Can you identify this fish...

[H2Andy]

blue chromis:

creole wrasse:

 

[booth22]

picture was taken in Utila, I've got pictures of the blue chromis though and they look quite different


Cudabait, did you get the link for the whale shark video?

 

[Cacia]

the blue chromis has a deeper hued eye?

 

[booth22]

Ok, how about these guys?

 

[H2Andy]

C, the chromis are "chubbier", less "torpedo-like" than the wrasse

Ok, how about these guys?

those are also creole wrasses, different coloration

 

[booth22]

thanks, those were the only 2 pictures we couldn't label from our trip!

 

[Walter]

the blue chromis has a deeper hued eye?

The Blue Chromis is a much smaller fish, it's more oval shaped and more uniform in color. It is blue with black highlights. It is also found singly or in small schools down near the reef (the Brown Chromis is usually higher in the water column). They tend to stay in a small area.

The Creole Wrasse is longer and narrower often looking like Joseph in his coat. They are almost always found in schools and usually much more active than the Blue Chromis. These are without a doubt Creole Wrasse, not Blue Chromis.

 

[Cacia]

gotta get my pic in.....those guys are hard to capture, maybe cause they are blue and not enough contrast for autofocus. Also, they are nervous fish. Walter...you seem to know where everything resides, I am working on that.

I have this great book by Marty Snyderman and Clay Wiseman and they have a photo tip for many fish. They say Blue Chromis is best to photgraph with a long macro, waiting for a little current to come up. They say when the current delivers the plankton their feeding behavior intensifies and then they let down their defenses and you can get closer.
Me...I have pictures of their backsides! But their eye catching electric blue makes for a beautiful image when you catch them right.

 

[Walter]

Those are beautiful! I've never seen the Hawaiian version. Thanks for sharing.

Walter...you seem to know where everything resides, I am working on that.

Just a few. Everything is beyond my ability to learn. After a couple decades, a few things start to sink in.

 

[H2Andy]

pretty picture, C