Solomons Small Stuff (mostly macro shots)

Here is a giant in the world of pygmy sea horses. It was plainly visible to the naked eye (as it was just larger than a grain of rice). In the background is the finger of our dive master, Kellie, so that you can judge how immense the pygmy sea horse is. 

In this picture are a tiny goby sitting on a sea fan (which was clearly visible to the naked eye) and a minuscule pygmy seahorse below it to the right with its tale wrapped around the sea fan (which was barely visible as a smudge to the naked eye).

This tiny red goby stood out as plain as day when I saw it on a sea fan. But when I called Sandra and Janet over to see it, it seemed invisible to them.

In addition to pygmy seahorses and gobies, many small fish take shelter beside a gorgonian sea fan. 

This encrusted 1 1/2 inch rope is home to many small brittle star fish. A number of small fish hide behind the rope for protection against predators.

This fang blenny is resting on the 1 1/2 inch rope that rises from a wreck to the mooring buoy used by the Bilikiki. I saw it slightly twitch as I was doing a 5 minute safety stop after diving the coral encrusted wreck. [About half the width of the rope is shown.]

I was lucky enough to see four matings of mandarin fish. They come out just after dark and excite each other. Then, they rise (belly to belly) with fins aflutter for 2 - 3 seconds before diving for the shelter of the rubble. Getting the mating lit and focused is a real challenge.

Here is a second mandarin fish mating. They turned away as they spiraled up (?for privacy?).

Long nosed hawkfish are hard to find in the daytime (almost always hiding in sea fans) and can also be hard to photograph in the day. However, I found these three "playing" on top of a bommie on a night dive. They were not at all bothered by my camera.

Here is a close up of one of the three long nosed hawk fish that were playing on top of a bommie at night.

I found this juvenile pinate batfish in a small cave that was barely large enough for it to fit into.

This little (1 inch) wrasse with the "horn" would not stay still for me. 

In daylight, the foot and a half small cornetfish is very wary. At dusk, it let me glide right in on it as I focused on its eye.

This tiny (just over an inch) Clown Cloris is constantly on the move. It took nearly a dozen tries to get it in focus. Can you find its eye?