This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Your 2022 Year-in-Review.’ See more responses here. Like last year, I’ve gone with a favorite photo from each month of 2021, with a caption and link to the post the photo first appeared in.
It’s not unusual to see a variety of fish performing the same maneuver as this chub. I think what it’s doing is rubbing off parasites that attach themselves to fish. They seem to like this particular rock, possibly because of its rounded top and just the right amount of abrasiveness.
A little clump of weed, or some such thing, catches the light as it floats by.
This brightly-colored fish is fairly common in shallow waters. Those orange spines at the base of the tail are reputed to be very sharp, though I have no desire to field test that. One would have to be unlucky or unwise to be on the receiving end of them. They’re intended for use in encounters with other fish.
This week’s Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge is ‘Cobalt.’ See more responses here.
A follow up to yesterday’s post, this cobalt blue fish is actually a decal on a very yellow car.
Yellow Tangs nibble on coral heads on the steep slope down to deep water at Two Step, a popular snorkeling spot in South Kona.
At one of my regular snorkeling spots, there’s a spot I call The Eel Motel. It’s a little hole in the rock, which is often occupied by a small Whitemouth Moray Eel or Yellowhead Moray Eel. On this visit, the former was home.
In the top photo, the eel’s head is on the left and its tail on the right. Even though the eel has its mouth closed, the white tip to the tail is another sure identifier. I drifted above it, taking photos, while its head twisted back and forth keeping track of me.
The markings on these eels can vary quite a bit, one of which is a full spread of bold white spots, such as these.
These butterflyfishes are easily recognizable because of their distinctive black coloring. This one came over to check me out and, as most fish are wont to do, quickly got bored with me!
