Puhi Paka

Photo Copyright 2014 by Barry Fackler

yellow margin moray                    Gymnothorax flavimargiatus

G. meleagris

Photo Copyright 2014 by Barry Fackler

whitemouth moray        Gymnothorax meleagris

Shy Guy

Photo Copyright 2014 by Barry Fackler

zebra moray eel               Gymnomuraena zebra

I don't see zebra morays very often and when I do find one, it's face is usually buried in the reef and only a little bit of its body is visible. This individual graced me with a chance to photograph its lovely countenance. This photo is among my first taken using a video strobe as a light source.

No Cavities!

Photo Copyright 2014 by Barry Fackler

whitemouth moray eel                Gymnothorax meleagris

Whitemouth Moray

Just wanted to share a couple of photos I took at the beginning of the month when we had the coral spawning. These photos of a whitemouth moray (Gymnothorax meleagris) were taken about two hours after the spawning.

Photo Copyright 2013 by Barry Fackler

You can see that the water's surface still looks a little blurry from all the organic material remaining in the water column. I don't know if whitemouths are the most common morays in Hawai'i but they are definitely the species I see most often.

Photo Copyright 2013 by Barry Fackler

In the photo above I changed the angle a little bit to get more of a side profile. It wasn't  until I got home and started going through the photos that I noticed the other eel in the background on the left side. Kewl!

One of the Regulars

As big as the ocean is, there are some creatures that stay in a very small area for their entire lives. Moray eels spend most of the daytime cloistered in holes in the reef. Occasionally, you see one out free swimming in the day but they usually come out to hunt at night. When daylight comes, they return to the safety of another hole in the reef.

Photo Copyright 2013 by Barry Fackler

This particular undulated moray eel ( Gymnothorax undulatus) is an exception. It lives in a coral head around 80' down and has been there every time I looked for the past several years.

Photo Copyright 2013 by Barry Fackler

No doubt it roams about at night searching for prey. But it seems that it always returns to it's specific, special place on the reef when the sun comes up. Truly a creature of habit,

Neat Devil Scorpionfish

There will be no diving for me this weekend as a wicked NW swell is kicking up monster surf making conditions sub-par. But, I have some kinda neat pics from last weekend of a devil scorpionfish (Scorpaenopsis diabolus) that was hiding under a ledge.

Photos Copyright 2013 by Barry Fackler

Scorpionfish are masters of camouflage and are often called rockfish or stonefish based on their inanimate appearance. They remain so sedentary that algae grows all over them. They survive by employing their lightning-fast jaws which vacuum in any small fish who wanders too near.

Photo Copyright 2013 by Barry Fackler

While photographing this wonderful creature, a stout moray eel (Gymnothorax eurostus) slithered along over and behind the scorpionfish oblivious to the fact that it was a very much alive predator.

Photo Copyright 2013 by Barry Fackler

I am sorry the last photo is so blurry. I was set up for a macro shot before the eel came along and had to back up to take the photo and didn't have time to adjust the settings. Still, it shows hoe effective the camouflage of the scorpionfish is. Or perhaps how brave/foolish stout moray eels are!

Dwarf Moray

The Dwarf Moray (Gymnothorax meleatremus) is, surprisingly, the smallest species of moray eel, seldom exceeding a foot in length. It is sometimes referred to as a Pencil Moray because of its size and yellow color.

I found this one at the entrance to a lava tube. When I first saw it, the Dwarf was sharing a hole in the wall with a juvenile Whitemouth Moray. When I started taking photos, the Whitemouth swam off but the Dwarf stood its ground. Pugnacious beyond its size, it even took a couple of lunges at one of my strobes.

All Photos Copyright 2011 by Barry Fackler

Barred Conger Eel

Last month I got to observe a seldom-seen Barred Conger Eel while diving at about 93 feet deep in Honaunau Bay. Betty and I used to see one at this same locale several years ago, back in my pre-digital photography days. . I don't know if this is the same individual or not. According to Hoover's The Ultimate Guide to Hawaiian Reef Fishes "If you find one (Barred Conger), congratulate yourself-few divers have ever seen this animal". So, I consider myself fairly lucky. Here are three photos of the creature.

All Photos Copyright 2011 by Barry Fackler

Giant Moray

Copyright 2009 by Barry Fackler

One morning, while swimming out to a dive site in Keauhou Bay, I saw a dark, writhing mass on the seafloor below. I couldn't make out what it was, but it resembled a really big octopus. I decided to start my dive at this spot and see if I could get close enough to ID whatever this thing was. As I descended, the mass slithered under a coral head and temporarily out of sight.   After reaching the bottom, it didn't take long to find out what the mystery creature was. Looming out of the reef was the head of the unimaginatively named Giant Moray (Gymnothorax javanicus).  Although this species of eel has been characterized as being  aggressive, this particular individual was well-mannered and allowed me to photograph at close range. The literature says this eel can reach a length of eight feet and a weight of 77 lbs. This specimen was definitely close to that size. It is rare in Hawaii although I saw one in Honaunau Bay around two years ago. I've also heard of a huge moray at the dive site called "Pipe Dreams" near the Natural Energy Lab. 

Right Place, Right Time

Betty and I live a 10 minute drive from a dive site called Two-Step at Honaunau Bay. I have dove this site between 700 to 800 times. People often ask if I get bored doing the "same dive" over and over. Well, it's never the same for me. Each dive is unique and the ocean always has something new to offer if you're looking in the right direction at the right time. The eel pictured here is a good example. This is a Dragon Moray which is very rarely seen in the main Hawaiian Islands. They are abundant in other parts of the Pacific, but not here. We found this one on a weekend morning on a coral head we've looked at many, many times in the past. On this day, I saw a little unusual movement , approached slowly and was treated to this unexpected sight  This is small specimen, but its pattern was bright and vivid with bright orange and white offset by black and brown. The jaws on this eel curve so much that the mouth is incapable of closing completely. Fleshy sensory appendages resemble horns, completing the dragon-like appearance. All that's missing are legs and maybe wings, if that's how you like your dragons!

Copyright 2009 by Barry Fackler

Anyway, we had a nice long encounter with this individual and got to take lots of photos. I looked forward to further "photo sessions" as we knew the exact location of his lair. However, this was not to be. We visited the area time and again, searching high and low but never again saw our dragon moray. This is the nature of life on a coral reef. Things swim away, get eaten, change hide-outs or whatever. We don't leave a department store never to return again because we've seen everything they've got. Likewise, the ocean "re-stocks" frequently and it' never hurts to drop in and see what's new!