There are several kinds of parrotfish in the waters off the Big Island, but the lines radiating out from the eye make the stareye easy to identify. In its initial phase (below), those lines are much less obvious, and the fish blends in with its surroundings so well that it’s sometimes difficult to spot at all.
The largest of Hawaii’s endemic parrotfish, this one caught the sunlight just right, bringing out its bold coloration.
Hawaiian cleaner wrasse are small blue and yellow fish that clean the mucus, dead tissue and parasites off other fish. They establish permanent stations on the reef, and fish that need cleaning swim up and hover around until it’s their turn.
A fish can get nipped during a cleaning, but they also seem to enjoy the process and the sensation of the cleaner wrasse dragging its fins over a client’s body – a one-stop clean and massage. This bullethead parrotfish seemed positively ecstatic during its clean, several times sporting a look of bliss on its face.
Maybe next time I’m in the water, I’ll dive down and give it a go.
As parrotfish grow, they go through two phases, initial and terminal. Initial phase parrotfish can be male or female, but in some species are always female. I ran a photo of an initial phase ember parrotfish here.
This ember parrotfish is in its terminal phase and is what is known as a supermale. Terminal phase parrotfish are always male and, as John Hoover notes, ‘supermales are almost always reversed-sex females.’ Supermales also tend to brightly colored, like this one.
The smaller, following fish is a Christmas wrasse. Parrotfish are often trailed by one or other of the wrasses, looking to latch onto things to eat, dislodged by the larger fish grazing for algae on the coral.
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.
Graham's Island 