Tag Archives: Triggerfish

Wedgetail Triggerfish

The wedgetail triggerfish is the state fish of Hawaii

This is the state fish of Hawaii and while its official name is straightforward, in Hawaii it’s called the Humuhumu-nukunuku-ā-pua’a, which is actually easier to pronounce than it looks.

The fish is also known as the Picasso Triggerfish, a reference to its bold colors and markings.

In the pink

A Pinktail Triggerfish in the waters off Hawaii

This week’s Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge is ‘Pink.’ See more responses here.

The top photo is an appropriately named Pinktail Triggerfish. Below, we have a Gold Dust Day Gecko cleaning the windows, a pink hibiscus fronting an orange tree, and an Hawaiian Stilt with an itch.

A Gold dust day gecko licks its eye
A pink hibiscus in front of an orange tree in Hawaii
An Hawaiian Stilt scratches itself

Countdown

Ten sheep, and ten cattle egrets, in Hawaii

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘A Numbers Game.’ See more responses here. I put all my fingers and thumbs to work for my response, starting with ten Sheep in formation (and ten Cattle Egrets, too, as a bonus).

Next we have nine Spinner Dolphins playing, eight Wild Pigs foraging, seven Cattle Egrets heading to work.

Nine spinner dlophins in the waters off Hawaii
A wild pig with seven piglets in Hawaii
Seven Cattle Egrets fly over the water in Hawaii

Then there’s six Dung Beetles at work, five Black Triggerfish feeling blue, four Japanese White-eyes bathing.

Six dung beetles in Hawaii
Black Triggerfishes in an aroused state in the waters off Hawaii
Four Japanese White-eyes bathing in Hawaii

And finally, three Horses watching, two Hawaiian Monk Seals resting, and one Pueo anticipating zero and lifting off.

Three horses in Hawaii
A Hawaiian monk seal and pup on a beach in Hawaii
A pueo takes off in Hawaii

Bright fishes

  • Three Pyramid butterflyfishes off Hawaii
    Pyramid Butterflyfishes
  • A female Pearl Wrasse off Hawaii
    Female Pearl Wrasse
  • A Bluespotted cornetfish off Hawaii
    Bluespotted Cornetfish
  • An Ornate butterflyfish off Hawaii
    Ornate Butterflyfish
  • A Wedgetail Triggerfish off Hawaii
    Wedgetail Triggerfish
  • A Moorish idol and yellow tang off Hawaii
    Moorish Idol and Yellow Tang
  • A Flowery flounder on a rock off Hawaii
    Flowery Flounder
  • A Manybar goatfish off Hawaii
    Manybar Goatfish
  • A Goldrim Tang off Hawaii
    Goldrim Tang
  • A Bluespine Unicornfish off Hawaii
    Bluespine Unicornfish
  • A Common longnose butterflyfish off Hawaii
    Common Longnose Butterflyfish
  • An Indo-Pacific Sergeant off Hawaii
    Indo-Pacific Sergeant

This week’s Friendly Friday challenge theme is ‘Something Fishy.’ See more responses here.

This seemed like a good opportunity to post a gallery of some of the fish I see when I snorkel around here. Most are brightly colored or have distinctive markings.

Also posted in response to Becky’s April Squares challenge theme of ‘Bright.’ See more responses here.

Yesterday’s swim

A small shoal of convict tang feeding.
I think this is a spotted coral blenny on a head of purple cauliflower coral, and possibly a small trumpetfish.

This is a second response to this week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme of ‘Waterworld.’ (See more responses here.) Yesterday, I posted about the movie Waterworld. Today, it’s a probably more expected response.

These are photos I took during my swim yesterday. Visibility in the water was patchy with some good areas and some not so good. I didn’t see anything startling, though the mackerel shads aren’t a common sight. Last time I saw such a shoal there was a great barracuda lurking on the other side. I looked around and, sure enough, there was another one looking interested as it cruised low down, too low for a decent photo.

The other oddity was in the photo at left. I saw what I think is a spotted coral blenny on this patch of cauliflower coral, and snapped a quick photo before it took off. But it was only when I processed the photos that I saw something else, to the left and slightly below the blenny. I think it’s a small trumpetfish, but it could be something else. A lot of small fish and other creatures hide in coral heads so I must pay more attention from here on.

In short, it was a fairly typical swim.

A shoal of mackerel scad on the left with yellow tang on the right.
Little fish enjoy the comparative safety of the shallow water in the surge zone.
On the left, a fourspot butterflyfish and a cushion star. On the right, black triggerfish are cleaned by a Hawaiian cleaner wrasse.
Just before getting out I saw this small Pacific trumpetfish with goldring surgeonfishes.

Black triggerfish

Black triggerfish are one of the most common fish on the reef, at least in certain areas. They are unremarkable in appearance being mostly black with bright, pale blue lines at the base of the dorsal and anal fins (top photo).

They are usually seen in large groups, moving through the water as they feed on plankton and algae (middle photo).

But when they’re agitated, bright blue lines radiate from around the eye. The more agitated, the more coloration, until they can appear like the fish in the bottom photo, with blue-green lines over the whole body.