Tag Archives: Surgeonfish

Yellow tang-o

A pair of yellow tang dance in the sunlightA pair of yellow tang dance in the sunlight
Yellow tang are the most easily identifiable fish, both in and out of the water. Their bright yellow schools, cruising the shallows, are easily seen from shore. In the water, they stand out, especially when the sun catches them.

I watched this pair as they performed what I assumed was some kind of mating dance. They shimmied up and around, dancing apart and then coming together again with the most delicate and touching moves.

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.
A pair of yellow tangA pair of yellow tang dancing.

Reef fish

Many fish make the reef homeA great variety of fish make their home among the rocks and coral on the coast. From the bottom these are: two indo-pacific sergeants, a scrawled filefish, two or three whitebar surgeonfish, and in the background, a number of black triggerfish.

One of the pleasures of snorkeling here is that there’s always something to see and every day is different.

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.