An Ember Parrotfish swims in the company of a pair of Convict Tangs and a Whitebar Surgeonfish, but it was the bouldered bottom that caught my eye here.
Fish on the rocks
Tag Archives: Surgeonfish
Orangeband Surgeonfish
With some creatures, it’s easy to see how they got their names. The Orangeband Surgeonfish is one of those.
Convict Tangs
A school of Convict Tangs grazes on algae on the rocks.
Achilles Tang
Achilles Tangs are one of those fish that I see frequently, but rarely get the chance to photograph. They hang around in the shallows, but scoot for cover when approached. This fish was doing just that, but I managed to get this photo before it disappeared around the corner.
Pacific Trumpetfish
Pacific Trumpetfish can be seen in many guises. They’re usually gray or brown according to my fish book, but can be yellow or black with a variety of stripes and bars added to their look, depending on circumstances. The purpose of all these looks is to blend in with their surroundings so that they can more easily ambush fish that are their prey.
The trumpetfish in these photos were accompanying Convict Tangs. The yellow look in the top photo is more often seen when they’re around Yellow Tangs, but the natty look in the bottom photo works better with the tangs and the area they’re swimming.
Pacific Trumpetfish are easily spotted while snorkeling, because they’re a decent size and have a much different look to the fish they accompany. This seems like a failure on their part, but when these fish are seen from the front, which is the view their prey have, they’re virtually invisible!
Hawaiian Cleaner Wrasse at work
Cleaner wrasses establish territories where they remove mucus, parasites, and dead tissue from other fish. These cleaning stations can exist in the same place for years and can have several wrasses performing those services. Their clients can be anything from other small reef fish to eels and sharks.
In these photos, a Hawaiian Cleaner Wrasse services a Whitebar Surgeonfish.
Reef fish
I like taking photos of the different kinds of fish that gather, sometimes in the same general area every day. This group caught my eye for the Bluestripe Snappers with their beautiful blue stripes on yellow bodies.
Ember Parrotfish
The Ember Parrotfish is the largest parrotfish in Hawaii, but it can often be found in surprisingly shallow water. This one was cruising through a small school of Yellow Tangs in just two or three feet of water. The multicolored fish beneath it is a Christmas Wrasse. These fish will often accompany a parrotfish hoping to snack on creatures dislodged by the larger fish.
Graham's Island 