Tag Archives: Goatfish

Bright and beautiful

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A Carpenter bee male at Lapakahi in Hawaii
A male Sonoran Carpenter Bee enjoys the sunshine.

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘All Things Bright and Beautiful.’ See more responses here.

Also posted for Becky’s Squares: Shadows. See more responses here.

Reef fish at Two Step in Hawaii
Reef fish at Two Step.
A Bromeliad in Hawaii
Aechmea blanchetiana bromeliad.
An Ember Parrotfish in the waters off Hawaii
An Ember Parrotfish.
A Crowned Jellyfish in the waters off Hawaii
A Crowned Jellyfish catches the light.
A Rcl Sharon king 'Volcano Queen' orchid at the Hilo Orchid Show in Hawaii
Rcl Sharon king ‘Volcano Queen’ orchid.
Sunset on the Kohala coast in Hawaii
North Kohala sunset.

You can hide, but you can’t run

A Blue Goatfish and a Pacific Day Octopus in the waters off Hawaii
A pair of Blue Goatfishes and a Pacific Day Octopus in the waters off Hawaii

I spotted this Pacific Day Octopus hunting with a pair of Blue Goatfishes. It’s quite common to see an arrangement like this in the water; there are benefits for both. But when a clumsy swimmer splashes into the picture, the situation changes. Goatfishes will swim away only if they feel threatened, but the octopus will settle somewhere and blend into the background.

However, it’s hard to disappear into the background when the fish keep nudging them to continue with the hunt. This octopus looked quite miffed about the situation until it finally gave up and shot off to hide elsewhere. The goatfishes followed, but the octopus found a crack to settle into, and the clumsy swimmer bid it a fond farewell!

Purple patches

A Manybar Goatfish in the waters off Hawaii
A guilty-looking Manybar Goatfish.

This week’s Sunday Stills color challenge theme is ‘Purple.’ See more responses here. Captions on the photos.

Colored lines on a table fan in Hawaii
Lines on a table fan.
A purple orchid in Hawaii
A purple orchid
A bee on a Queen’s Wreath flower.
A purple Outrigger Canoe in Hawaii
Outrigger canoe racing.

I got the blues real good

A broken window in Hawaii
One of the broken windows in the next door house mentioned in yesterday’s post.
A blue blur
I was photographing monarch butterflies and this photo was one of them. Use your imagination.

The Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge theme is ‘Blue.’ See more responses here. After sorting through some photos, I found a cluster of abstract blues that I like so here they are.

Chainlink fencing over a blue tarp in Hawaii
Some chainlink fencing wrapped around a blue tarp covering something or other.
A blue light at an airport in Hawaii
A blue light at Upolu Airport, up close and personal
Blue panels and rivets on a helicopter in Hawaii
Rivets on the skin of a very blue helicopter.
Goatfishes congregate over a sandy bottom in Hawaii
Goatfishes swimming in blue-green water in the company of a bluer parrotfish

Blue Goatfishes

Blue Goatfishes hunt in the waters off Hawaii

This is a scene I like to refer to as ‘gang activity.’ Blue Goatfishes are predators and hunt in packs, often in the company of other fish, such as Bluefin Trevallies and Pacific Trumpetfishes, as well as eels and octopuses.

The fish on the left is showing its barbels, which are used to ‘sense’ prey and also can be poked into tight spots to flush out prey.

Yellowfin Goatfish

Yellowfin goatfishes swimming in the waters off Hawaii

Yellowfin Goatfishes often hang out in large schools close to shore, providing a splash of color against the rocks. I like seeing how the schools just seem to move as one. If I came back as a fish, I’d be bumping into other fish left, right, and center.

Yellowfin goatfishes swimming in the waters off Hawaii