Soldierfishes are nighttime plankton feeders. By day, most rest in sheltered spots such as under ledges, in caves, or in deep holes in the rocks. Pearly soldierfishes area little different in that, during the day, they rest in the open just above the reef.
Like all soldierfish, the pearly soldierfish is notable for its large eyes and reddish coloration, though usually with the pearly sheen that gives it its name.
Redbarred hawkfish, like other hawkfish, spend most of their time perched motionless on a rock or coral head, waiting to dart out at passing prey, usually little fish or small crustaceans. On some fish, the bars are more of a brick red, similar to the color of the red pencil urchin on the left of the photo.
Toward the end of a hike along the coast, I came across this turtle feeding in a shallow tidal area. There was good grazing to be had, but the problem was that the ledge was continually swept by incoming waves.
The turtle would swim in and access the ledge from the shore side (on the right in the top photo). Then he lumped forward to where the good grazing was and buried his head in it.
Waves would surge in and sluice over him (below). Sometimes, the receding wave had enough oomph that it would wash the turtle over the front edge of the ledge. Then he’d swim around and start over again.
Undulated moray eels have a reputation for being ill-tempered. This photo shows why it’s a good idea not to provoke that temper – an abundance of long, sharp teeth.
This big-eye emperor fish gave me the big eye, which is very unusual. Big-eye emperors are the kings of hanging in the water and imperceptibly drifting away. It’s an act of extreme futility to try and get close. The more you try, the farther away they get.
The winds were blowing here last week, 30+ mph on a consistent basis. But one afternoon the winds picked up even more and triggered dirt storms off the hills above Kawaihae.
The wind whistled down the slope from Kohala Mountain and dry dirt was gathered up, whirled around, and blasted down the slope toward the ocean. This happened for an hour or so. Sometimes, white sand from the beach in Kawaihae harbor was similarly stirred up.
The unfortunate aspect of this display was that it visibly demonstrated the problems with erosion when the ground is dry. If it’s not the wind, then any rainfall washes the soil down gullies and into the ocean. All this dirt being deposited in the relatively shallow waters off the coast degrades the water quality and can have a seriously adverse effect on corals in the area.
Orangespine unicornfish, like most unicornfish, tend to look a little grumpy. If they actually get grumpy, they have sharp orange spines at the base of the tail fin that they can use to express their displeasure. This doesn’t mean they’re a dangerous fish, just one not to provoke, which is a good attitude to have to any creature.
This is a group of Hawaiian zebra blennies that I came across in a tide pool one day. The largest of them, with the blue highlights and yellow cheeks is the breeding male. The others are likely females that he has won over.
Graham's Island 