Trios

Today's swim was full of trios: 3 octopus and 3 scorpion fish. Yes!
I nearly put my hand down on the first scorpion fish:

I was picking up an operculum and this nice Scorpion Fish inched a little bit to move further away when I dove down. I thought that was quite nice and am thankful it didn't take offense at me! I know to be more careful, but still have a ways to go, apparently.

 This was octopus #1, out in the deeper water. I LOVE being out there, as there's more room to move and the likelihood of seeing bigger fish is greater. Of course, I do not want to see the really big fish, so I pray for protection. The octopus above turned brown when I dove down; the following picture is what I first saw, with regular coloration.

The octopus has 2 circles over its eyes. This one was slowly hunting, move its tentacles into the coral to see if there were any exciting things to eat.

 It also "peeked" at me. It's in the exact center of the photo...just the eye and the radiating white lines emanating from the eye.

 This one started off with "regular" colors, but changed to the dark brown in the previous photo when it realized I was getting closer.

 The man who swam by with his go-pro didn't even slow down to see what I was taking pix of...ah, the uninitiated!

Scorpion fish #2: the Spotfin Scorpion fish. Somehow, they are not as exciting as the Devil Scorps. Not sure why.

And octopus #3:

 This is the one who wasn't home earlier in the dive...glad it got back in time for a photo shoot.

Completing the trios is Devil Scorp #3. Maybe 10 inches long; I do have a horrible time trying to estimate the size of things underwater. Let's just say I'm glad it had no interest in biting me. Ambush predators, the lot of them. 

 3 Pinktail Durgon in one shot! woo-hoo! In the deep side. So the trio portion of the post is complete; here are the other treats I captured with my camera:

 I think these are crabs with anemone on the back.

 A very nice drupe shell, all alone.

 Sun shining on the clouds and palms. It almost makes one think part of the palm tree was missing.

 Hebrew Cone shell

 A nice Humu with his spike partially up.

 And a juvenile Yellow Tail Coris. I don't know of any other fish that differs so much in coloration from the adult.

 And the required male Trunk or Box fish

 The small bit of pink coral really stood out near the sand-colored rocks.

 Seal on the beach, snoozing. Haven't seen them for a few days, so it was good to know they were back. And that they weren't in the water. I was able to swim freely.

 Sergeant Major fish...in the minor size. 

 Snowflake moray. Probably looking for something to snack on.

 Spanish Dancer nudibranch hanging underneath a bit of rock.

 Trevally and Christmas Wrasse.

 This Trevally was circling an eel. 

As was this one. At Hanauma Bay, I would often see Trevally circling a hiding octopus. Guess which I'd prefer? But a nice swim anyway. The new wetsuit is working out well. 

A beautiful swim with almost flat water....yay winter!

Five octopuses you say! Yes, it's true. And some were really hard to find. Well, harder than the usual hard time....
Let's start with the easy ones.

 Well, I guess easy is a relative term: easy if it's a regular octopus and you know where to look!

 This octopus was moving rocks around with its tentacles.

 You can see the "shoulders" and siphon. And the eyes..they have white lines radiating from the eye.

 This octopus did scooch down and turn a bit browner, but they apparently decided I was ok. I try not to be threatening or make sudden moves.

 And now for he'e #2:

This is where the harder part comes in: you can see the white siphon and I think a bit of eye above that. But this one stayed in the den and didn't even venture out to peek at me. Smart, eh?

 Isn't that good camouflage?! I couldn't even believe that I saw it. 

 If you look up from that little white rock and in the crevice, that's the octopus.

 Same color as the surrounding sand and rocks. They are wicked smart.

 To the untrained eye, you'd think it was a rock.

 The eye and bumpy skin give away its presence. 

What amazes me is that I stop for at least 5 minutes (or until I get too cold and have to move on) and no one stops to see what I'm taking a picture of....odd. If I see someone taking a photo, I always stop to see what they've got in their lens.

Yes, this one too stayed in its den. I only saw it because it slid down into the den when I approached.

 The skin near its eye caught a bit of light.

 It did stay well hidden. And since it was the same color as the surroundings, it was really hard to spot. But it did "peek" up at me. This one never did turn brown. 

And now for the rest of the critters:

 Two cowry shells hiding in the rocks.

 The Ambon Puffer did show a bit of its blue anal fin

 Barred file fish

 Blue spined unicorn

 Cleaner wrasses doing their jobs

 Hebrew Cone shell

 Lizard fish buried in the sand: look either for the head or tail. The middle is under the sand.

 Before the Lizard ran away and buried itself.

 Male Trunk fish

 Moon and palm

 Upside down Moorish Idol

The mountain near our house with fog

 Peacock grouper

 Pencil urchin

 Pinktail durgon

 Scorpion Fish

 Maybe a sea cucumber. I usually don't see them this color

 Juvenile blue-spined unicorn fish

 Snowflake moray hiding.

 Sparrow searching for good bits on the sand

 Spotfin Scorpion fish

 Maybe s Spotfin juvenile?

 The adult Spotfin hiding under a rock

 Tiny female trunk fish

 I am not sure what this is! But I do think that's an operculum on top of it...

 younger Pinktail Durgon.

Juvenile Yellow tail coris. These fish are so fast and so amazing...
Very thankful for a nice swim the 5 octopuses. Yay!