Diving the Kona Coast: spotted boxfish

Showing posts with label spotted boxfish. Show all posts

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Dive Report for Saturday 04/17/10

Aloha, everyone! I,ve been sidelined by a sinus infection for the past two weekends so I haven't had any dives to blog about. But, I'm all better now and had a wonderful pair of dives today at Honaunau.

For my first dive I surface swam to the south end of the cove and descended among the large stone formations there. One of the first sights I saw was this six-rayed Green Linckia sea star. While not common, sea stars with extra rays are not rare either.

Just a photo of a common Yellow Tang, but I'm happy with this because at least the bright yellow didn't reflect my flash so much as to wipe out the details on the fish.

I found this little Spotted Boxfish male out in the open but when I approached to take his photo he retreated back into the coral for safety. This is the only half-decent photo I got of him.

This pair of Raccoon Butterflyfish followed me for awhile as I made my way around the rock formations.

I haven't seen one of these Lantern Tobies in quite awhile. Some species seem to disappear for a time, only to come back in numbers later on. I used to see these in pairs but this one was solo.

This is the first Shortnose Wrasse that I've seen in some time. This one can be identified as a male by the bright red area on the front of the dorsal fin. Like all wrasse, it swims about in a rapid and somewhat erratic manner making it difficult (for me) to photograph.

This is Wire Coral (sometimes called Whip Coral) that can be found all over the south end of the cove. It grows out of the sides of the rock formations, usually where it is shaded by an overhang. There are certain shrimp and gobies that are specially adapted to live on this unusual coral.

The vermillion color of this Arc-Eye Hawkfish contrasted nicely with the pale green coral he was resting on.He certainly wasn't hiding!

I got one chance to snap this photo of a Potter's Angelfish before it disappeared into the coral.

I love the photo opportunities afforded by the cleaning stations. Here a Goldring Surgeonfish unfurls its fins for a thorough going-over by a Hawaiian Cleaner Wrasse.

This Whitemouth Moray made a willing photo subject towards the end of my dive.

Diving conditions were kind of a mixed bag today. There was a bit of surge in the early morning but visibility was better than it had been for months. The temp remained a chilly 74 degrees. On my surface interval, the clouds rolled in and the wind picked up to at least 12 knots as whitecaps were forming on the open water outside the cove.

On my second dive I decided to check in on some old friends. This male Longfin Anthias is still doing well, as is his little harem.

Likewise, the small school of Pyramid Butterflyfish has managed just fine in my absence.

It's always cool to see a Pacific Trumpetfish hanging vertically like this in the water column. They float like this waiting for a little fish to swim out of the coral and then the trumpetfish sucks it in!

To finish off this post, here's a photo of Yellowfin Goatfish who will probably gather in this cove forever. They are a constant presence around the ALOHA sandpatch every single day and are reliable enough to use as a navigational aid.

Although there were no spectacular sightings, these were two very pretty dives and I was very grateful to be back in the water again!

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, October 25, 2009

Weekend Dive Report for 10/24/09

Conditions at Honaunau were very good on Saturday with very little surface action and visibility near-to-but-not-quite 100'. Still some particulate matter hanging in the water column but not as bad as in the past two weeks. Lots of people at the bay and parking was scarce even though I got there at 6:45 AM. Lots of fishermen using the boat ramp and leaving there trucks and trailers, too.

I love to dive early in the morning just to see the light of dawn filtering through the water. As the sun shines through the rippling surface layers, the shafts of light sweep back and forth like hundreds of inverted searchlights.

A nice little find on mt first dive was this little Chevron Tang. The colors are really bright and bold and it's really an attractive fish. Actually this fish is the juvenile form of the Black Surgeonfish which, as its name suggests, is devoid of the bright colors of its youth.

Another nice tang seen on the first dive of the day was this Gold-Rim Tang. These are real beauties, too. There is a small colony of them on the southern end of the bay near a big rock pinnacle.

This Tiger Cowrie is in the same location I found it in last week. I'm hoping it doesn't end up in someone's collection soon.

This may look like an eel but it is actually a Bluespotted Cornetfish. These are pretty common in Hawai'i and on my early morning dive they were gathered together in loose groups. They have a long, thin filament extending from the tail fin and can reach a length of 4.5 feet.

On the second dive, I saw this little male Spotted Boxfish hiding in a crevice. Two weeks ago I posted a photo of a female of the species. As is true with a large number of reef fishes, the males have more vivid, brighter colors. Nobody knows for certain why this is but it may have a role in attracting mates.

This is an Arc-Eye Hawkfish. It gets its name from the odd little marking behind its eye. It is not a particularly good swimmer and spends a great deal of its time perched atop the coral (like a hawk!) waiting for a potential meal to swim too close to it. It can come in a wide variety of hues including dark green, bright red and, as seen here, light tan. It is extremely common and literally dozens can be seen on a single dive.

The cool find of the day was this tiny Dwarf Moray. These are not considered rare but they are quite reclusive and very seldom seen so I was quite happy to find this little guy. He never poked his head out much farther than this and I would have never seen him if the Spotted Boxfish hadn't swam right in front of him! Maximum length is said to be 12 inches although the entire body is rarely seen.

Another fine day of diving. This Friday we're getting company. Our friends Kari and Rick are coming to visit along with their son, Jack. They will be here a week and we plan to do a lot of diving. However, I may be too busy to post during their stay, so try not to miss me too much!

Monday, October 12, 2009

Belated Weekend Dive Report for 10/10/09

This weekend we had the Ford Ironman Triathalon going on in Kona, so it was good to be diving far away from the crowd down south in Honaunau. I don't find the Triathalon to be a particularly thrilling event to witness and I've managed to avoid it every year so far. Water conditions at Honaunau were calm on the surface throughout the morning hours. Visibility was so-so with a lot of "marine snow" particulate matter hanging in the water column.

The goofy face above belongs to a Burrfish that has been holed up in a small cave for a couple of months now. This is a kind of fish often referred to as "blowfish". It can gulp large amounts of water when threatened, distending its body into a globe shape and erecting its spines. This effectively deters sharks and other predators from making a meal of the Burrfish.

This was a nice close-up I was able to get of a Crown-of-Thorns sea star. Without the flash these appear dull brown but the strobe brings out the blood-red coloration.

The spiny creature above is a Collector Urchin. These are very common in Hawai'i and are unique because they pick up pieces of algae, shell and other bottom litter to cover themselves with. This particular one is interesting because it has covered itself with the bluish-purple skeletal remains of its brethren. A little ghoulish marine behavior for this Halloween season.

This is a female Spotted Boxfish I found in a crevice. It has a rigid, armored body from which the fins and mouth protrude. It appears awkward, seemingly wiggling its fins frantically to swim. In fact, it is surprisingly fast and very agile. The males of this species are vivid blue with gold trim.

After my dives I was joined by my wife, Betty, and my grandson, Jacques, for a little playtime in the tidepools. We saw a couple of different eels, baby Raccoon Butterflyfish, a small Moorish Idol, and some shrimp. Here, my family is joined by Aquaman.

I didn't get to blog yesterday because our family made the long trip to the "big city" of Hilo to do some shopping. Specifically, we went to buy Hallmark Christmas ornaments. One of our purchases was this Finding Nemo ornament featuring Mr. Ray who is clearly based on the form of a Spotted Eagle Ray like the one in my prior post. Pretty cool!