Rarities underwater

[Mark]

Thanks, your comments about the point and shoot hold true for the "prosumer" cameras as well. I have an Oly C-7070 with underwater housing. Shutter lag is definitely an issue. I'm probably stuck with the "prosumer" cameras for now, since the housings for the DSLR's are so expensive(not to mention the cost of the camera itself). Before I take another trip, I do want to get a strobe(Ion). I did find that a high intensity dive light helps with color and autofocus though. Nothing magazine worthy, but better than nothing.

 

[Phoenix19]

That Cherub was gorgeous...

 

[tcmfish]

That vrolikii (sorry had to spell it right ) has no orange, which I never noticed before that some didn't have it. Interesting. Then I checked a few books and realized that it is normal for some to have orange and some not too. Do you know if that is a regional thing or just a variant?

 

[jhawkor]

http://www.luizrocha.com/academic/Home.html

Thanks for the link.

 

[walt13]

Not to skip any of the dwarf angels but do you have any pics of the newly desribed halichoeres claudia? These are some of the best pics I have seen and the argi is stunning!!! the colors are amazing. Thanks for sharing Walt

 

[Luiz Rocha]

That vrolikii (sorry had to spell it right ) has no orange, which I never noticed before that some didn't have it. Interesting. Then I checked a few books and realized that it is normal for some to have orange and some not too. Do you know if that is a regional thing or just a variant?

Haha, nice catch, the orange is very variable, but in this case I think it has to do more with the equipment. That picture was taken with a film camera, and the scanned slide never does justice to the real deal... The slide has more orange. I don't think it is a regional thing, just intra-specific variation, some individuals have more orange than others...

 

[Luiz Rocha]

Not to skip any of the dwarf angels but do you have any pics of the newly desribed halichoeres claudia? These are some of the best pics I have seen and the argi is stunning!!! the colors are amazing. Thanks for sharing Walt

Here you go... H. claudia in Christmas Island (Indian Ocean):

And it's sister species, H. ornatissimus in Hawaii:

 

[bradleyj]

Very nice sharing my fish photos with people that appreciate it I've taken underwater photos for a long time, and people usually don't pay too much attention to my fish shots and are more interested in the "artsy" stuff, but what I really liking photographing is fish. I am glad I found an audience for them.

Are you kidding. This is one of the best threads of the year.
PLEASE keep going.
Your pictures are the best I've ever seen.
Have you ever worked with Scott Michael ?

He will be here in town next weekend and can't wait for his presentations.

 

[OrionN]

Awesome pictures and thread. We got to get this vote to be Thread of the Month

 

[Luiz Rocha]

Since I started on the wrasses, here are a few more:

Halichoeres biocellatus, photographed at 12m depth, in Guam:

Halichoeres prosopeion, at 18m depth, in Bali:

Halichoeres scapularis, at 4m depth, in Bali:

 

[OrionN]

Please keep going. This got to be the best thread I have seen for a long time, certainly for many years. I am not knowledgeable about rare fish, but still very much enjoy this one.

 

[walt13]

Luiz-
Thanks for the H cladia picture. The patience to get those wrasse shots is amazing. I cannot even get that clear a shot with my own eyes in my tank. She never stops moving. I also love the suttle coloring on the H scapularis. Keep the photos coming!!
Walt

 

[Luiz Rocha]

The first 5 pages are of rares, but now I ran out of rare fish photos, so I am just posting the pretty ones Here are some Cirrhilabrus taken at the Philippines:

Cirrhilabrus cyanopleura (Rudie Kuiter calls this morph with the yellow square C. lyukyuensis):

Cirrhilabrus lubbocki:

 

[Western_reefer]

And here one of my personal favorites, a pair of Genicanthus personatus:

Photographed at 20m deep in Pearl and Hermes Atoll (Northwestern Hawaiian Islands).

I hear these guys sell for $10k+ :eek1: is that right???

That's insane!! They are SICK looking fish!! :eek1::eek1:Wish I had the cash to get a pair. lol

 

[Western_reefer]

The first 5 pages are of rares, but now I ran out of rare fish photos, so I am just posting the pretty ones Here are some Cirrhilabrus taken at the Philippines:

Cirrhilabrus cyanopleura (Rudie Kuiter calls this morph with the yellow square C. lyukyuensis):

Hey, I have the exact same one in my tank! I never knew what it was. Got mine for $16 at the LFS lol, no one knew what kind of wrasse it was...

 

[seahorsedreams]

*cough*scorps*cough*

They don't have to be the rare ones... just any scorp will do

 

[Luiz Rocha]

I don't have very many scorps... Don't really know why, will concentrate on them in the next trips But here are a few to warm up:

Dendrochirus brachypterus, Philippines:

Pterois volitans, Philippines:

And a close up of Pterois antennata in Bali:

Will look for more...

 

[Luiz Rocha]

Here a Scorpaenopsis, very hard to ID to species:

And a pair of Taenianotus triacanthus:

 

[tcmfish]

Maybe on those Caribbean dives or Florida dives you can take lots of pics of angels and then document some of the lions there. Then everyone is happy.

 

[Luiz Rocha]

Keeping it alive with some Caribbean fish...

Gramma loreto in Belize:

Gramma melacara in Belize:

Thalassoma bifasciatum in Belize:

Holacanthus tricolor in Belize:

Bodianus rufus at the Bahamas: