Sandy Bottom

Alex helped choose the name for this post....do you see the flounder?
That's why, I guess, they mostly stay on sandy bottoms: it's easier for their camouflage to work. 

This was a smallish flounder...it shows the tail better than some of the other photos. 













Had a very nice swim, with 3 octo-sightings:

 This octopus was a surprise: first of all, it was #1. But when I first saw it, I almost thought it was an eel. I saw just a small bit of white and brown, wedged into the slit in the rocks. I swept closer and discovered that it was in fact an octopus. Which is more obvious in the other photos. The funny part was that the little Brighteye Chromis was darting at the octopus, in an attempt to make it go away! It always amazes me when a small animal takes on a much larger one. Also incredible was the fact that when I came back later to see how the octopus was faring, it had disappeared. Apparently it was either waiting for me to go or the Chromis was successful in making it leave. 

He'e #2 did turn dark brown. You can see its eye in the photo.

 Below is the octopus as it was when I first saw it. A nice brown and white, hiding in the hole, with its rocks just outside the den.

Here it is in another shot of the darker color.

 And as I looked back, it was peeking to see if I had disappeared.

Octopus #3:

 This was a larger adult. The bad visibility is due to the placement: out near the rocks where the surf rolls in (and the waves smack me around..) Below is the way I keep track of how many octopuses I see: 3 fingers. I like this photo too because you can see the octopus in the background, along with its rocks denoting the den.

 Pix of the juvenile Yellow Tail Coris. Again with twins.

 White mouth moral eel. Look for the little Brighteye Chromis on the right side. If I were that fish, I wouldn't be hanging out near an eel.

Large Cone shell on top of a coral head. I didn't pick it up, so not sure what type of cone it was.

 The Brighteye Chromis outside, slowed down from its frantic darting about.

Below, a large Cornet fish with Hawaiian Cleaner Wrasses doing their jobs.

Cute little Lizard Fish. Surprisingly, this one didn't dart away when I appeared. Apparently, it was hoping its camouflage worked.

 I was all set to take this nice partial shell home, but noted the crab claws inside. Darn Hermit Crabs!

Not the prettiest Drupe shell ever, but it was clinging to the coral head. It's the whitish-pinkish-red topped object.

 A Hebrew Cone Shell, buried on the bottom.

Below is a closer photo of the juvenile Yellow Tail Coris. They really stand out on the reef, since most of the bottom is sand colored.

 Male Box Fish.

Pencil Urchins:

 Pinktail Durgon, out near the wave break.

 I am going to have to look this guy up: I think it might be the little fish that pretends to be a cleaner wrasse and instead bites the fishes.

Would you have seen the flounder? I usually rely on their movement to spot them. (It's in the center of the photo.)

My new neighbor gave me a rose. The lovely pink parts were secondary blooms that opened after the original one had faded.

Clouds and palms. 

 The pink rose, closer up. I have it blown up as my wallpaper at home: when you look at it larger, it seems to be a woman and a man embracing. In any case, a wonderful flower.

So, very nice swim. It was a good day: talks with 2 friends, a great dinner (Cuban sandwiches made by my sweetheart!) and 3 octopus sightings. Life is good!