Florida December 2010
The pictures on this page were shot during 11 dives in Florida during December 2010. All were with Ocean Divers out of Key Largo. In addition to these photos we also saw eagle rays, sting rays, nurse sharks, several kinds of groupers, and numerous tropicals. Pictures are only included here if I thought they looked nice. These pictures were all shot with my new camera. Most used a flash to bring out the color.
Most of these were shot at different sites along Molasses reef. There were also some at permit ledge and pickle barrel reef.
The school of small yellow fish around the sponge are common in the keys. Large fish will come up and the small ones will pick off parasites at sites known as cleaning stations. My guess is that these are juvenile Buehead Wrasse with the all yellow pattern. They come in different colors.
A classic Keys view of some snappers. There are at least three kinds here.
Nice green moray out and being social.
Corals
More coral
More coral
Eels are usually back in caves during the day but a few are out and about.
Several stands of elkhorn coral.
This is a goby of some sort. My guess is a Sharknose. They come in different color variations.
Yellowtail Damselfish hiding in a hole in brain coral. This is an adult. Bright blue spots and yellow tail are standard. Color ranges from brown to bluish black. Had to wait for him to pop out.
Young goliath grouper hiding under a ledge. Maybe 100 pounds
The two with yellow fins are Schoolmaster Snapper.
This is on permit ledge which was covered in snappers. These are Lane Snappers.
Large soft coral.
These copper colored Rainbow Parrotfish are one of my favorite. They are often 3 ft long and can get up to 5 feet.
Two pretty blue Doctorfish. They can change to a dark color also.
A Whitespotted Filefish. They come in a couple of color variations.