Finally, a visit to the cherubfish colony

This season before today, I had very fleetingly encountered only a couple of cherubfish.  They are charming fish, but really hard to photograph, as they dart in and out of coral rubble.  This morning, we dove down to 80 feet to visit a sizable colony.

The cherubfish is a member of the angelfish family.  It is one of the 2 smallest angelfish that occur here in Bonaire.  They rarely reach 3 inches.  Their markings are quite striking: a blue body contrasting with orange on the face and chest, and iridescent blue trim on some of their fins.  Their rapid movement in and out of rubble is challenging, but I caught a couple in focus today.