Yesterday, snorkeling on "our" reef here at Shacks, we were treated to a wonderful dance.
Porcupinefish are usually very shy. When we approach they usually hide under an elkhorn coral or under a coral ridge or in a little cave in the reef. They peek out from their hiding places where you can see their big dark eyes and puffy lips. Yesterday, what we assume were a mating pair, were swimming big circles out in the open, around one section of the reef. They tended to move away from us, but they stayed in the open, the smaller one (the female? we're not sure) always following a short distance behind the larger. It was amazing and wonderful to see these beautiful fish out in the open, to watch them swim and react to us and other things on the reef. There are more pictures of this encounter on Flickr.
One of things we've noticed is the way many fish - including the porcupinefish - bank as they turn. Some just turn their bodies and change direction. Others seem to "fly" through the water, banking into turns the way an airplane banks in the sky.
In a shallow area just off the beach this young (about 2-1/2 foot long) barracuda just hangs in the current. If I approach him to take a picture, he slowly swims away but makes a big circle and comes right back to the same place. I'm learning that if I don't chase him, if I just stay quietly (as quietly as I can considering I'm not nearly as good at hanging in the current as he is), he'll come back and give me another shot. Mostly he swims pretty slowly but every now and then, something will startle him and then he becomes a silver torpedo, just a flash through the sunlight. When motivated, he can really move.
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