I asked God for a dancing octopus...and he showed me one!

You may know that I always pray for safety and sightings before I get in the water. Today I asked God for a dancing octopus and He gave me 40 minutes of fun!

 The octopus first showed itself in the cleft of a rock...yes, it IS hard to see. Just in the middle of the photo to the right of the damsel fish.

 And the Rock Mover Wrasse kept bothering it! (Octopus in right hand corner)

The octopus had had enough and fled.

 And landed on the same rock as earlier for a brief rest.

 I wonder if these fish knew the octopus was nearby?

Octopus in its place, marked by rocks. There was a den nearby, not sure if it was this octopus' den. In other locations, one can often find an octopus by looking for shells outside its den. But if you're going to fish and catch and eat one of God's wonderful creatures, forget you heard that!

 Note the curled up legs and the white spot in the middle. I think something took a bite out of this octopus.... It is hard to tell when they are going to blast off, so I was lucky to catch this photo.

Trying to escape the bodyguards... And it's always a toss-up...video or photo? One can't do both at the same time. Oy vey, the decisions I have to make!

 At first glance, I totally missed the octopus in the photo below! (upper left corner) There were so many distracting fish.

Showing off its legs and ready to hunt:

Showing off its siphon.

 Gathering to take off. Note the color change.

And it swam away. Unfortunately, the Rock Mover Wrasse came right along with it.

 Showing the skirt, which helps trap prey under rocks. The octo mouth is underneath, so I have never caught a photo of it...so far...

 Having escaped, if only for a moment, the onslaught of the rock mover wrasse, now a goat fish butted into the scene. For a solitary animal, the octopus had lots of company.

Fleeing

 On top of the rock, a peacock grouper swam by. I was a bit concerned that it would find the octopus and eat it.

 Rock mover wrasse and the octopus, back on its rock.

If you'd like to see the videos (seven or so, I think), of the octopus dancing, hunting and fleeing, go to youtube and search for octopigirl7. Enjoy!

 Two peacock grouper. I assume (totally without foundation) that the larger one was a male. Perhaps.

 Bird wrasse. I don't very often see these in the adult size, so this also was a treat.

 Black Leaf Fish! In the photo below, look at its "paws" resting on the rock on either side. They do get blown about by the water and waves, so its cool to see them rocking back and forth.

 Male trunk fish. I usually see it from the tail side, as it's swimming away.

 Peacock Grouper again. If I had more time, I'd count the dots on Peacock grouper and the box fish, just for fun.

 Clouds and palms

 That ornery rock mover wrasse.

Some kind of shrimp hiding...

 Ah, zee Spanish Dancer nudibranch!

A stripey.

Whitebar Surgeon fish. I don't often see these. Of course, a Rock Mover wrasse was in hot pursuit.

Yellow tail coris. I think one of the prettier fishes on the reef.

So a fantastic day on the reef! Please do visit youtube and ask for octopigirl7 to see the videos. What an amazing example of God's creativity! He does answer prayers...