Hawaii has two closely related puffers. Both can often be found resting on the bottom during the day. Here are some recent photos from Mahukona:
This is the stripebelly puffer. This fish tends to be nocturnal, spending much of the day resting on the bottom, often under a ledge. (One might call it sleeping, but it’s a light sleep, as this fish was clearly aware of my approach.) The curled tail is characteristic of resting puffers and porcupinefish.
The spotted puffer, shown here, is not as nocturnal as the stripebelly. It is often seen swimming well up in the water column during the day. This one was apparently taking a nap. The mottled coloration of this individual is unusual—this puffer is usually uniformly brown beneath its white spots.
The same fish out in the open a few minutes later.
This spotted puffer, photographed in 2014, shows the more typical, uniform coloration.
onebreathkohala 