Storytime again for us fish nerds... Southern Japan and Guam dive/fish trip 2012 :)

[Mikefallen13]

WOW!! Those are some very rare and beautiful fish!

 

[Flanders]

This is one of the best threads ever. Thank you!

 

[mil hse]

These are truly amazing fish. If we were all so lucky! Thank you for sharing your experience with us.. I can't wait to see what's next!

Thank you

 

[rpjaws74]

stunning fish and photography!

 

[cFloor]

absolutely amazing! Great thread, thanks so much for sharing.

 

[rachenbrazil]

More fishes...more stories... Thanks for sharing such unique and priceless collection !

 

[glassbox-design]

Bueno, bueno.

Great to see more shots of P. martinicensis!

And holy cow is your little girl getting big! :beer:

 

[Avast Marine]

Hey John, looks like it was an awesome trip! Some beautiful fish for sure and I know you have many more pics to come.

 

[stunreefer]

Love these threads, John :thumbsup:

I would need a change of pants after seeing that last aquarium.

 

[Yurivd]

OMG, what a tank!!!! Those are all $2k+ fish, except for the Sacura and pelicieri... Correct me if I am wrong, but I can pinpoint 2 fish that are probably the only ones in captivity!! Can't wait for the other tanks!
Thx again for this great thread!!

Origanaly the pelicieri was more than a gem tang from mauritius

 

[lebreef]

Origanaly the pelicieri was more than a gem tang from mauritius

I know, but it has changed considerably lately.

 

[Tactics]

I've always been interested in the Pelicieri. Easy fish to take care of?

 

[roni]

John,

Thanks for the pics and story...Sounds like a great time...showed my wife and she's as jealous of the fish market as I am of the fish....

 

[Rare Angels]

John,

It's been a long time. Great pics and story as usual!! The Indian Ocean Lemonpeel is still doing great!

Dave

 

[aandfsoccr04]

John you really outdid yourself this time. The collection of fish in that tank is phenomenal to say the least. Beautiful photos.

 

[n0rk]

I love the times I sign into RC and see a well-posted thread of yours, John. Your stories are always somethin' else. Kudos.

 

[copps]

Ok guys... time to move to Guam and some shots from that trip... for those wondering where Guam is... here's a shot of one of my shirts from the Micronesian Diver's Association... MDA... the dive outfit I go with when not with friends on Guam...

I've been there a half dozen times in the past... in the past I've stayed at the Hyatt... all ocean front rooms overlooking Tumon Bay... Tumon Bay is the "mini Waikiki" of Guam... a shot from my room...

This time I was at the Hilton... on the other end of the bay...

On Reef Central... :bum:

Infinity pool...

Copps

 

[copps]

The luxury liveaboard I dived while in Guam... :spin3:

Just kidding... this is Pierre... my friend of years in Guam that went above and beyond to take me diving and fish collecting...

Pierre showing his fancy waterproof enclosure for his iPhone... a plastic bag...

Heading out into Apra Harbor... straight ahead is Orote Point, which I showed photos of a few pages back...

The wind was ripping when I was there... coming from the north... so on one of my days off we headed south to dive near Cocos Island... an island on the southern point of Guam... you could see it off in the distance here...

 

[copps]

And some shots of the catch...

Do you notice something special above? :spin3: Who sticks out?

That's right... a wicked small scopas/ flavescens hybrid... one of only a few Pierre has seen... this guy went home with me to Virginia...

 

[copps]

I brought back three fish from there that went into my reef... here they are circled in red after QT and now in one of my reefs...

While the hybrid I could not have dreamed of finding... a juvie emperor angel or two was on my list to collect. The juvies are not usually out on the reef... but in shallow water in bays and rock pools... Pierre turned me onto a place to find them... and what a beautiful spot I had all to myself!

Catching the juvies was unbelievably hard... nets were useless (without chemicals)... the juvies see you and dart into a hole in the rocks... you reach in and manipulate them out with your hand... I got mine at the point here shown in this photo...

Some of the emps we caught...

I was hoping for a second juvie... I chased one in a hole and was blindly reaching for it when WHAM... I got tagged by an eel... pure overconfidence... that emperor got away...