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regarding snappers: shouldn't use colors so definitively- fish can adjust colors to a wide range- no reason why a species would limit its colors that much. Truly, small dog snappers are very hard to tell from schoolmasters- though if I had to guess I would agree it is likely a very large...

the blenny is the spinyhead- the most common of the genus; often called secretary, but that is a different species with big head spines.

The tricky ones: the hawkfish is the juvenile wrasse Cheilinus/Oxycheilinus; the lizardfish is a weeverfish; the "just can't find him" is the wrasse Cirrhilabrus.

unfortunately, all of the color phases can occur in most of the species.. nothing species specific about blotches or color. Really they only differ much in display markings on some males. So species IDs are tenuous. Humann/Deloach cannot put multiple photos of every species without becoming...

yes, it is a grey snapper- they can turn their stripe on and off and can match their background- if in green water, will look sort of green.

yes, juvenile yellowmouth grouper ben Introduction: Benjamin Victor's webpages on reef fish larvae and research on reef fish ecology with a larval fish guide

sorry but better late than never- that would be the blenny Hypleurochilus bermudensis, the barred blenny: occasional in Florida. Introduction: Benjamin Victor's webpages on reef fish larvae and research on reef fish ecology with a larval fish guide

Sorry- all I can say is I must have gone color blind or downloaded the wrong photo somewhere along the line... I agree it is a scamp- doctormike, your scamp is a juvenile with the blotches, the #3 is the scamp adult with the smaller version of the spots. If you guys want to be really stumped-...

#3 is the speckled hind, Epinephelus drummondhayi. Nice photo! Not in the usual books because it is usually deep. I have a complete species list for the Caribbean on my website that you can use to do process of elimination when you are stumped. ben coralreeffish.com

From the ichthyology world: The CDs and books are wrong on this group- the "punk" blenny is the real secretary blenny, Acanthemblemaria maria. The common fish called secretary blenny in the guides are just spinyhead blennies with prominent markings, Acanthemblemaria spinosa. A. maria have big...

Looked through my fish collection and the answer is that it is a baby green razorfish.. the babies have the elevated front dorsal and the little white spots.... Ben coralreeffish.com

sorry i am late- but this is quite a tricky ID! not a labrisomus, they are quite "heavy" looking and dark as small juveniles, it has an elevated front of the dorsal fin and a wrassy-parrotfishy look- I think it is a Doratonotus, or, less likely, a baby razorfish.

probably newly-settled Serranus subligarius ben coralreeffish.com

not so easy- I think it is Halichoeres bivittatus, but H. poeyi can look very similar at this stage... ben coralreeffish.com

yes, in the northern GOM a nice Halichoeres caudalis, you have some unusual fish up there!

Interesting thread- well, given that the photo is from the northern GOM and the whitespotted replaces the greater and probably the others as well- i would go with the most parsimonious explanation- the original photo is of the newly-settled juvenile, the finely dark-spotted one by designbysue is...

A couple of the little soapfishes have these brightly-colored juveniles- Rypticus subbifrenatus and R. bistrispinus. they get spotted as they get bigger. ben coralreeffish.com

I am sure it is Malacoctenus ebisui- they are known for having the darker tail-end that looks a bit like a triplefin (Enneanectes). ben coralreeffish.com

No question a wrasse, Halichoeres- where and what depth was this photo taken? there are lots of species in various oceans... ben coralreeffish.com

Dr.Diver- I would be very interested in a DNA sample if you slurp it up. I am doing a genetics study of fishes on the MesoAmerican Barrier Reef system and I am being surprised that there is some separation between the Bay Islands and Belize. I am publishing the scientific description of the...