Midnight parrotfish

As recently as last year, we frequently encountered one or two midnight parrotfish on our dives.  After 5 weeks of diving, we have only had two sightings of midnight parrotfish.  They are one of the largest parrotfish here on Bonaire, reaching up to 3 feet, but these were closer to 2 feet long. They are largely vegetarian, scraping algae off coral and rocks.

The first one we saw was shadowed by a bar jack, above.

On the fish that we saw today, you can make out an algae mustache, obtained in the course of grazing on algae.

A valentine

The laziest looking fish on the reef?

During daytime, we often encounter greater soapfish on our dives.  They rest virtually anywhere during the day and forage at night. Their name is derived from a soap-like mucous that they secret.  The mucous is toxic, which explains why big fish don't eat them when they encounter them on the reef, lazing about during the day. These soapfish were about 8 to 10 inches long.

Pipefish

Pipefish are related to seahorses.  They both have long, thin snouts.  However, pipefish are usually hidden in reef recesses, or under sponges.  Often only a glimpse of them is visible.  This morning, this pipefish was out from its usual hiding place, and I was able to get a couple of photos of the whole fish.  It was 3 to 4 inches long, and about 40 feet deep.  The white color is sort of a surprise.  None of the pipefish in our reef fish identification guide are white.  However, a whitenose pipefish occurs down here.  Perhaps this is a mutant, sort of a white-bodied, whitenose pipefish.

The above photos are only of the pipefish head.  You can see that its snout is similar to that of a seahorse. Below, the photos show the whole fish.

A stream of blue

On our dive this morning, we encountered a stream of blue fish, creole wrasse, swimming up, down, and along the reef.  Seeing so many fish streaming by is quite a treat.

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Creole  wrasse are often in schools.  They rarely grow longer than 8 to 10 inches.  All of them are blueish purple, with a dark snout, but on the older individuals, the lower, rear body is yellow.  They often stop from streaming along the reef, to solicit cleaning from cleaner fish, which is what they were doing in the photos below.

Fairy basslet

The fairy basslet is a small fish, rarely reaching 3 inches long. They often swim upside down under ledges, or facing downward on reef structures. Their blue/violet front end contrasts vividly with a golden rear.  They have a black spot on their dorsal fin (the fin on their back), and a black streak running through their eyes and mouth. This is a charming little fish, with a storybook name. Photos taken at 40 to 50 feet deep.

This photo is looking at the face of the fairy basslet.  The dot on the dorsal fin can be seen on the left side.

This photo is looking at an upside-down basslet.  Its face is to the right. The dot on its dorsal fin can be seen on the bottom of the fish.

This basslet is facing up.  The dot on its dorsal fin is to the right.

This upside-down basslet is facing to the left.  The dot on its dorsal fin is at the bottom.

Trumpetfish

The trumpetfish is a long, thin fish named for the shape of its mouth, which resembles a trumpet.  They get up to about 3 feet long, but most of the ones that we see aren't longer than 2 feet.  They are fish-eating predators that are always looking for something to eat.  They frequently try to hide in soft corals and rope sponges, but they also hide behind other fish (like a shadow), especially species that don't eat fish, so small fish don't fear them.  They also change their color to blend in with the fish that they shadow or the surroundings.  An extremely interesting fish to watch.

Below: a trumpetfish shadowing a queen parrotfish, and a yellow goatfish.