Not three but Four Frogfish!

 So today we went back to the spot where I found the Flying Gurnard two days ago.  I always love to dive this spot because the reef is so healthy and there are so many animals. We even sometimes see dolphins.  And we'd also seen three big, yellow frogfish sitting out on big rocks just waiting for lunch to wander by.

Today there were four of them, all within about 50 meters diameter from the mooring in the direction of the dropoff.  Here they are pretty much in the order in which I found them.  As far as I can tell, they are all Commerson's Frogfish, one of the most common and largest species in Hawaii.

While I was hunting down the frogfish, which to be fair isn't hard since they sit out on the rocks motionless in full view, I glimpsed a fairly cool and not that common fish, the Potter's Angel.  They, like all Hawaiian angelfish are skittish, and its hard to get a bead on them with a camera in time before they flit away.  

This One was like that; I chased it all over the reef, burning through my breathing gas, before he stuck his head out of a hole and I got at lease part of him.  Why its so hard to get these pics is that the reefs are built up in a kind of latticework of interconnected coral branches with big interior areas where fish can hide.  Often we will see a fish, raise the camera, and before you know it they dart into the depths of the reef never to be seen again.

Other fish, like the Threadfin Butterfly, cruise the reef looking for snacks and care less what the camera-toting bubble blowers are up to.

You have to keep your head on a swivel out on the reefs; there are definitely animals that will defend their territories.  One of these is the Undulated Eel.  Here one is signaling me to leave the area.

More docile are the White mouth Morays like this one.  They just sit with their heads poking out of their holes hoping for a morsel to chance by, or maybe just to admire the beautiful reef.

I found all these eels within about a ten minute span.  This one, a Yellowmargin Eel, was the deepest, hanging out in a pile of rocks on the sandy bottom at about 80 feet depth.  Interesting that in the hole with him was a Whiteline Cleaner Shrimp.  These often live with yellowmargins and clean them up when they need a spa treatment.  Bonus sighting here was the juvenile Bicolor Anthias.  Another impossibly skittish fish that will disappear at the slightest hint of human presence.  Naturally, since I'm usually the last diver to get to them, I rarely see any.

 

 

 Another fish getting cleaneds was this male Bullethead Parrotfish.  He's being cleaned by a Hawaiian Cleaner Wrasse, a very common and well regarded fish out on the reefs.  

Further below and from the first dive is the resident Porcupine Pufferfish in one of the large arches formed when lava tubes collapsed long ago.  He's being sideswiped by a young Bigeye.

I cant seem to resist photographing the Raccoon Butterflies,  Their coloration is so stunning.  Nearby to the Raccoon one of our divers found this beautiful Red Spot Nudibranch.  I've seen about four of them in my entire time diving in Kona.

Back in the rubble near the mooring I can always count on the Yellowtail Coris to be my companion.  Many have learned that divers will turn over rocks for them revealing tasty treats.  Here's on that wanted to be my BFF.