Category Archives: In The Water

Spotted pufferfish

A spotted pufferfish in the waters off the Big Island of HawaiiA spotted pufferfish in the waters off the Big Island of Hawaii

Spotted pufferfish can come in a variety of colors, but around here they’re mostly black or brown with white spots. Their defensive strategy is to inflate into a ball when threatened, thus making it very difficult for a predator to make a meal of them.

Actually, they’re probably doing the predators a favor since pufferfish are extremely toxic. Even very small amounts of the toxins in pufferfish can kill a human. Not surprising then that it’s illegal to serve pufferfish commercially in Hawaii, though it’s considered a delicacy in Japan. There, “fugu chefs” are licensed by the government. The properly-prepared flesh still contains trace amounts of toxins that are supposed to give the diner a warm glow. Goodness only knows what kind of liability insurance a fugu restaurant has to carry.

The eagle rays are circling

Four spotted eagle rays in the waters off the Big Island of Hawaii

It’s not often that Shakespeare comes to mind with my photos, but with this one I think of the caption, “When shall we three meet again … hey, wait a minute.” The last bit might not be Shakespeare, an early draft perhaps.

These four spotted eagle rays were puttering about in clear, shallow water so I got a decent photo without getting wet.

Sailfin tang

A pair of sailfin tang in the waters off the Big Island of Hawaii.

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.

Gargantuan blenny

A Gargantuan Blenny rests on a patch of coralA Gargantuan Blenny rests between rocks.

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.

Hawksbill turtle

A Hawksbill turtle swims in the waters off the Big Island of Hawaii.

Returning from a long swim, I spotted this turtle cruising along beneath me. I turned to follow it, usually the cue for a turtle to glide away, leaving me in its wake. But this one circled around and went back and forth in the same area for a while.

At first I assumed it was a green turtle, which are most commonly seen around here, but I realized that this one looked a bit different. The bill seemed more pointed and the edge of its shell was serrated. I thought it might be a hawksbill turtle, which are seldom seen here.

When I got home and checked my book it confirmed that the turtle was a hawksbill, which is the first I’ve seen.