^^ The fairy basselet (1.5″ long), a common fish in the Caribbean, shows off its gorgeous colors
I recently spent a week diving the Cayman Islands aboard the Cayman Agressor. The islands are beautiful, but sadly, the reefs are in very rough shape. There was very little live coral, which means fewer creatures. I fear the doom of the ocean world is accelerating.
Despite my heavy heart at the damage I saw, I did find some lovely tiny creatures to share. First off, a spotted dragonet (about 1.5″). These are uncommon, so it was awesome to find this adorable little guy.
Up next, a rare find, the roughhead triplefin blenny. He’s tiny, less than 1″ long, but allowed me to get fairly close for this shot. The secret is to move in verrrrryyyyy slowly.
I also managed to snag a decent shot of a longsnout butterfly fish (around 3″), which is a tough one to get because they are super shy. Love the mohawk!
And this little guy, looking a bit grumpy as he peeks out from his home in the sand. He was barely bigger than the grains of sand around him! I think he is an extremely juvenile yellowhead jawfish.
More beautiful tiny things below-
Note – I am aware that the Kittiwake is not tiny, but I tried out my fisheye lens that day and I love the shot (bonus, I caught one of my dive buddies in the background)
