catch the light, with blue highlights standing out. They also look different as they age. The top photo is a large adult, the other two, a small younger adult.
These fish are big time predators, eating many other species of fish. I find this interesting because I often see bluefin trevally when I’m in the water. I see them pass by other fish and I’ve never seen them strike or seen other fish particularly bothered by their presence. One day …
In my attempts to identify what I see in the water, I use John P. Hoover’s book The Ultimate Guide to Hawaiian Reef Fishes, Sea Turtles, Dolphins, Whales, and Seals. His website is hawaiisfishes.com.
A pair of sailfin tang graze for algae.
In my attempts to identify what I see in the water, I use John P. Hoover’s book The Ultimate Guide to Hawaiian Reef Fishes, Sea Turtles, Dolphins, Whales, and Seals. His website is hawaiisfishes.com.
This is a palenose parrotfish passing through a school of whitebar surgeonfish. Most parrotfish attain this kind of color when they reach adulthood. Often times it appears somewhat muted, but when the sun catches them they are iridescent and stand out as much or more than anything else in the water.
In my attempts to identify what I see in the water, I use John P. Hoover’s book The Ultimate Guide to Hawaiian Reef Fishes, Sea Turtles, Dolphins, Whales, and Seals. His website is hawaiisfishes.com.
This ember parrotfish is one of several kinds of parrotfish to be seen around here. They scrape algae from the rocks, which is the reason for the dark stains around its beak. This fish is in its ‘initial’ phase and will later turn a beautiful blue-green.
Parrotfish are often trailed by a smaller wrasse of some kind, in this case, a Christmas wrasse. It’s there to snap up any small creatures dislodged by the larger fish’s grazing.
In my attempts to identify what I see in the water, I use John P. Hoover’s book The Ultimate Guide to Hawaiian Reef Fishes, Sea Turtles, Dolphins, Whales, and Seals. His website is hawaiisfishes.com.
Helmet urchins feed on algae at the water’s edge where they move about on little tube legs. I can’t claim to have witnessed any such activity, but for creatures that apparently just sit there, I find them quite cheerful and entertaining. Perhaps I should get out more.
To identify this, I used John P. Hoover’s book Hawai‘i’s Sea Creatures: A Guide to Hawai‘i’s Marine Invertebrates. His website is hawaiisfishes.com.
One difference in taking photos as a snorkeler rather than a diver, is that I can’t follow fish when they dive or hug the bottom. Also, when a fish is 30 feet down, the water affects how they look and the sun doesn’t reach them as much.
I mention this because I most often see peacock groupers in 20 to 30 feet of water where they look somewhat dull in color. They also tend to be quite shy, hurrying for cover under ledges or whatever other shelter is at hand.
However, as with many kinds of fish, juveniles can often be found in shallower water. I happened on this young peacock grouper one day and it promptly headed for cover. Before it did though, I got a couple of good images that captured the sun bringing out the spectacular blue patterns that I never see when they run deeper.
In my attempts to identify what I see in the water, I use John P. Hoover’s book The Ultimate Guide to Hawaiian Reef Fishes, Sea Turtles, Dolphins, Whales, and Seals. His website is hawaiisfishes.com.
Graham's Island 