Know Your Neighbours: Caribbean Fishes

QUEEN ANGELFISH (angelfishes -Holacanthus ciliaris) You have to appreciate a fish that looks like someone plugged it in. Queen angels are one of the most colorful Caribbean fish-like other angelfish, they are flattened sideways and usually seem to be in pairs. Out in the open during the day, they are favorites for snorkelers.

BANDED BUTTERFLYFISH (butterflyfishes -Chaetodon capistratus) Another reef favorite, the butterflyfishes come in lovely colors and odd, flattened shapes. Banded butterflys have large dark bars-another common species has a large false eyespot near its tail.

GREAT BARRACUDA (barracudas -Sphyraena barracuda) 'Cudas are big, silvery fish with a cool name and a nasty look about them. They are both common and curious, a combination that has upset many a swimmer. Relax-they are effective predators of fish considerably smaller than themselves. You interest them perhaps, but not as a potential meal.

STOPLIGHT PARROTFISH (parrotfishes -Sparisoma viride) Because they are big, common and often very colorful, parrotfish are some of the most obvious reef fish. They are grazers named for their beaklike mouth, built to crunch algae and coral. Stoplight parrots have a "terminal phase" that features spectacular green hues.

HOUNDFISH (needlefishes -Tylosurus crocodilus) Long, skinny surface dwellers, needlefishes are familiar around docks and bays, hunting smaller fish with their crocodile jaws. Houndfish get fairly big (to nearly 2m) and can put on amazing bursts of speed when hungry or startled, leaping out of the water like silvery arrows.

YELLOWTAIL SNAPPER (snappers -Ocyurus chrysurus) Snappers are common coral reef predators that often wind up staring sightlessly at you from a plate in some funky island restaurant. Yellowtails, with their bright yellow markings and bold personalities, are the most obvious fish in much of the Caribbean.

BAR JACK (jacks -Carynx ruber) Jacks are fast, silvery predators that often cruise over reefs and into shallow water, hunting smaller fish. Big ones are rare but impressive critters-bar jacks are smaller but much more common. The electric blue band running towards their tail makes them easy to recognize-their curiosity often means they'll swim right up to check you out.

BLUE TANG (surgeonfishes -Acanthurus coeruleus) Surgeonfish are one of the more abundant groups of reef fish-blue tangs form the classic "school" of fish you see cruising along the reef, pausing occasionally to munch on algae with a clicking noise. They are medium sized, dark blue and oval shaped with a bright yellow "scalpel" at the base of their tail that makes them difficult for bigger fish to eat.

NASSAU GROUPER (sea basses -Epinephelus straitus) Groupers are big, tasty bottom dwellers that are overfished in much of the Caribbean. Snorkeling in protected areas is the best way to see them up close. They are ambush predators that stay close to the bottom and lunge at passing fish, swallowing them with one gulp.

GREEN MORAY EEL (morays -Gymnothroax funebris) You can't explore too much coral without spotting one of the morays-especially if you are daring enough to try a night snorkel. Green morays are big, thick eels that look very intimidating; their toothy mouths are usually open (to breathe) as they watch from holes in the coral. Despite their appearance, as long as you're not sticking your arms into such holes they won't bother you.

NURSE SHARK (nurse sharks -Ginglymostoma cirratum) Looking something like a big brown catfish lying on the bottom, the mild mannered nurse shark is common in shallow water and easy to spot from a kayak or while snorkeling. As long as you don't poke, stroke or otherwise provoke one, they'll provide a great "safe" introduction to sharks. They do get quite big (to 4 meters) though and when swimming, they look sharky enough to provide a tingle.

SOUTHERN STINGRAY (stingrays -Dasyatis americana) Every year, thousands of paddlers, snorkelers and waders experience these large gray rays. If you are paddling or snorkeling, they are very cool. Kayakers often see them shooting out from below in shallow water-if you get in with them they will eye you warily before "winging" away. Many of the cheesier dive operations regularly feed them, petting zoo style-their soft skin and vacuum mouths make them popular beggars. They have evolved a reasonably effective defense against hungry sharks though-the venomous spine. So always be careful when wading and DON'T step on them.

SPOTTED EAGLE RAY (eagle rays-Aetobatus narinari) Poetry in motion. These beautiful blue-gray rays with pointed wings and white spots can be found from the dropoff right into water so shallow their wing tips lift out. Spotting them from a kayak is easy and I've cruised beside or over them many times, particularly over turtle grass flats. They feed off the bottom but never rest on it so you don't have to worry about their spines. Instead, just enjoy their grace and hop in and swim with one if you get the chance.