More New Fishes to Meet

I am thinking, I am hoping, I should be able to introduce you to new fishes with each post … no repeats … well … maybe a few if i get something spectacular   :)

I wasn’t able to get into the water for 5 days, it rained, a LOT.   ok, so i’m already wet, what does it matter?
--i get cold faster with no sun
--without any sun, the water is not warming up but cooling down
--the light from the sun makes the colors brighter
--rain and wind make visibility poor, lots of sand and microscopic particles suspended in the water
--waves make for difficult photos because i can’t hold the camera still, ...the fish are moving, SOMETHING has to try to stay stationary ! :)

All that to say, i prefer not to snorkel in the rain or cloudy/bad weather.    However, after 5 days, with nothing to do, i had to get out there. The rain let up, the sky was lighter, and i took off for the beach.   i got 2 hrs in, i was cold and, thankfully :), the camera didn’t have a full charge and the batter died.   It was time to get out.   5 minutes after i got home, it down-poured for the rest of the day.    Success !    and it was unbelievable how much better i felt :)

Yes, visibility was poor, and all the above applied; but i managed.    and again, was amazed that i kept meeting new fishes that i had not seen … WoW !

This is a Papua Toby …. i’ve never heard of a ‘Toby’ fish !       Love the markings on the head and around the eyes !

same fish, but depending on the lighting, age, and maybe the location, and the fish probably, can have dramatically different coloring... this is also a Papua Toby Fish...

when i first saw this creature, i thought ‘PipeFish’; but i’ve only seen photos, and most of them are quite ‘elaborate and fancy’; so i dismissed my initial thought.   but, after doing some research, i’ve learned that i was accurate.   It is a PipeFish, a ReefTop PipeFish.
Not very colorful, but a great find; because they blend in so well and are hard to spot.

They are relatives of the SeaHorse … with the same snout.   The name of the Pipefish comes from the fact that they have a snout that is long and thin like a pipe.   Their very thin snout means they can’t consume food that is very large.   They need to feed often because they don’t have a digestive system so they run out of energy and nutrients fast.   This is the same for a SeaHorse also.

Before mating they have an elaborate ritual; they have to be moving at the same speed, in the same movements, at the same time, before the Female can pass the eggs to the Male.    The Male has a spongy area around the tail that they carry the eggs in.   Also like the SeaHorse, the MALE carries the eggs until they are born into tiny pipefishes that are an exact miniature version of their parents.   Pipefish young have to be able to care for themselves immediately upon birth.

These are called Golden RabbitFish; i think because they have soft rabbit-like lips, haha They are cruising in groups along the edge of the reef. When you see them in the water, they appear totally white, and quite striking with their yellow spot.

Another type of ButterFly Fish … but they call this one the Hump Head Banner Fish …

i felt sorry for this fish, he is looking at me like, ‘why not take my photo, why only take the pretty colorful ones’ … poor guy, PLUS his name is : BlubberLip !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ..how cruel is that ?

Another beautiful Clam...

i chased this fish, or one like it, all over the reef, for a long time … finally caught this one as i was heading back in. Orange Lined TriggerFish … isn’t ‘she’ beautiful ?

i like this photo because it looks like the fish is doing some kind of ballerina move out of that coral in a theater production.... just look at her fins out to the side .... it is a Black Belt HogFish; ..what kind of a crazy name is that for a ballerina :)

There are so many ButterFly Fish; and here is another beauty … the Red Fin ButterFly Fish

This Freckled HawkFish looks as if to say, “ you aren’t going to hurt me, are you? “
What a great looking fish !

a Leopard Wrasse .... WoW ... now that's a lot of color work for one small fish ! Love It !

When i start snorkeling, i head out to the 'wall' first .... i was just cruising along when something VERY large shot into a hole in the reef. It was this HUGE Grouper! I looked over the edge of the wall and saw him sitting below me. He was a big guy ... probably 2.5 feet :) ... not a great photo, but i doubt i'll ever get a better one !

This was a quick ‘drive-by-shot’ … Blue Spined Unicorn Fish … i am not familiar with ‘Unicorn’ fish either !
Notice this one has little ‘horns’ over their eyes. This group were there, ....and they were gone; never saw them again...

i saw several eels today ... this one is White Eyed Moray Eel... It was about 3 feet long; and was freely swimming around looking for food when i saw it....

yet another ButterFly Fish .... a Double Saddled ButterFly Fish ... not as striking as some of the others, but it has a nice little black and white line around it's fins by the tail...

the other eel i saw today was a SnowFlake Moray Eel .... isn't that a sweet name ? ...it's pattern looks like a flower, ...or a snowflake :)

and for a closer look at it's rather ugly face, with yellow things sticking out it's nose :( ...kind of looks like a little old lady with a 'babushka' pulled down tight under her chin :)

What an AWESOME fish this is ... a Black Patch TriggerFish. What great colors and markings !
TriggerFishes might be my favorite fish ... the way they swim is so cool. The Dorsel Fin on the top, and the Anal Fin on the bottom, move in opposite directions ...

and last, but not least. i literally took over 50 photos of these fish ! i dove down, and dove down, and dove down, so many times. Each time coming up, out of breath, saying, ‘ok, that’s enough’ … and then taking one more breath and one more dive !