Favorite Fish to See?

[Litefoot]

Do you have a fish that makes you smile when you see it while diving? I am relatively inexperienced, but on a recent shallow reef dive off Key West, I had a lone yellowtail snapper follow by my side for a nearly hour-long dive. I guess he thought I needed a buddy. Made me smile.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Clown triggerfish

 

[Johnoly]

...that makes you smile when you see it while diving?

 

[Divin'Papaw]

I'm a real fish geek and just LOVE diving amongst and observing fish. ALL fish. But I do have a couple that came to mind when I read your post.

I'm a sucker for butterfly fish. I see them all the time here in Florida and they always bring a smile to my face. They are typically in pairs. Here in FL we have reef, spotfin, foureye, banded plus a few others. I love seeing these guys!

I also love following a hogfish and watching it change color and texture as it moves across the sand and reef.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

I also love watching the jacks ... yellow, cottonmouth, bar, horseye, amberjack, crevalle ... we see all of these in the waters I frequently dive. Some are more common than others, but I've seen them all at one point. They all have different behavior patterns, schooling patterns, feeding patterns. I find them mesmerizing to watch, and to watch the behaviors of the other fish when they come around feeding.

 

[RyanT]

I'm a real fish geek and just LOVE diving amongst and observing fish. ALL fish.

+1. If I had to pick something for an extra smile though, I think it would be scrawled filefish. Something about their funky shape and electric blue lines always makes me happy.

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

Frogfish definitely come to mind because I've found so few of them over the years...... But the other is the Dusky Damsel....... I think that pound for pound they are the king of the sea. If those things weighed 10lbs or more, I'd probably stay out of the water!

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Tetronarce californica, Pacific electric ray

Stereolepis gigas, Giant sea bass

Anarrhichthys ocellatus, Wolf eel

Gymnothorax mordax, California moray

Mola Mola, Ocean sunfish

 

[Altamira]

Lionfish make me smile when I think of them on my plate at La Perlita in Coz.

 

[RIHappyDiver]

For fish, puffer. They’re very cute, and have a don’t care attitude!
For all sea life, Christmas Tree worms!!! I love they way they come back out soo slowly, after disappearing soo fast!

Erik