Yet another beautifully colored surgeonfish, the Palani, is quite shy in most cases. Even though I see them often this is the first really close up shot I have taken. You can see the distinct eyestripe and the sharp spine (reason it is a surgeonfish), which is white (advertised to potential predators) at the base [...]

These members of the Surgeonfish family are often found at turtle cleaner stations eating from the turtles shell. I have also noticed these fish chasing eachothers tails in a circle, like the Chinese coi fish pictures that are famous. The pictures below follow a chasing sequence. Olowalu turtle station.

Part of the Surgeonfish family, convict tang are usually found in schools and lavendar tangs are often mixed in the crowd. The markings on the convict tang are distinct, and the Hawaiians called them Manini. I have always found these guys around a reef system, and never stray too far from their home area. Photo [...]

This is truly a nice looking fish. All the colors are crisp and clearly defined. They usually travel in pairs, and aren’t very common to see. I wouldn’t want to mess with one of these because of the 4 razor sharp barbs at the base of the tail. I got this photo in a healthy [...]

This member of the surgeonfish family is a plankton eater. And in the case of this particular fish also a human vomit eater. There is a school of these guys that hang around a popular snorkel site for tour boats, and they wait for an unfortunate person to get sick and chum the water. I’ve [...]

Yellow tang are very easy to see because of their color, no other fish is a solid yellow the same way. Tangs are a member of the surgeonfish family, they have a razor sharp barb on the base of the tail, it is all white with the yellow tang. I got these pictures in two [...]

Moorish Idols are some of the most picturesque fish on the reef, they are found almost always in pairs, cruising the reef feeding off the coral. I took this shot at the Arches off Maluaka Point at Makena, Maui.