Diving the Kona Coast: Hawaiian Dascyllus

Showing posts with label Hawaiian Dascyllus. Show all posts

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Dive Report for Sunday 03/21/10

The surf was really up this morning! I took this photo with my cell phone and it shows big waves slapping the lava flow that extends seaward from the national park at the southern end of the cove. There was big surf to the north as well, but inside the cove conditions were manageable and visibility was OK. Water temp is still hovering at ~74 degrees.

Early in the first dive I found this Bullethead Parrotfish scraping algae from the coral. You can clearly hear the beak scraping the rock-hard surface. The fish ingests the calcium carbonate "skeleton" of the coral and (very) shortly thereafter poops it out as beach sand.

This little male Spotted Boxfish kept me entertained for awhile. It's body is covered with hexagonal plates and is fairly rigid. Nevertheless it is quite nimble and surprisingly fast for a creature that is as streamlined as a box!

I resisted the temptation to photograph another octopus that I found today. After all, how many octo photos does one blog need? I have a much harder time ignoring honus. This one was extremely mellow, swimming right along with me for a few minutes before rising to the surface for air.

I caught this Hawaiian Dascyllus being given the once over by a Hawaiian Cleaner Wrasse. In this photo the wrasse is oriented so his "back" (dorsal surface) is facing the camera.

On the second dive, I saw this Moorish Idol. This one is a small adult. It used to have a partner with it but now seems to be going solo.

This funny little fish used to be called a Leopard Blenny. Later, the common name was changed to Shortbodied Blenny. This year it's called a Spotted Coral Blenny. Some species of fish are doomed to have an identity crisis created by fickle fish fanciers! They usually sit out in the open but seem to freak out the nano-second you make eye contact with them. They frantically dive down into the coral and erratically and quickly do a series of quick peeks at you before disappearing for good. This one was an exception, allowing me to take several photos which I am very happy to share.

Another little treat was this Jeweled Anemone Crab. Like all hermit crabs it inhabits a snail shell for protection. But this kind goes a step further by attaching anemones to its shell. When disturbed, the anemones eject bright pink stinging filaments called acontia. This gives the crab an additional line of defense. Nature is awesome.

My last photo for this post is the lowly and under-appreciated Hawaiian Sergeant. Plain and common it doesn't get much attention. I've been giving the species a little more attention as thy are cooperative photo subjects.

That's all for now, folks. See you next time!

Sunday, March 7, 2010

The Good Winter Diving Continues! Dive Report for Saturday 03/06/10

Another weekend of great diving at Honaunau this weekend. The seas were almost flat with only some occasional, small sets slapping at the shore. The weather was nice and sunny, the U/W visibility easily 100' and the water temp an exhilarating 74 degrees. Except for the temp everything was as close to perfect as it gets. By the way, before I go any further I'd like to point out that the area I've been referring to as Honaunau Bay is actually named Keone'ele Cove. Please forgive the inaccuracy.

Betty dove with me today and it was nice to have her company.

We went deep to check on our little cluster of Longfin Anthias and found them all to be doing quite well. Here Betty checks on two of the females in the "harem".

We went south along the face of the dropoff and happened upon a number of Oval Chromis in the act of spawning.

This is a male Oval Chromis displaying his "spawning colors" Spawning season is from about February through May. During this time a male will establish a territory, prepare a nest and defend his territory from rivals. The male then performs the aquatic version of a mating dance to attract females to his nest. When an interested female arrives she deposits eggs at the nest site and, afterwards, the male fertilizes them. Once the eggs are fertilized, the female departs, leaving the male to rigorously defend the eggs against any intruders, even those far bigger than himself including divers!

For the second week in a row a Peacock Grouper was seen engaging in cooperative hunting. This time the partner was a good-sized Whitemouth Moray. When we first saw the pair, the eel was free-swimming but it dove into the coral when we approached.

We found this Whitesaddle Goatfish, or kumu, resting after a night of hunting along the reef. This fish was highly valued in ancient times and could be offered as a sacrifice in lieu of a pig if a pig was unavailable. Men could eat the kumu but women were forbidden to do so.

We saw several of these young Whitebar Surgeonfish during our first dive. They seem to stay solitary when they're small but form small schools when they mature.

Seeing and photographing Green Sea Turtles is pretty routine but I really like this photo of a honu I took toward the end of the dive. It's not a great picture of the turtle, but the water's surface looks really amazing. It sort of reminds me of a Salvador Dali painting combined with Van Gogh. I particularly like the way the clouds are distorted in the upper part of the frame.

Here's another photo taken a couple of seconds later but minus the view of the clouds. When I'm photographing a moving sea turtle, all I really concentrate on is keeping the animal in the shot. How the background appears is completely serendipitous.

On the second dive we encountered this trio of Hawaiian Dascyllus just before they dove into a coral head. These fish are in the same family as the Oval Chromis and can also be quite bold. attacking fish that trespass into their territory.

We went into a swim-through and surprised this little juvenile Blackside Hawkfish who wasn't expecting company, apparently.

Tucked deep inside the swim-through was this cute little Ambon Toby. The neon blue color at the base of the anal fin is a defining characteristic of the species. There was another Ambon Toby in the area but it was really hidden deep in a crevice behind this one. They usually appear in pairs.

The population of Convict Tangs in Keone'ele Cove continues to grow. This pair comprised the tail-end of a long chain that was traveling close to shore as we finished up our dive.

The Humpback Whales that had been residing outside the cove appear to have left the area. I haven't seen them for the last 3 weeks. Maybe they'll return next year.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Sea of Love - Belated Dive Report for Valentine's Day, Sunday 02/14/10

Sorry for the delay but Valentine's activities consumed the rest of the day and then the work week began and before I knew it we were at mid-week.

So-so conditions at Honaunau Bay on Sunday. Moderate swells and a fair amount of particulate matter in the water with visibility around eighty feet. The water was a touch colder at about 76 degrees.

My first dive was just a little after sunrise and I caught this Spotted Pufferfish still napping on the plate coral. Sometimes they also rest in sand patches. There is a mixed school of several species of puffers that hangs in the water column just beyond the drop-off during daylight hours.

This little Hawaiian Dascyllus has attitude far out of proportion to its small size. It boldly approached me, trying to persuade me to leave its territory by making quick darting movements at me. This is common behavior for this species and sometimes they even make faint clicking noises when trying to chase off interlopers.

Early morning finds a number of Peacock Grouper visiting cleaning stations around the reef. These robust fish were introduced to Hawaiian waters in the late 1950's for reasons that aren't clear to me. They are inedible as their diet of small reef fish fills them with ciguatera toxin. They can often be seen following eels or octopi, hoping to snatch any small creatures that may be flushed out.

The second dive provided lots of photo ops of Green Sea Turtles. I've been putting a lot of honu pics in recent posts so I'll limit myself to this one shot of a turtle hanging on the surface.

Saddleback Butterflyfish are my wife's favorite fish. They have beautiful coloration accented by the dark black "saddle" on the upper rear quarter. They usually occur in pairs, but this one was definitely all alone on Valentine's Day.

A fairly nice day of diving but no surprises or hidden treasures. There were, again, Humpback Whales outside the bay but no breeching that I saw.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Dive Report for Saturday 01/09/2010

There was major rockin' and rollin' going on in the southern part of Honaunau Bay on Saturday. One major northwest swell was just ending and another one soon to arrive so Saturday offered a brief window for shore diving. Weather was beautiful, though with clear skies and a nice breeze.

I had my wife, Betty, as my dive buddy on the first dive which was really nice. Visibility was, as expected, pretty poor with lots of stirred up sand and a range of around 50'. Also a lot of surge and depths shallower than 30'. Above is a juvenile Thompson's Surgeonfish. Although plainly colored, this is a pretty little fish with a nice lyre-shaped tail.

Hawaiian Dascyllus are common around Honaunau. When they are young they hide in branching coral, seldom wandering very far. When they reach adulthood they swim about the reef and establish individual territories which they very defend very boldly.

The Saddleback Butterflyfish is one of the most beautiful fish in Hawaiian waters. It is also one of the hardest for me to get a good photograph of. They tend to keep their distance and are very skittish. This behavior, coupled with today's water conditions, again kept me from getting good results. Usually they are seen in pairs but this one was by itself.

I wanted to make sure Betty got to see the colony of juvenile Pyramid Butterflyfish on the slope drop-off. They're still there and doing well. i know that someday I'll come to this spot to discover they've left for steeper drop-offs.

On the return leg of the dive we made a pleasant discovery. This little fish is a seldom-seen hybrid of a Goldrim Tang and an Achilles Tang. These two species tend to congregate together and every now and then produce an attractive mixture of the best qualities of each. This fish was swimming in shallow water with heavy surge and didn't want his photo taken

After a surface interval I returned to the water. Someone reported a rope caught on the reef in the south end of the bay. I went over to see if I could retrieve it but with the heavy surge and poor visibility I couldn't even find it. This burned a lot of air so I didn't take many photos. I did see this Orangemouth Lizardfish resting in sand and coral rubble. It has multiple bands of small, fine teeth behind those fiery lips and preys on small fish.

It was another fine day at the beach. After rinsing gear and a little nap, we headed into town to do a little shopping. As we drove, the setting sun was spectacular. I was able to pull over in time to take a photo of its last rays as it settled between papaya trees.

A good day of diving and enjoying life in Hawai'i. As our hometowns shiver in snow and cold, Betty and I count ourselves fortunate to be here at this stage of our lives. It is amazing how life can lead you in directions you never imagined!