Fish's

Devil Scorpion Fish

This incredible fish is arguably one of the most dangerous fish in Hawaii. Part of the Scorpion fish family, it has many sharp spines on it's back containing a very powerful neurotoxin that can cause extreme pain, and in some species even death. I have been lucky enough (or unlucky) to see 4 of these guys now, two while snorkeling.  Ironically enough, they have no teeth and are very docile creatures, even if provoked. The real danger comes to unaware swimmers or divers who step on them while wading in the water. I actually had an entire conversation about one while i was sitting on the shore with my feet in the water. I was bragging to two strangers about how I have seen so many of them and most people never see one because they camoflauge so perfectly. After they left, I looked down only to realize that during the conversation, this guy was sitting TWO INCHES AWAY FROM MY FOOT THE ENTIRE TIME! Mind. Blown. Kinda cute isn't he? (ok, not really...) This guy, and this guy alone is reason enough to wear reef shoes!

Oriental Flying Gunard

 This animal is truly the angel of the ocean. It walks along the bottom of the ocean "scratching" the sand with its claw like fins searching for food. When alarmed, it spreads its pectoral fins into gigantic beautifully colored "wings" to appear larger to its predators. If the wings don't work, it was a long spine on the top of its head that it flicks creating a loud popping sound. They are one of me and Marks most favored fish to come across while snorkeling. The can grow up to 15 inches long.

Panther Flounder

 

Nothing is more bizarre to me then a fish with two eyes on one side of its head. Enter the flounder. This fish starts out like a normal fish, but one of its eyes literately migrates over the top of the head to join the other eye. By this time the fish is lying flat on its side. Don't be fooled though.. these guys are masters at what they do. They are perfectly camouflaged, and excellent ambush predators. This is a juvenile, as the adults get up to a foot long. The second picture is a close up of his skin, showing the beautiful flower-like blue spots on his body.

Therese's Sole

This tiny endemic flatfish is active at night in rocky areas of the reefs. Only about 3 inches in length, it lies completely flat against rocky surfaces while it hunts. During the day it lies invisible buried under the sand.

Hawiian Green Lionfish 

 

This incredibly beautiful fish was a very lucky find. While I have seen many of them here, They are rapidly disappearing from Hawaii due to greedy hunters looking to sell them in the aquarium trade. This animal is very poisonous, and should not be messed with or provoked. It is in the same family as the scorpion fish, but a bit more scary in the fact that it can be very aggressive. Even I am not brave enough to try and capture an adult specimen which can be rather large. However I was lucky enough to come across this juvenile that was much easier to work with.  

Longspine Porcupinefish

This porcupine fish can be found at night busily searching the ocean floor for tiny crustaceans and echinoderms to eat. Unfortunately it was impossible to capture him without him inflating, but it does give you a chance to see what they do when startled. They have an intricate muscular mechanism in there body that allows them to suck in water and fill their entire body with water, as well as expel  it at will. Puffer fish contain a toxin in there internal organs and skin that it believed to be the most powerful natural toxin on earth. If ingested, death can occur within less then an hour. Interestingly enough, the poison is not actually produced by the fish itself, but rather by bacteria contained within the fishes body. After being in the bucket for several minutes, the fish calmed down and deflated.

Giant Porcupinefish 

This massive porcupinefish gets over two feet long! In fact, its the largest species of porcupine fish known to date. This is very common here in Hawaii and can be seen both in the ocean, swimming around the shallow boat harbors, and swimming through the canals as far in as a half mile inland! They can tolerate brackish waters, and are active during both night and day. They eat small crabs and shrimps by sneaking up on them  and crushing them with their massive jaws.

Hawaiian Whitespotted Toby

This cute little guy is a Hawaiian endemic commonly found in almost all marine environments here in Hawaii. It is a type of puffer, but lacks the sharp spines that some of the larger puffers have. I often find these guys in pairs, and when I get close, they hold their tails to the side, almost like a dog that holds its tail between its legs when it's scared. Quite a site to see!! 

Amon Toby

This brilliantly colored puffers are found in other parts of the world as well as here. The name in fact refers to the tropical island of Amon in Indonesia. Like all puffers and tobies, they have very powerful crushing teeth-like mouth parts used to open mollusks and crustaceans which it feeds on. when you bring these guys to the surface you can hear them snapping and grinding these teeth together quite loudly. Be careful tho, they are capable of delivering a painful bite!

Keeltail Needlefish

These common fish always seem to captivate me. They hang out in groups just inches from the surface of the water by day lazily drifting in the water. I often find myself snorkeling with whole schools of them without even noticing them because I am looking down while swimming instead of up. At night however, these guys go into a feeding frenzy. When Mark and I go wading into the water at night, their iridescent bodies reflect off of our head lamps and can be seen leaping out of the water, splashing about in large groups feeding.

Marbled Blenny

These common blennies are found in shallow water lying in crevices or holes in rocks. Blennies are interesting because they lack a swim bladder, making them unable to float. They don't swim well, and the second they stop swimming they sink. They are cool to watch tho, as they "jump" and "leap" from rock to rock.

Yellowhead Moray Eel 

This juvenile specimen is much more easy to work with than the larger adult. Please note tho, you should never approach an eel. They can be extremely aggressive, and have many razor sharp teeth that can lock on to you, and cause serious injury. This eel rarely emerges from its hiding place, and is usually only active at night.

Yellowmargin Moray

This common large eel, obtains lengths of up to 4 feet! In there adult form they are light brown to yellow molted with dark brown spots. As you can see from my first photo, it looks nothing like this. As I am learning, many fish have entirely different appearances as juveniles than as adults. The rarely seen juvenile of this species, is dark brown to black, with a bright yellow line running down its fin. As it matures it will lighten considerably and the yellow coloring will regress towards its tail. The second Photo is courtesy of  Keoki Stender. More amazing photos of this eel in its more common adult form can be seen on his website: http://www.marinelifephotography.com/fishes/eels/gymnothorax-flavimarginatus.htm

Hawaiian Conger Eel