Guadalupe cardinalfish at Casino Point? Are you sure??

Have heard several reports of Guadalupe cardinalfish being sighted in the Casino Point Dive Park over the last month or two. Found this interesting as in all the years I've dived there, I've only seen one of them. However, conditions were right for an appearance with the warm waters this summer and fall.

Have been able to determine that some of the sightings were actually of kelp surfperch rather than Guadalupe cardinalfish. However, one video I saw did show the type of "erratic" swimming behavior of a cardinalfish but the subject was very small and over exposed so it was hard to make a positive ID from it.

I thought I'd post a picture of one from my sole sighting back in June of 2001 so people would see what these small fish look like. If you have any sightings, I'd definitely be interested in knowing about them.

I've seen them at Catalina, though perhaps not recently. (But I haven't really been looking for them either.)

They were first spotted down in Pyramid Cove at Clemente after one of the El Ninos in the early 90s. I remeber doing a dive there with Dale Sheckler and when we came back to the boat, we both almost simultaneously said, "Did you see a bunch of Guadalupe Cardinalfish under that ledge?"

The next year they had worked their way east and north and were found at such spots as Fishhook, Windowpane, and Little Flower. The year after that, we were seeing them up in NW Harbor. And the year after that, I started seeing them at Catalina.

So it all - as the sighting of our out-of-place Whitetailed Damselfish shows - indicates that sub-tropical fish CAN migrate up on the warmer waters, settle in, and adapt to cooler temps. Scythe Butterfly, which we first started seeing in the mid-80s after a big El Nino, is another example.

- Ken

DR.Bill...was just there today Nov 26th, 2012,...go pro'd these guys who look like G Cardinalfish ?..give it 45 min to post. Let me know.

Agree, Ken... there are a number of examples of southern forms entering our region during warm water episodes. Guadalupe cardinalfish are certainly possible, although the misidentifications by at least two who reported them at Casino Point are the reason for my post. Given the 320 dives I've done this year, mostly in the dive park, I haved yet to see one this year and I poke around in the rocks quite a bit.

The scythe butterflyfish is an interesting example in that it is a deep water species down south (up to 500 ft depth) and therefore has a much easier time adapting to our cooler waters (where I often find it in the 30-50 ft range).

The finescale triggerfish is another good example of a species that has been up here for some time. A spotted porcupinefish was taken at Toyon Bay earlier this year as well.

---------- Post added November 27th, 2012 at 07:43 AM ----------

lamarpaulski:

GuadalupeCardinalfishmaybecasinoptcatalinaNov26 - YouTube


DR.Bill...was just there today Nov 26th, 2012,...go pro'd these guys who look like G Cardinalfish ?..give it 45 min to post. Let me know.

Click to expand...

Yes, yours was the video I mentioned that did appear to be a cardinaldfish

Got a much better video yesterday BUT being an amateur at both computers and go pro I'm struggling to get you tube to take it. Here is screen capture. 15ft depth south of steps 150-200ft quite a few of them.. Water 60F pretty clear. When/if I post video I will post link here too. Several individuals and this was different place than last sighting so I would guess there are a fair number if you poke in holes 10-20 feet as you swim (South ?) right from steps.
PG



---------- Post added November 27th, 2012 at 01:41 PM ----------

GuadalupeCardinalfishmaybecasinoptcatalinaNov26 - YouTube


looks like you tube accepted video...better than last weeks feeble effort and there are several candidates for Cardinal.

Fish. PG

Those are juvenile Blacksmiths.

ID Needed (Juvenile blacksmith?) - Underwater, nature photography | Under Pressure Photography -- Scott F McGee

MaxBottomtime:

Those are juvenile Blacksmiths.

ID Needed (Juvenile blacksmith?) - Underwater, nature photography | Under Pressure Photography -- Scott F McGee

Click to expand...

Not sure I concur with that Phil. The second video does present these fish more clearly although I still can't be certain of the ID, but I'm leaning towards cardinalfish. Blacksmith have a more continuous dorsal fin. Cardinalfish have a high, slightly pointed dorsal fin towards the rear.

However, I am surprised at the number of these fish in the video... I've never seen a cluster of them in our waters (although others have). The grouping does suggest the possibility of baby blacksmith as they often group together when sheltering in the rocks. Just wish I could get back in the water to look for myself. Although my surgery went extremely well, I'm still sentenced to surface intervals for another week or two.

Here is an image of some baby blacksmith for comparison: