Today, our group dove at two coral reefs! After a short briefing and boat ride there, we stepped into the water at the first dive site. While there, some of the most common fish I saw were lots of tiny (1-2 inch) narrow fish with blue heads and yellow tails. They didn’t have the markings of bluehead wrasse, so I didn’t know what they were. After looking at more dive charts later that day, I suspect they may have been Royal Gramma Basslet. Some of the more recognizable fish I saw on the first dive included foureye and reef butterflyfish, queen parrotfish (both initial and terminal), blue tang, and sergeant major. In addition to all these fish, the reef of course had coral mostly of the staghorn and brain coral variety, as well as basket sponges, tube sponges, and sea fans.
The second site was, in my opinion, even better because it had almost all of the above species plus even more. For example, while traversing along the reef our group saw a sea turtle! Unfortunately, it was moving quickly away from our tour, so my partner and I weren’t able to get very close. Another unique fish I saw was an extremely large fish (2-3 feet long) with 3 large “spikes” on its head and more running down its back. It had too many horns to be a filefish, so I didn’t know what it was. After some research, the most likely answer is a hogfish, which is characterized by 3-4 long dorsal spines followed by shorter ones, and can grow up to 36 inches. It also possesses a “pig-like snout” and displays rooting behavior, which explains why I found it in a deep sandy trench rather than the coral shelf. During the last few minutes of our dive, a group of 3 large tarpon fearlessly swam right up to us close enough to touch. They were a brilliant silver color and swam around instead of hiding in the coral like other species. Their total trust of us surprised me and I wondered what kind of human contact they have had in the past. Finally, during our safety stop, my buddy spotted a squid hiding underneath some coral, so we naturally checked our air and dive time (plenty of both left) and headed back down to check it out before restarting our stop and surfacing.
Overall, I was amazed at the sheer biodiversity of life in the coral reefs. I saw not only more numbers but also many times the species of fish than I did while snorkeling off the coast. After a great dinner, I am looking forward to visiting the sea turtles tomorrow!
