Orangespotted gobies

Over the last week, we have made several dives looking at the relationship between orangespotted gobies and the snapping shrimp that they share their burrows with.

The gobies have been no longer than 2 inches, and some of the shrimp are almost as long.  The trouble is that they are both pretty close to the same color as the sand in which they live.

At one site, we found this commensal relationship at about 60 feet deep, and at a nearby site we found them at 14 feet.  Spotting the gobies out guarding the burrows is not always easy.  Other days, they seem easy to find.

Tube blennies

These are small, elongated fish that live in old tube worm holes in reef structures. Often, we only see a head poking out. Patient observation can result in seeing them dart out of their holes to feed on plankton that zips by. They are very abundant, but easy to overlook, because of their size (several species are less than 1 inch long).

However, stopping to look at their tiny faces is rewarding. If you look closely, the bottom photo contains a darkheaded blenny in the foreground, and a 2nd blenny in the background.

The rest of the photos are probably secretary blennies. The top photo also has a second blenny in the background.

More anemone shrimp

I continue to be drawn to the complex communities of shrimp species hosted by sea anemones. While the Pederson cleaner shrimp and squat anemone shrimp are most commonly seen (see Feb. 8th post), we also find other species in anemones.

One of the prettiest shrimp is the spotted cleaner shrimp. They don't get bigger than an inch. The youngest ones are nearly transparent. The bottom 2 photos are a couple of views of the same individual.

The shrimp in the top photo is also quite lovely, but not abundant enough to be included in Paul Humann's "Reef Creature Identification: Florida, Caribbean, Bahamas" guide. I am clueless as to what it is, but I am guessing that it might also be a cleaner shrimp. It was about an inch long.

Permit

Permit are built like pompanos and palometas, all are members of the jack family. They are rather uncommon here in Bonaire. Today was only the second time this season that we have seen one. But today, the permit was feeding in the sand, right in front of me, and didn't seem to mind me taking photos at all. This fish was about 2 feet long, quite a striking looking fish.

Crevalle Jack

We have seen a single crevalle jack zipping past us a number of times in the last 6 weeks, while we were diving, swimming, and snorkeling. Sometimes, he comes within a few feet of us, and even swims between us, but he always moves fast. This morning, I saw him coming, and was able to take a photo of most of him. He was over 2 feet long, and we saw him at about 40 feet deep.

This jack is a voracious predator, and rather uncommon here in Bonaire.

The close-up is from today, the other shot was taken last week.

Rainbow parrotfish

Yesterday rainbow runners, today rainbow parrotfish! We encountered 3 rainbow parrotfish hanging out together on our dive, this morning, at about 15 feet.

Parrotfish play an important ecological role on the reefs, they graze algae from coral and rocks. This is one of the largest parrotfish species that occurs down here, so it is always a treat to see one. Three together makes for a memorable dive. Although this species reaches 5.5 feet in length, the biggest of these fish was about 3 feet.

Rainbow runner

Today, we encountered a school of 25 to 30 rainbow runner, a first for me. This species is a member of the jack family, and is typically an open water fish that is rarely seen over reefs.

We saw them at one of the southern dive sites, at about 60 feet, out above the second reef. They swam by several times, seeming almost as interested in us as we were in them. They were about 2 feet long.

This encounter could make it on to Bori's 2012 video.

Spotted eagle ray

Today, was my first encounter of the season with a spotted eagle ray that lasted more than a quick swim-by (or should that be a fly-by?). I was able to take photos of it from a couple of different angles. In previous years, we have encountered spotted eagle rays on perhaps 25 to 33% of our dives. This is only the second one we have seen in 5 weeks.

This ray was about 4 feet from wing-tip to wing-tip. We met up with it in relatively shallow water, about 15 feet.

Longlure frogfish

The longlure frogfish is a challenge to find. The species has excellent camouflage abilities. They entice small fish toward them by waving a modified dorsal spine like a lure. Their mouths open as wide as their bodies, to engulf the unsuspecting prey. They inhabit reef tops, and often rest on sponges, which are often a similar color. So finding one without any hints, or landmarks isn't easy.

Last week, I found one at 33 feet. I went back 2 days later to see it, and it had moved. A few days later, I found it at 43 feet. It has remained on various parts of the same rope sponge for several days. Sometimes, they stay in one spot for weeks or months. Over the years, I have only seen one actively swimming. Mostly, we consider ourselves lucky if we see them move at all.

Definitely fun to find.

More shrimp

These two shrimp are not closely related, and their lives are entirely different. Although, they were each about 2 inches long.

The bottom photo is a dark mantis. They inhabit cracks and recesses in reefs and are occasionally seen out foraging. A couple of larger mantis shrimp species are know to Caribbean fishermen as thumb splitters. That's a clue not to mess with them.

The top photo is a scarlet-striped cleaning shrimp. They maintain cleaning stations in reef structures, that are visited by many fish species. Sometimes, they even try to clean a diver's fingers.

Drums

On the reefs in Bonaire, we encounter several drum species. The most commonly seen drum is the spotted drum (bottom photo). From its earliest stages, we generally find spotted drum in reef recesses, and under things.

Another drum, which looks very much like the spotted drum in its juvenile stage, is the jacknife fish (top photo). However, the few jacknife fish that we have seen have all be out in the open, over sand, near some kind of structure, but sort of patrolling the sand.

Each of these drums was about 5 inches long. The juvenile in the middle photo was about 2 inches long. I'm guessing that the photo is of a juvenile spotted drum, but it's hard to tell from this angle.

Whitespotted filefish

The whitespotted filefish is a commonly encountered fish on Bonaire's reefs. Although it is not always whitespotted. It has an orange phase as well. They are approachable, and interesting to watch as they maneuver in tight quarters. Their primary means of locomotion appears to be wave-like motion of the dorsal and anal fins. However, when they need to turn quickly, they flip up their file (an elongated first dorsal spine), and use it something like a rudder.

The bottom photo is a whitespotted filefish in the spotted phase.

The middle photo is an orange phase individual.

The top photo is the orange phase individual, with its file up.

Gray angelfish

Today, I had the great fortune of encountering a gray angelfish on the reef. They are rather uncommon here, and it is always an honor to see one. Their body is gray. Other distinguishing marks are a square-cut tail, and yellow on the inner face of the pectoral fin.

This fish was about 12 inches long, and I saw it several times between 25 and 45 feet. One photo captures the yellow inner side of the fin.

Butterflyfish

Butterflyfish flit about the reefs of Bonaire. None of them grow longer than 6 inches. The most abundant species is the banded butterflyfish (bottom photo). They often swim in pairs, and are fairly approachable.

The second most frequently encountered species is the foureye butterflyfish (one photo up from bottom). Their true eye is concealed by a black bar, and the big black spot near the base of the tail is a false eye, to confuse predators.

Next in abundance is the spotfin butterflyfish (two photos up from bottom). Like the first two species, this one lives in fairly shallow water (10 to 60 feet), and is approachable.

Fourth in abundance, the longsnout butterflyfish lives in deeper water (30 to 300 feet) and is very shy and darts behind reef structures when approached. So of course, my photos of it (the top photos) reflect its lack of patience with me.

(Note, these rankings are based on my perceptions on recent dives, not on any scientific sampling.)

Soapfish

The greater soapfish is a sea bass that rarely grows longer than 12 inches. It's name comes from a soap-like, toxic mucous that they secret. Perhaps as a result of this toxic mucous, during the day, they are inactive, and rest on the bottom, or against ledges, corals, or reef structures. At night, they actively feed on small fish.

These 2 photos were taken of soapfish at the Salt Pier.

Valentine's Day

I've been finding hearts all over the reef, but have limited myself to sharing only a couple of hearts built by sponges or corals.

Enjoy the Day.

Caribbean two-spot octopus

Today we found this small octopus, atop a little patch reef. It stayed in one spot as long as we watched it, apparently trying to open or crush some kind of shelled prey item. The name "Caribbean two-spot" refers to the false eye spots below each true eye.

While we watched this 8-inch octopus, it changed colors several times. The rapidity of the color changes is amazing. These three photos were taken within about 5 minutes.