Today's Photos

[Hiroyuki Tanaka]

Here is a new column. I got a new digital Nikon's one-lens camera, and I can take photos and see so easily. Anybody can post any fish or invert pics just photographed (not limited to "today") and I hope to see yours !

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I went to a yacht harbor this morning (5:30 AM) and faound four species of Chaetodon. One of them is C. auripes, some 15cm long, a less colorful species.

They can be seen from the upper side of the wall of the harbor, and the depth from the angle of wall was some 2 meters. The harbor is located near to my home (Miyazaki City, southern Japan) and it took some 10 minuites by car.


1. C. melannotus, 15mm and C. vagabundus, 20mm.

2. C. auriga, 20mm.

 

[Anonymous]

Great to see you back!

Peace,

Chip

 

[Hiroyuki Tanaka]

Thanks

The next is one of rays ??? It measured over 40 cm long. It slowly swimmed before my eyes.

 

[Anonymous]

Is it a ray, or a sunfish (Mola Mola) on it's side? IS that red color it's true color?

 

[Hiroyuki Tanaka]

Thanks, but it is not a sunfish. Yes, it was reddish brown like this. Today (July 2) I went again to photograph the threadfin butterfly and it is here. It was swimming just under the surface (around 7:00AM).

 

[WRASSER]

Nice pics, Thanks for sending them from Japan :wink:

 

[Hiroyuki Tanaka]

Today I went to the yacht harbor at 7:00 and took 70 shots.

1 A long fish swimming very slowly at the surface, over 30cm. They are hunters and the third individual has already caught a small butterflyfish 8O .

2 :?: I cannot tell the species but blenny. A quite beautiful fish, some 5cm .

3 A Cleaner Wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus), 6cm was cleaning several larger species at the surface there.

 

[Anonymous]

Very nice pictures!

 

[Hiroyuki Tanaka]

6:30AM at the same yacht harbor, Miyazaki City. July 10, 2006. Cloudy.

Platax orbicularis, 4cm at the surface.

Chaetodon lunula, 2cm.

Chaetodon vagabundus, 2cm and a surgeofish.

 

[Hiroyuki Tanaka]

Lawdawg,
Thank you very much! I found five species of Chaetodon at the site these two months .

 

[Anonymous]

How nice it must be to see them up close in a natural habitat!

 

[Meloco14]

Wow it would be so nice to be able to go down to the local harbor and see such pretty fish. The few fish you can see around harbors in Southern California are all drab colors and pretty boring. Plus the water is usually filthy. You are lucky to have found such a nice spot.

 

[Anonymous]

Plagiotremus tapeinosoma

 

[Hiroyuki Tanaka]

Dear Matt,

Many thanks for your ID and very nice pics. Here is another shot taken yesterday. They should be a pair.

Today (5:30 AM) I photographed two butterflyfishes, one of them is the Oriental Butterfly, Chaetodon auripes, the commonest in Japan.

 

[Hiroyuki Tanaka]

One of the rare butterflyfish, Chaetodon lunulatus, 15mm photographed at the surface in June 18, 2006. I have seen it only once !

 

[Anonymous]

Dear Matt,

Many thanks for your ID and very nice pics. Here is another shot taken yesterday. They should be a pair.

Dr. Tanaka,
Do you know how this fish feeds? Be careful of your hands when they are in the water!

 

[Hiroyuki Tanaka]

Thanks Matt,

No, I do not want to keep it in home, or do not collect it. This morning I found so many stingy jellyfishes there !

 

[Meloco14]

Dear Matt,

Many thanks for your ID and very nice pics. Here is another shot taken yesterday. They should be a pair.

Dr. Tanaka,
Do you know how this fish feeds? Be careful of your hands when they are in the water!

I want to know how it feeds. Tell us! Tell us!

 

[Anonymous]

Dear Matt,

Many thanks for your ID and very nice pics. Here is another shot taken yesterday. They should be a pair.

Dr. Tanaka,
Do you know how this fish feeds? Be careful of your hands when they are in the water!

I want to know how it feeds. Tell us! Tell us!

Blennies from the genera Plagiotremus and Aspidontus (and there's one other I can't recall) are called 'fang blennies'. They typically mimic cleaner wrasses and peaceful Meiacanthus blennies, among others. They do this to enable getting close to large fish, which they swim up to and tear a large chunk of flesh out of. They have two little venomous fangs if I remember right.

So, assuming they would treat a human arm like any other large chunk of meat swimming by, they'd probably have no qualms about swimming right up and biting the hell out of you. I believe Bob Fenner has been bitten by this very species....twice!

 

[Meloco14]

Ahh, yes I have read an article in Coral magazine about fang blennies. They look cool when swimming but I would never want to mess with them!