Time to fly away

We are flying back to the states today. Thanks for sharing the journey. This blog will definitely slow down. The parade of underwater wonders will end for this year. I hope that you have enjoyed the reefs.

Our last dive

Here are a couple of the fish species that we saw on our last dive today. The bottom photo is a couple of small permit. These guys weren't much bigger than a foot, although they can get up to 3 feet. The top photo is of palometa. They were about the same size as the permit, and never get much bigger than 18 inches. Both species are a treat to see.

Sergeant Majors

One of the fish we regularly see on our dives is the sergeant major. It is a damselfish. We see them as early juveniles (bottom photo, less than 1 inch). Sometimes we see hundreds of them foraging for plankton in the water column (middle photo, about 5 inches). And we see them defending their purple egg masses, in a blue phase, at 6 inches and larger (top photo).

One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish

With apologies to Dr. Seuss, I wanted to share a few of the other fish from Bonaire's reefs. The one fish (bottom photo) is a cherubfish, a very small (3 inches) angelfish, and always a treat to see. The two fish are grunts, a bluestriped grunt (foreground, about 10 inches) and a French grunt (about 6 inches). Both grunt species are pretty common. The red fish are blackbar soldierfish (about 6 inches), another common species. The blue fish are boga (about 7 inches), a schooling species that we don't encounter very often.

Why it's a good idea to look under ledges

During the day, many species hide under ledges. There they can rest and be relatively safe from predators (and annoying divers). Sometimes, a glance under a ledge reveals tiny juvenile fish. And at other times larger fish are found. A few of the fish that I have recently spotted under ledges are a glasseye snapper (bottom photo, 10 inches), a spotted trunkfish (middle photo, 8 inches), and a porcupinefish (top photo, 18 inches).

Eels

In the fall of 2008, the eel populations on Bonaire's reefs suffered a big die off. As a result, in 2009 we didn't see very many eels. This year, we are seeing more eels. Some are out, swimming, or hunting, but most eels hunt at night, and basically rest under shelter during the day. This year, I encountered a spotted snake eel twice. The snake eel is large (over 4 feet long, bottom photo), and I had never seen one before this year. It was resting, buried in the sand, up to its head. The middle photo is a spotted moray, probably less than 3 feet long. The top photo is the goldentail moray, less than 2 feet long.

Find the green frogfish

The last featured frogfish was red, and it was easily spotted on contrasting sponges or corals. Today's frogfish is yellowish-green, and it resides on a green sponge. That makes finding it a little harder. The photos are arranged from bottom to top in distance from the fish. The closer we get, the easier it is to find the fish, especially when it is moving around, or opening its mouth! Notice the pink markings on the frogfish, and how its circular spots resemble parts of the sponge.

The most frequently sighted fish in Bonaire

Lots of divers record all the fish species that they see during a dive. The fish that is reported on the most surveys in Bonaire is the stoplight parrotfish. Terminal phase adults are not terribly common, but initial phase adults are all around, and juveniles are even more abundant. From bottom to top: early juveniles (less than 1 inch), juvenile (about 3 inches), initial phase adult (about 10 inches) and terminal phase adults (1 to 1/2 ft.).

The development of queen angelfish

One of the most strikingly beautiful fish on Bonaire's reefs is the queen angelfish. And the juvenile queen angelfish are a treat to find. This year seems to be a very good year for juveniles. While in other years, we might be happy to find one on a dive, this year we know sites where we can find 6 or 7 in one dive, and we have been watching them grow since the beginning of the year. Juveniles and adult fish share the same electric blue color, but adults lose the blue stripes. The smallest juveniles (bottom photo) are about 3 inches long. They dart in and out of shelter, so they are easy to enjoy, but hard to photograph. This intermediate stage (middle photo) is about 5 inches long. This adult (top photo) is about 12 inches long.

How flounders swim

Flounders are flatfish, that are most often seen on or very near the bottom. However, they are perfectly able to swim throughout the water column. Sometimes they can be seen gliding through the water. But watching closely as they swim reveals a wave motion that moves through their body. Part of that wave can be seen in this series of photos.

Smooth trunkfish

Trunkfish are great fun to watch, as they move around the reef. They are members of the boxfish family, named for their bony box-like structure. The generally swim fairly slowly using only their smaller fins. Today I encountered a group of 4 smooth trunkfish that were getting cleaned by a juvenile Spanish hogfish (the blue and yellow fish in the photos). The biggest trunkfish was only about 6 inches long. It was nice to see so many of them at once. And I particularly appreciated the color changes that they demonstrated.

Surgeonfish

One family of fish is known as surgeonfishes. This name is derived from a spine, on each side, at the base of the tail, that is as sharp as a scalpel. The blue tang (lower photo) is a surgeonfish that has a striking yellow phase as a juvenile. The doctorfish (top photo) always has body bars. Both species can pale or darken dramatically, and both graze on algae on the reef.

Sand divers

One of the frequently encountered predators on the reef is the sand diver. They are typically 12 to 14 inches long. They often rest on top of reef structures, but they also sometimes bury themselves in the sand, with only their head sticking out. When small fishes swim too close, the sand diver darts out to eat them. I'm posting photos of several sand divers, that always seem to be looking for their next meal.

Hunting for frogfish

In Bonaire, one of the most prized sightings underwater is the longlure frogfish. They vary extensively in coloration, and quite often blend in with their surroundings. Often they rest on sponges that they look alike. Their name "longlure" refers to the long filament, with a whitish burst on the end, that they dangle in front of potential prey. Fish that come to investigate the lure often end up as a meal.
The easiest frogfish to find are ones that don't match their surroundings. This red frogfish was fairly easy to find on repeated dives, because of its color. The bottom photo represents what was visible on one visit to the frogfish -- basically, a little splash of red. From another angle, the frogfish's tail and some fins could be seen (their fins really look like little legs). Other photos show its head. This particular frogfish moved around a lot, so it was hard to figure which way it was facing sometimes. In the top photo, look closely (left double click) above the eye, and you can see the lure extended out in front. It was fishing.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I've been trying to photograph heart shapes on the reef, to share as my Valentine to everyone. Enjoy the day.