Is it just me or are you guys seeing tons of baby butterflyfish lately?

[Shaka Doug]

Is it just me or are you guys seeing tons of baby butterflyfish lately?

It seems like in the last month or so I've noticed an incredible amount of juvenile butterfly fish here along the Wailea/Makena coast. They are mostly Milletseeds and all about the size of a half dollar.There are a lots of tiny Ornate's mixed in but not as many. I'm talking millions of them, on many of the coral ridges and large coral heads covering very large expanses of reef in about 20' of water. I'm also seeing lots of tiny new Pennants and some Reticulated babies. Some areas have zillions of juvenile goatfish and parrotfish too. It's so cool!

In my 17 years of diving the Maui coast I have never seen anything like this. Could it be that the Roi Roundups are working? It will be awesome to see the huge schools these fish could turn into if they survive into adulthood.

In the meantime, it sure is making for some scenic diving!!

 

[knotical]

How cool !
Many years ago we noticed a similar youthful population explosion, except not millions (and it was Bonaire and iirc baloonfish). We checked with some marine biologists who told us it's actually fairly common. Apparently when broadcast spawners hit the right conditions those types of things can result. Reminds us of the randomness of nature. I think the biologists even had a name for the phenomenon, but I sure don't remember.

 

[DiveMaven]

We noticed that last month when we were there. LOTS of baby fish everywhere. We were even treated to a baby Reticulated Butterfly fish...and yes, we got a picture to prove it! I'm also hoping this "bloom" of babies survives and we see a lot more fish on the reefs.

 

[scottitheduck]

I agree...... It's been a very good few weeks or so for the juvis. Super jealous about the reticulated butterfly fish though as I've only seen a handful here on Oahu. On another note, Lindsey came in from a dive on the North Shore a few weeks ago and was GUSHING! During her dive at Shark's Cove she spotted an Emperor Angelfish. I'm curious to see how many of you Hawaiian Regulars have seen this amazing critters and was reminded that I saw one back in 2011

The Odd Couple: | Latest Waikiki Scuba Dive ReportLatest Waikiki Scuba Dive Report

Kauai, Maui, Big Island guys....... do you see the Emperor Angel? Is it crazy to think that Lindsey saw it 3 years later in the EXACT SAME SPOT???? What's their life span?

Don't mean to hijack the thread, but we were talking about seeing cool fish...... lol.

G

 

[tridacna]

Those Heniochus look amazing. Thanks for pics.