Butterflyfish Grenada, Caribbean. Butterflyfish are represented by about 125 species mainly found in coral reefs of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans. They can be common but mostly not in huge numbers. The most common group feed on coral polyps or anemones and are often seen in pairs, another group are plankton feeders and may be seen in schools. They have deep, laterally compressed bodies and single dorsal fine extending the length of the body to a non forking tail fin.

Masked (golden) Butterflyfish, Chaetodon semilarvatus, Red Sea. As a group in tropical waters of Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans with about 125 species. Many species feed on coral polyps others on algae. Some species, as here, form mated pairs and will tend to have a home area of reef.

Blacktail, Exquisite or Polyp butterflyfish Chaetodon austriacus. Red Sea also Western Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden. Found in coral rich areas at depth of 1 to 20m usually as pairs. Grows to 13cm. Grazes on coral polyps and anemone tentacles.

Sergeant Major Abudefduf saxatilis, Caribbean. Common on reefs and shallow wrecks in Atlantic tropical waters. Eats a wide range of smaller marine life.

Lunar fusilier fish Caesio lunaris. Red Sea, also Indo-West Pacific, East Africa, Persian Gulf up to Japan in coastal areas mainly with steep seaward sides of coral reefs. Grows to 40cm, Forms aggregations in midwater and feeds on zooplankton.

Bluegreen puller or damselfish fish Chromis viridis. Red Sea. Found in sheltered shallow water, 10 - 12m, Indo-Pacific, Red Sea associated with branching Acropora corals often in large aggregations which dive into the coral when disturbed. Phytoplankton feeders. The juveniles often stay with a single coral head. The males build a nest in sand for spawning which is shared with a number of females then the male guards and fans water over the eggs for 2 - 3 days till hatching.

Spotted trunkfish Lactophrys triquiter, Caribbean. Feeds on algae, sea grass and crustaceans. Some of its near relatives feed less on the plant material and more on small invertebrates.As a general group other common name are boxfish and cowfish and related to the pufferfishes and filefishes. Can release a toxin if disturbed.

Cube, Polka-dot Yellow, or Blue-spotted boxfish or Trunkfish Ostracion cubicus. Red Sea but found Indo-Pacific to Hawaii, inhabits lagoons to seaward side of reefs. Primarily feeds on algae supplemented with crustaceans, mollusks, small fish, worms. Their teeth continuously grow so the hard foods are needed to keep them worn to reasonable length. Can grow to 45cm.

Masked pufferfish Arothron diadematus. Red Sea, Western Indian Ocean only. Found on good fringing coral reefs to a depth of 20m or so. Closely related to blackspotted puffer. It feeds on algae, corals, sponges, crustaceans, molluscs, and seasquirts. Grows to maximum of 30cm. Highly toxic to eat but otherwise harmless.

Queen angelfish Holacanthus ciliaris, Caribbean. As a general group found in the shallower reefs of tropical Atlantic, Western Pacific and Indian oceans with about 86 species across a number of genera. With deep, laterally compressed bodies and striking colours they most closely resemble butterflyfishes.

Royal or Regal angelfish, Pygoplites diacanthus, Red Sea. Angelfish found on shallow coral reefs in Atlantic, Indian, and mostly western Pacific Oceans. These are often seen in pairs. They feeds on sponges and tunicates

Ridens goby Bryaninops ridens on one of the Honeycomb or brain stony corals, possibly of the Favia or Goniastrea genera. Red Sea and through Indo-Pacific. The fish is tiny, up to 1.5cm, and there are some indications that it always lives on these hard corals. The coral is one of the true stony corals and depend on symbiotic Zooxanthellae algae.

Common Lionfish Pterois volitans Red Sea Egypt. As a group in two genera and also known as Turkey Fish, Dragon Fish and Scorpion Fish. Very toxic spines for defense it's a voracious hunter of smaller fish which sucks up after a surprisingly fast attack. From Indio-Pacific but now also found Atlantic and Caribbean.

Parrotfish Scarus sp. (probably Scarus genozonatus) Red Sea. Found in lagoons, sea-grass beds and coral reefs in many tropical waters. They scrape algae from hard corals particularly but also will take crabs and other invertebrates with strong teeth fused into a plate from which they get their name. This is a particularly colourful individual which maybe in the process of the normal sex change from female to male so I am not sure of its species.

Ocean surgeon fish Acanthurus bahianus, Caribbean. Herbeferous fish which feeds on algae and sea grass and can help to keep reefs clear of algae.

Moon or Lyretail Grouper or Coronation Cod Variola louti. Red Sea. Found Indo-Pacific to the Pitcairn Islands and Red Sea near breaks in coral reefs where they can hide. Carnivores, swallows smaller fish. Grows to 36 inches and a 8 kg. Colouration changes dramatically with age, this one has colouration of approaching adulthood, small ones have horizontal mid-body broad black band, mid-size are intense purple with bright blue spots overall.
At 100 to 150 millimetres, the fish have a, red to yellowish above and whitish underneath. All adults become salmon coloured with enlarged, lighter blue spots

Cheeklined (or Bandcheek or Maori) wrasse Oxycheilinus digramma fish in "broccoli soft coral" Red Sea. Found in lagoons and sheltered seaward reefs often associated with soft corals or stinging hydroids in Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans. Hard-shelled mollusks, sea urchins and crustaceans provide most of its diet. This individual has probably undergone sex change to male, which is more colourful than female, and may have been showing territoriality or maybe just vain as certainly liked looking into the dome port of my camera.

Large potato cod, Epinephelus tukula, with 2 scuba divers in background, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. OK, the cod isn't as huge as it appears but they can weigh up to 100kg. It's one of the grouper family. They feed on fish, small rays, lobster, crabs or nearly anything else they can grab by stealth, darting out from behind rocks is a favorit. An inquisitive fish, they may follow divers for complete dives but have been heavily overfished or spear-fished so are now rare and protected.

White tip reef shark, Triacnodon obesus, Ospray Reef, Coral Sea, Australia. The whitetip is one of the most common sharks found in shallow water around coral reefs but it is considered to be endangered due to long and slow breeding cycles and tendency to stay localized. Found in Indian and Pacific Oceans.

                        Crocodilefish or Tentacled flathead Papilloculiceps longiceps. Red Sea also Western Indian Ocean, Gulf of Aqaba to South Africa and Madagascar, found near coral reefs on sand or rubble bottoms. Camouflaged hunter eating smaller fish. Grows to about 70cm.

Gray reef shark, Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos, Coral Sea, Australia. A common tropical water shark often found near coral reefs in diver depths of water. Nocturnal often seen sleeping on the bottom during the day but sometimes comes out to play. Eats fish, octopus; crustaceans and normally not a threat to divers. May take 5 to 7 years before breeding then only produces 1 to 5 pups and thought to remain in relatively the same area so very susceptible overfishing.

Banded or Ornate Wobbegong shark, Orectolobus ornatus and Small scale Bullseye fish, Pempheris compressa, New South Wales, Australia. One of 7 species of carpet sharks found in tropical to warmer temperate shallow waters of the western Pacific and eastern Indian Ocean, chiefly around Australia and Indonesia. They are bottom dwelling often resting in rocky areas or under overhangs where their good camouflage allows them to ambush fish for an easy meal. Not considered dangerous, but more divers are supposedly bitten by them than any other shark in Australia either because of not being seen and stepped on or being pestered. They look docile but can be very quick and, being flexible, can grab the hand that tries to grab its tail then it won't easily let go.

Spanish dancer (also know as Red Nudibranch) eggs on coral reef, Red Sea. The egg cases also known as "pink lace rose" and can be found attached to hard coral.

Leather, Mushroom, Toadstool or Trough coral Sarcophyton sp. Red Sea. One of the soft corals. Some polyps fully extended, others only partly while still others fully retracted. When all the polyps are fully extended the overall appearance is fuzzy, if retracted, smoother more leather-like. The polyps filter feed by catching small floating organic matter but the symbiotic algae zooxanthellae hosted within its body still provides much of its nutrients. Accurate identification of corals to species level generally requires microscopic examination of the skeleton.