Gloomy Tuesday which was actually a good Nudi Tuesday

 It's not that the day was overcast and gloomy, although the drive down to Honokohau harbor was a bit grey.  It's that we found two Gloomy Nudibranchs within about 10 yards of one another.  Donna found a third one we learned later.  Here they are respectively, Gloomy 1 and Gloomy 2, along with a larege Fried Egg nudi that was chilling in the same area.

Continuing with the Nudi Tuesday theme here is a cave wall with numerousw White margin Nudibranchs and what are most certainly their eggs.  Busy little nudis.

For me the first dive was a bit of a slog; I was feeling a bit off, maybe from fatigue after three days diving out of four, maybe from fretting over the eventual heat-death of the universe, but probably most likely because Doug, on whom I rely to spot cool stuff, was not feeling well either and had the good sense to stay home.  

Since w3e're still talking about tiny things, Laura, who also relies partially on Doug, did manage to find a couple of very cool critters: Black Peacock Razor Wrasse and a Firedart.  This was out in the deep rubble.  I chased the Razor Wrasse trying to get a side view but he was too fast so a view from above was all I could get.

On our way back from the deep we swam over a Flowery Flounder trying to be one with the rock.  Good job.  I got a couple of shotws of him and he didn't run away.  In a crevasse someone, maybe Allen, found a Sculptured Slipper Lobster, my first time seeing one of those, so thanks Allen.

While meandering about the reef I ran into a few common fish we see all the time, and since they didn't quarrel with me shooting them, here they are.  I didn't want to do any hard work, and they seemed to sense that if I was going to take a pic of them they would have to not run away.

Lei Trigger, Orangespine Unicorn, hawaiian Squirrelfish and a Threadfin Butterfly.

For some reason it must be transition time for Juvenile Blackside hawkfish to turn adult.  I've seen a number of them this past week at various spots.  Here's the latest one, almost there.

Finally, and this is pretty cool: Two Fireworms, at least I think it's two.  Maybe a mom and baby?  How long do Fireworms care for their offspring?  So many questionsw that Wiki can't answer.  I didn't bother them since Fireworms and centipedes have a lot in common.

Puffer love and A Wirecoral Gobie

 Cloud cover shrouded Honokohau Harbor in Kona this morning. It was low tide at the Kona Honu Divers _Honu One_ slip so we had to sit on the platform and drop down onto the deck..  Captain Connor thought we'd head north to try and find some sunshine.  It was a super chill day and Milo summed up the vibe perfectly.

We did find sunshine up past Pine Trees and the first thing that I was as i dropped into the crystal clear, warming ocean was an Octopus on the move.  He'll show up in the video, but I didn't get any still shots of him due to his high rate of speed in a direction away from me.

Then a truly remarkable thing happened, something I'd never seen, but that Connor later said he'd seen before.  This Spotted Puffer was on course to do a flyby closing on me like an opposing fighter jet.  OK, this same thing happened two days ago at exactly the same spot.  Maybe it's the same Puffer?  

 

Here's the crazy part:  instead of zipping past me like the other day, this Puffer turned back toward me and circled me, then actually swam right onto me, noodling around on my chest and sides, actually touching me.  This went on for a little while until Milo came and nudged him away before anything more intimate had time to develop.  So, did I make a Puffer friend who recognized me and came to cuddle?  I prefer to think so.

Onward, and a little white mouth Eel poked out of a hole as I came by.  Under a ledge I found a nice big Four Spot Butterfly, and ... another Spotted Puffer!  This guy was nestled in a small depression in the reef and he didn't seem to mind me taking a pic. I guess I might be a Puffer Whisperer now.

 

As we approached a wall Milo pointed to a small indentation.  There was a White Margin Nudi on some red sponges.

I often overlook common, small fish that hang around coral heads and urchins but today I took a pic of some tiny Blackfin Chromis under an urchin.  Out near the dropoff we found a Flowery Flounder flying freely across the reef.  I chased him and got some video, until he lighted on a rock and i could get a shot of his face.

Milo found the first of at least two Gold Lace nudis, and I ran across some of the leather coral I saw the other day, this time surrounding a healthy cauliflower coral.  Lots of Raccoon Butterflies today, here are the first couple.

On the way back to the mooring, I was scanning the rubble for Dragon Srasses, which i did find a bit later, but at that moment a Clerarfin Lizardfish zipped onto som eflat rocks right in front of me.  Wow.

After our SI we were back in the water at another of my favorite spots where I wiffed on a Wirecoral Gobie last week.  Got him today, but right below the mooring a Devil Scorpion was jumping from rock to rock.  I wanted to get his colorful fins extended, but he was stubborn and didn't move for me.  So here's Mr. Grumpy Scorpion.  And in then ext little swale with sandy rubble I found the Dragon Wrasse I was hoping for.

Continuing through the maze of lava dikes I found another nice Raccoon Butterfly, and Milo found another nice nudi, this time a Strawberry.

I run into a number of Blackside hawkfishes lately, maybe that's because they're common, but I still think they're cool, and they just sit there so you can get photos.  Milo was a nudi magnet today.  Here's another Gold lace that he found.

Of the three Dragon Wrasses I saw I only got a pic of one of them, above, but i did find a charlie foxtrot of adult Rockmovers doing their thing along with a Lei Trigger.

Finally, I searched out the wirecoral where the little Wirecoral Gobie was last week.  I figured he'd still be there because they usually hang out on the same wirecoral for their whole lives.  Sure enough he was there and this time I got a nice pic.

More octopuses and some nudis

 Hauled aboard with Aquatic Life Divers and bonafied Diva of the Deep (tm) Tara P. for a day out on the most calm and flat ocean you could image under clear skies and bright sun.

One of the club divers, Mary,  wanted an underwater pic with Tara.  I had my macro lens on so shot them wide with the gopro.

 

So lets see...what critters were out today?  Hardly ever gert a face shot of a Dragon Wrasse, but one turned right toward me, pretty big one too.  Next door was another juvenile, this time a Juvenile Yellow Tail Coris.  Tara found a big patch of Leather Coral, and I swam right over a small White Mouth Eel who wanted to come out and defend his territory.  Further out toward the dropoff Tara found a transitioning Blackside hawkfish.  That was at about 80 feet and then the octopus appeared.

The Day Octopus was in a hole first, but he finally got tired of all the attention and bolted to another part of the reef.  We didn't follow.  Near the end of the first dive we were paralleling a wall and Right in front of us a Zebra Moray was hanging out.  he later shyly retreated.

Lots of nudis out and here was the first of the Gold Lace nudis.  I turned away from the wall just in time to see a large Puffer heading straight at me.  Ready for your close up?  Here you go.

Deep in a cave I looked under a ledge and found some Big Scale Soldierfish.

They are the tiniest little things, Bicolor Nudibranchs.  Here's one that we spotted while still in the cave.  Once outside I ran across a Longnose Butterfly and a male Spotted Boxfish.

Here's a mystery fish. There were about three or four of them flitting around really fast.  I managed to capture this one even though he's a bit blurred out.  At North Pine Trees the Yellowtail Corises grow big.  here's the business end of one.

At the second site I found another Gold Lace Nudi and a Lantern Toby.