Kauai anew!: September 3: 9 octopuses and the frogfish!

Yesterday was so busy that I didn't have time (or energy) to post anything about my wonderful 3 hour swim. YAY for the octopuses! I even got a few short videos of the octopus being hassled by the Rock Mover wrasse. Look for it on youtube; search for octopigirl7. Someday, I'll figure out how to give you a link.
So on to the octofishes:

Octopus 1 is an octopus that I have now seen often. Glad it's staying nearby in a place where I can find it.

Octopus #2:

I was so enthralled with the octopus, I didn't even notice the operculum nearby (the small white disk). Unbelievable.

The breathing apparatus is amazing. In the shot above, you can see the siphon and the areas where the breathing takes place. Note also the eyes from above; both are in the photo.

Octopus #2 peeking. Once you swim away, if you look back, they are often peeking to see if you are gone.

Octopus #3:Near the reddish rocks. This was in the deep side, so I couldn't get very close.

Octopus #4:

It took me a while to determine if this was really an octopus. It was near a Rock Mover Wrasse and stayed very still, so it was tough to really see it. Again, on the deep side.

Octopus #5:

These are the shots I took out in the deeper, surf-ish area. The octopus was totally out of its den (a rarity for me) and I was there probably about 15 minutes, shooting video and photos.

It's interesting how the octopus can make one side light colored and one dark. In the videos, you can see the color wave, as the octopus makes that pattern.

You can see it fleeing that pesky fish.

It was also trying to hunt; the fish was quite interested in that activity. Much to the chagrin of the octopus, no doubt.

You can see it blends in pretty well with the background.

They can make a "skirt" of webbed flesh between their legs. That helps them trap prey.

Back on top of the coral head. It is back to the brown and white coloration. The pale disks near the bottom of its head are eyes.

You can see the legs, eyes, and also that fish that didn't give up on hassling our poor octopus!

I told myself after about 15 minutes that I should leave the octopus alone, not wanting to also be a hassler. But I couldn't tear myself away. And then a huge wave smacked me, so I thought: "OK, I really SHOULD go!" and I did. I didn't even hear the wave coming.

What a difference light can make! The green photo below is basically the same as the one above, just different lighting. I couldn't get very close to this octopus either, as I was still in the deeper side, just closer to shore.

Octopus #7:

You can see almost the entire animal. See the following photo for the siphon too.

This is what I first saw:

I think it saw me, and changed to the brown color. Good thing, else I would never have spotted it.

I like the following photo, as you can see almost all of octopus #8, including that cool aqua color. Note the eye. No doubt carefully watching me.

And this is #9: in the Keiki Pond, so the water wasn't very clear.

The eye has white lines radiating out from it.

You can see the siphon of #8.

And a bit of sunlight on its body.

And now, on to the frogfish. I visited it in the beginning of the swim, when I was still deciding if I could venture into the deep side.

Face on.

The mouth and eyes are nearest the bottom of the photo.

I told friends that there is no video of this little fish: when I am present, it never moves!

Hence the "ambush predator" name. Still cool, however. I do wish I had a good way to judge the size, without bothering it. Else how will I know if it's growing?

I do wonder if it will eventually change its color to a more camouflaged color.

Two turtles (honu) were near the water's edge. One swam by me, later, and seemed to want to play.

Teardrop butterfly pair. This is one of the fish what when you see one, you always look for its companion, as they swim in pairs usually.

Ambon puffer

A huge cloud. I wish I could tell how big it was...

And a large needlefish.

Blue-spined Unicorn fish. Very pretty. They are usually in groups.

Christmas Wrasse zipped through.

Carcass of a crab. There are lots of animals on the reef that eat crabs.

A cornet meeting. I counted 6; not sure if they all made it into the photo. Again, on the deep side. One of them was thicker than my wrist.

The small-ish turtle swam under me. Normally they scoot away, but this one seemed interested in hanging out. I was thinking "No No!" We aren't supposed to touch them. My bro-in-law said if they touch you, you won't get in trouble. But I would prefer that no touching happen at all.

I was happy to see it had no visible tumors. I didn't see the honu with the tumors yesterday.

A small juvenile Rock Mover. They look a lot like seaweed at this age. And they flit around moved by the water, too.

Here's the Juvenile of the Yellow Tail Coris, accompanied by a small Manini.

More of the juvenile Rock Mover.

I'm not sure what number octopus this was. There were so many. I used to carry plastic cards with numbers to help in remembering how many I saw. I might need to start that again.

Pinktail Durgon with its yellow fins. The dorsal fin is clear with black edging. And of course, the neat pink tail. These are shy fish and will generally speed away.

A very pretty Parrot fish.

Trevally and its fishing companion, the goatfish.

Not sure which Octopus this was! Gee, so hard to keep 'em straight.

This is definitely #5 again, with its Rock Mover pest. The Rock Mover is so named because its strong jaws will pick up rocks and turn them over, looking for prey.