White-spotted Filefish

One of the fascinating fish that we regularly encounter on our dives, the white-spotted filefish moves slowly, and if we don't move too quickly, it can be closely approached. And just to keep things interesting, as a result of multiple color phases, they don't always display white spots.

Today, I watched one filefish flipping its file up and down to maneuver in close quarters. The file, which is really the first spine of their dorsal fin, acts something like a rudder, enabling them to turn.

The bottom photo shows a white-spotted phase of the white-spotted filefish. The next 2 photos show the file up and down. The top photo shows an orange-phase white-spotted filefish.

Hide and Seek on the reef - Part 2

Today's challenge is to find the fish. Lying motionless on a rock, this Spotted Scorpionfish is difficult to find. The fish is about 14 inches long. Three of the photos represent the same fish from different angles. The top photo is a different individual, on sand, so you know what to look for in the lower photos. This species is an ambush predator that relies upon blending in with its background. It definitely appears to be overgrown with all kinds of things. Good luck.

Gray Snapper

There is something particularly challenging about a species description that starts "Often no distinguishing features; identification can be by process of elimination." (Reef Fish Identification: Florida, Caribbean, and Bahamas, by Paul Humann and Ned Deloach) This is how the gray snapper is described. They aren't even always gray, varying from pale to dark gray to reddish brown. Occasionally a dark band runs diagonally through the eye.

It is not uncommon for fish species to display various color phases, and sometimes we are fortunate to watch the fish change from one phase into another. However, it can be difficult to remember all the color phases of all the species.

These photos are some of the gray snapper that I encountered today (with and without the eye band). They were about 16 to 18 inches long.

Spanish hogfish

The Spanish hogfish is a brightly colored wrasse that we encounter often on Bonaire's reefs. Juveniles and adults have very similar coloration: purple upper body, with a yellow belly and tail. However, their behavior is quite different. Juveniles act as cleaner fish, and we often see other fish species soliciting cleaning from them. Adults reach up to 2 feet, but don't clean.

In the bottom photo, a small group of creole wrasse (about 8 inches long) are soliciting cleaning from a juvenile Spanish hogfish.

The top photo shows an adult Spanish hogfish.

Midnight parrotfish

Today, about half way into my dive, I was joined by a large midnight parrotfish (almost 3 feet long). It was charging around, stopping occasionally for a bite to eat. A few minutes later, I noticed a smaller midnight parrotfish (about 2 feet long) swimming towards me. The big parrotfish chased the smaller one away. The smaller fish folded down its dorsal fin, to make a hasty retreat. Most likely they were both males, and the larger male is always dominant. In past years, we have seen several male/female pairs of midnight parrotfish, happily co-existing, but I don't recall ever seeing a pair of males before.

SeaTurtles

We have been fortunate to encounter turtles on 3/4 of our dives. Hawksbill turtles are the most common. They really don't seem to mind divers very much. Both yesterday and today, my mask was seriously fogging, so I couldn't see very far, yet at one point, I looked to the side and found a turtle within about 3 feet of me. These turtles were both about 2 feet long.

Snook

Yesterday, on our afternoon snorkle,we encountered 5 or 6 large snook. And today, we dove in the same area, and met the same fish. They grow up to about 4 feet, and are impressive fish, that don't seem alarmed by divers. It was a treat to be able to photograph them, even if their orientation was less than ideal.

Back underwater!

After several delays, we have finally made it back into the Caribbean, diving in Bonaire. This year's rainy season seems to have slowed down, and the visibility is improving. My first photo of the season is a peacock flounder, waiting for some unsuspecting prey to swim by. This flounder was about 10 inches long. (click on the photo to enlarge it)