Best of Mike #279

The Green Moray is the big guy in the eel family. We don’t often see them out and about.... so there was a very long time when I couldn’t actually have told you how big they are.

But I have since seen them swimming and can now tell you that they are in the neighborhood of 5-6 feet long.

And on this trip.... we saw this guy on three different dives over three different days swimming in the same area. 

So where’s the swimming free photo you ask? The simple answer to that is that he is too fast for me. I did snap away each time he swam by.... but they all came out as that blurry out of focus kind of pixture that no one wants to see.

Best of Mike #278

A Black Spine Urchin.... tucked in amongst the coral heads, as they like to be during the day but they will get out to forage during the night.

Their long thin needle like spines are both very sharp and brittle. So, if you get too close they will puncture you and then break off, leaving a barb and a discoloring dye beneath the skin.

Those barbs are really hard to remove and look kind of bad because of the dye they leave with you. But if you guard against infection the barb will dissolve in just a few days.

Best of Mike #277

The Porcupinefish is a member of the puffer family.

They are lurkers, spending their time in or near recesses, cave openings or occasionally in grassy areas. They are quite shy and will retreat into the protection of those areas if approached. Often turning to peer out of the safety of their protection.

If you, or a predator, were to outright molest them.... they would inflate, causing the long spines on their body to stand erect.

Best of Mike #276

This long thin fellow is a Trumpetfish.... so named for their trumpet like mouth.

Their most common coloring is brown to the reddish brown that you see here. But they can be anything from blue-gray to bright yellow and many shades in between.

They are and ambush hunter, so they are very adept at color change.... using that and their position to blend in with the background around them.

They will even hover just above another fish or align themselves head down parallel to stalks of sea rod coral to set their ambush.

They will use these same camouflage skills to avoid the attention of divers.... but will move away (not ambush) if they sense that we have detected them.

Best of Mike #275

Staghorn Coral form antler-like racks of cylindrical branches. They  grow in colonies of great tangles, are a beautiful golden color and are quite fragile.

They prefer depths of 10-60ft are most commonly on the reef but occasionally a colony will grow separately in open areas of sand.

The little bumps that you see in this pixture are the polyps.... retracted during the day but extended for feeding at night.

They are a rapidly growing coral, under optimal conditions 5-6in a year and are often the site of lots of small fish and critter activity.

Best of Mike #274

This fellow is a Honeycomb Cowfish. That honeycomb pattern covers their whole body and they have a sharp spine above each eye and two more in front of the anal fin.

Their overall color can be shades of blue to green to yellow.... which they have the ability darken or lighten in order to blend in with the surrounding area.

They are a member of the boxfish family, making them a slow and awkward swimmer.

But they are extremely wary and have the ability to twist, turn and dodge to make themselves a challenging photo op, even if they are not fast.

Best of Mike #273

This is a Giant Anemone.... not so giant in the context of the whole world but the biggest in the anemone world, about 12in.

What we see are the tentacles.... in this case white, with just a bit of a greenish tint. The tips are often swollen, as some in this pixture are and if you zoom in a bit you will see the texture on the stems of those tentacles.

You will most often find them in a rocky section of the wall or reef, where they can fit their bodies down into a safe hole or crevice.

Best of Mike #269

A Violet Feather Duster is a worm. Very definitely part of the underwater world where beauty is present with a name that us landlubbers associate with things not very pretty.

They grow in clusters with crowns of radioles (that’s the pretty part) extending from parchment like tubes.

They are common throughout the Caribbean and the Bahamas. Crowns vary in color and have been noted to vary by geographical area.... violet in the Caymans (and Bonaire too), white in Cozumel and light brown in Belize. The color is usually more intense around the mouth, shading to white at the outer edges of the crown; occasionally displaying some banding.

They prefer areas of the reef that have good movement of the water. They reproduce asexually which is the reason for the clusters. 

They are a shy bunch and will pop back into their tubes when approached. But if you are willing to wait motionless.... they will re-emerge.

Best of Mike #272

This is a Sergeant Major.... and without a doubt one of the feistiest fish on the reef.

They are about the size of the palm of your hand and most easily recognized by the 5 black bars on their body.

They are mainly white, silver or light grey color with yellow highlights. But when the male is courting or guarding the egg patch that comes after the courting.... they turn this blue color.

And guard they do. They are not the least bit intimidated by a diver many, many times their size. More than a few times they have swum directly at me with the idea that they can drive me off.

On more than one occasion, when I have been closer than they liked or moving slower than they want.... they have even nibbled a knuckle or two to make their point crystal clear.

Best of Mike #271

Purple Vase Sponge are visible from a ways off as you swim along the reef and I like to think of them as a present.... pretty on the outside with a treat on the inside.  

They come in colors pink, purple or even fluorescent blue with a rough exterior of convoluted ridges and valleys.

Once you are done admiring their outside beauty it's always worth a peak inside.... as there is often an addition treat nestled in there. In this case it's a couple of Hermit Crab.



 

Best of Mike #270

The Caribbean Reef Squid is the most common of the squid species.

They are about 12in long and have an oblong body bordered by a translucent fin that tapers to a point at the rear.

They frequently change colors and patterns.... browns to white often with highlights of blue and green.

Best of Mike #268

One of my favorite underwater photo subjects is the French Angelfish.

I usually photograph them from the side.... and have described them as roughly the size and shape of a dinner plate.

Here is a face on shot that shows off their very thin profile.

Best of Mike #267

Doctorfish can be anywhere from 6-12in long.

They have the ability to change color from the pale that you see here to a much darker blue gray or brown.

They often stop in the head down pose that you see here.... to feed on algae.

Best of Mike #266

My last blog post (August 2014) told the story of Linda getting sick in Roatan. 

Some time did pass before we got back in the water and back to scuba diving. And there was an even longer break.... until I had a camera with me again on our dives. 

But with our trip to Bonaire in April of 2019.... we are back.

As you can see Linda is back to her happy diver self.... and I have lots to share, as I  came home from this 5 week trip with more than a 1000 pixtures.