More cool finds on the reef!
Whatta great summer we’ve had on the reefs of Key Largo! We’ve been extremely lucky to find and photograph some of the most rare finds in the area. Our friends Carlos and Allison who run the site 100 Fish ID have been spending a lot of time diving the seagrass beds of the Hawk Channel Lagoon and have made some amazing discoveries! They organized a trip a few weeks ago to show everyone two very exciting finds.
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#1 – Conchfish
Rarely seen in the Florida Keys, the conchfish makes its home inside the mantle of the Queen Conch. It hides there during the day coming out at night to feed on the seagrass beds. Sadly, the Queen Conch was almost fished to extinction forcing these fish to find new homes. Carlos & Allison found them living in tube sponges in the seagrass beds. Solitary & shy, it’s not an easy fish to photograph!
#2 – Purple Crowned Sea Goddess
What a gorgeous little nudibranch! I actually found it after passing off the juvenile buffalo trunkfish I posted about here. While my friend was taking pics of the juvi, I swam to a nearby coral head to wait and there it was! Unfortunately I only had my GoPro with a close focus lens that day. Site: Horseshoe Reef
#3 – Papillose Blenny
Carlos & Allison are one of the few to report this blenny on a REEF fish survey in the Keys. They aren’t seen out on the reef where divers spend the vast majority of their time but appear to have a decent population living in rocks around the seagrass beds of the Hawk Channel Lagoon. It was a tough day for photography with a lot of surge but here it is!
#4 – Hammerhead
A proof of life shot – not a great picture by any stretch but damn it came by fast! About 9′ long heading toward Logans Run on Molasses Reef. While they’re spotted now and then here, this was a first for us and totally made our day!
We still have a while to go before the water cools down, the wind picks up, and we hang up our dive gear till spring. Can’t wait to see what we find!
Stay warm friends!
Hang up your dive gear till Spring? You don’t dive year-round in the Keys?
People definitely dive year-round here…I’m kinda a wimp about being cold. We usually stop when the water dips below 75 so we take off January-March for the most part and do a lot more paddling. Winters are pretty windy too which makes me even colder!