Whatcha doing down here?

We’ve returned from Hawaii only to be laid low by Covid. Got lots of good water time in and saw a lot of good stuff. We’re isolating for a few more days, so a good time for some posts.

Reef fish generally ignore snorkelers and divers—as long as they’re not toting spearguns, and as long as they don’t get too close. The definition of too close varies greatly among different species and different locations, and the diver’s behavior—like us, fish don’t like being rushed at or chased. Unlike most of us, they’re often less than thrilled about having a camera pointed at them, either. I’ve crudely categorized fish’s responses when you start to get a little too close thusly:

• Outright flight, rapidly swimming off into the distance—terminal males of the large wrasse species come to mind.
• Darting into holes in the coral and not reappearing—blennies, some hawkfish.
• Nervous hide and seek among the coral branches—the majority of smaller fish, including immature wrasses, parrotfish, butterflyfish, angelfish, many damselfish.
• Casually drifting away, keeping just beyond good photo distance—larger butterflies, parrots, wrasses. These fish are pretty confident they can outdistance the intruder in an instant.
• And then there are those brave little fish, the photographer’s friends, that don’t take off at all. They stick around to inspect the intruder out of what looks a lot like plain old curiosity. Like these little fellows:

This bold little Three-spot Chromis wouldn’t stop trying to size me up, offering a nice photo opportunity. The behavior is common among various damselfish species. Oddly, though, numerous other damselfish—such as the Blue-eye—are extremely shy. This juvenile Three-spot was at about fifty feet off North Kohala. (The name comes from three barely white spots near the tail, barely visible here.)

Ewa Fang Blennies seem to know no fear. They make a living by sneaking up on larger fish and taking nips out of their skin. They’ll try to do the same to divers, but you can barely feel it. The hidden fangs for which the species is named are not part of the fish’s feeding strategy. They’re used for defense. When a larger fish tries to swallow the blenny it uses the fangs to hang onto the would be predator’s esophagus, forcing it to regurgitate its catch. No wonder these fish are so fearless. North Kohala, 50 ft.

This subadult Oval Chromis was not as outgoing as the Three-spot above, but still amenable to having its portrait taken. The iridescent blue and yellow color scheme disappears in adults. This beautiful coloration always reminds me of our dive trips to Samoa and Bali, where several common Chromis species show this pattern into adulthood. Those with southern Indopacific experience will know what I mean—they’re almost emblematic of the region. Once again, this fish was at about fifty feet—a nice depth.

All three of the fish in this post are endemic to Hawaii. All three under three inches long.