Needlefish beneath the surface.
A threadfin butterflyfish at Kahalu’u.
Some diver portraiture I shot off Kona side.
The visibility was shit, but it made for some nice backdrops.
One from my “Turtles in tractor beams” series.
Never date a Stripebelly Puffer. They’re toxic.
One of the driving forces in the life of a hermit crab is the constant search for a lighter, stronger shell. Evolutionarily, hermit crabs have given up their own genetically provided elemental protection in favor of a housing resource that has been readily available in vast quantities for millions of years.
When your survival is based on material posession, competition for the highest quality materials will inevitably ensue. Larger, stronger individuals will rip opponents from superior shells and claim them for their own, the decapodal victim cast off naked and vulnerable to either find another suitable home or perish from exposure or predation.
This is Crabdor, defender of the triton shell and keeper of successful genetic code, or at least that’s how he introduced himself.
Hermit Crab on coastal lava rock. These guys aren’t very bashful and will climb right over you if you’re in their way.
Blackspot Sergeantfishes:
-Are often found in shallow areas of 10ft or less
-Will “farm” a patch of algae that they continually feed from, removing unwanted plants from the area
-Are named for the stripes on their sides, which resemble the insignia of a military Sergeant Major
-Can recite the entire script to Smokey and the Bandit, (1977) verbatim, but will ask you to hold your finger up under their nose in a loose approximation of Burt Reynolds’ mustache in order to do so.
-Change color during mating
Parrotfish (Hawaiian: Uhu) - The reef fish most commonly mistaken for a muppet.
This was taken at Shark’s cove on north shore Oahu near a spot called Blue Room, a cave accessible via a 25 foot underwater tunnel. (Got this on my second attempt to freedive through)
