Spotted trunkfish

The spotted trunkfish is a member of the boxfish family.  They can grow as long as 12 inches, but most of the ones we see are closer to 6 or 8 inches. Most often, we encounter them hiding in recesses in the reef.

It's always fun to find them swimming above the reef.  This fish was hiding in a lavender rope sponge. All the photos were taken between 30 and 40 feet deep.

Stovepipe sponges

First of all, sponges are animals. They are nourished by filtering food and oxygen out of the water that passes through them. The water goes into the sponge through many small in-current pores, and exits the sponge through large ex-current openings.

Bonaire has an incredible variety of sponges, of various shapes and colors.  Stovepipe sponges are tube sponges that resemble stovepipes. Water flows in through the pores in the sides (see below), and out via the stovepipe.  Cleaning gobies often live inside them.

They are generally quite symmetrical, as you might expect.

But every once in a while, we find stovepipe sponges that seem to have lost their direction, as below.

Whitespotted filefish

Despite their name, whitespotted filefish don't always show their spots.  Sometimes they display an orange phase. They can easily change the number and brightness of their spots.  They swim slowly over the reef, often in pairs. These fish were all about 12 to 14 inches long.  The file is the first dorsal fin, and in each of these photos, it is lying along the back, starting just above the eye.

Filefish swim gracefully, propelled largely by wave-like action along their yellow dorsal and anal fins. These photos were all taken at depths of 30 feet or less. The file is erected during some tight turns, but it may also be used to communicate with other filefish.

Black durgon

The black durgon is a member of the triggerfish family.  It has a black body that is accented by pale blue lines at the base of the dorsal and anal fins.  The blue lines are visible from quite a distance. This fish gracefully propels itself largely by moving its dorsal and anal fins.

When you get close to the black durgon, with the right lighting, it becomes apparent that the fish is not solid black, but a delicate pattern of lines and diamonds, with a yellow cast on the head, and pale blue lines through the forehead.

In the below photo, the trigger is visible, as the first dorsal fin.

Permit

The permit is an oddly shaped, silvery fish in the jack family. It is related to the pompano. We often encounter small groups of 2 to 4 permit while snorkeling, and occasionally while diving. Most of the permit that we have seen were a little over a foot long.

Today, we encountered this big permit (at least 2 feet long), swimming alone, in shallow water.  It looked a little beaten up around the head, mouth, and tail.  It might have recently been hooked by a fisherman.  It swam very close by, and didn't seem to pay any attention to us.

Graysby

The graysby is a small sea bass. They are very abundant in Bonaire, and fun to find.  We encounter them hiding in various places on the reef. These were all about 10 inches long.

A favorite snail

This snail is called a flamingo tongue.  It is small (about an inch), but lovely to look at. The shell is a solid color, off white.  The beautiful design of orange spots, with black outlines is not part of the shell.  Rather it is part of the mantle, the snail's outer tissues that secrete the shell.  The camouflaged mantle is extended over the shell.

The foot of the shell (the part that extends out the shell, and drags the snail arround) is colored similarly to the mantle, and can be seen in the bottom 2 photos. This flamingo tongue was about 25 feet deep.

Bonaire has actual flamingos as well, but I don't believe that their tongues look anything like this shell.