Reef photos from Florida Keys

[anthony27]

wow amazing photos excelent job

 

[reefman]

nice pics. thks for sharing. love that little french angel.
great to see no oil spill. lol!

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Great shots, can't wait for more.

 

[sillysidewinder]

Incredible! I need to experience something like this sometime soon!

 

[smoq]

Part II

Just to be clear, I can't take credits for all pictures here, some of them were taken by my GF but we would have a little war if we had to find out which ones

Periwinkles resting on the rock. Those snails are not a good choice for a reef tank from what I heard as they always stay above the water line.

Nerite snails. Isn't he cute?

There is a place in Islamorada where you can observe Tarpoons and feed them with dead fish you buy i the marina. Those huge monsters are trained to jump out of the water to get the fish. That;s where I took those pictures.

One caught my hand just like this guy's and it hurts (inside of it's mouth is like a sandpaper )

We went on a dolphin-watching trip and we saw some bottlenose dolphins. Unforgettable experience.

Underwater pictures

Ok people, this is a reef octopus and that is the best I could do. Those creatures are very hard to find during the day and if they spot you they hide with lighting speed.

A huge sponge near the shore

And another one

Some kind of lps I found in the seagrasses

Sea urchin, there are plenty of them everywhere but there's deficiency on the reefs, which is not a good sign cause they are great algae eaters.

Remember this guy?

An enormous brain coral head

Yellow zoas

Rainbow parrotfish

Barracuda!

More christmas tree worms between coral heads

A juvenile blue tang. Can you believe that- they change from yellow to dark blue.

Here you go.

I've got to go wash those dishes. Many more to come if you'd like to see more. Thanks for all comments

 

[smoq]

Part III


More nature pictures from above the water line:

Pelicans. Beautiful and very interesting to watch birds

The invasive Iguana

Another shot of pelican

My favorite picture a snow egret posing

A manatee drinking freshwater in the boat canal

And the funniest one- Key deer staring at the lens

Underwater

Some kind of huge, pissed hermit crab

Gorgonians

Anemone

Spotfin buttrerflyfish

A metal beam and coral growing on it

A southern stingrays school. The picture is not perfect because it was very cloudy that day.

A tiger grouper

Midnight parrotfish with a coral head

Nurse shark with barracudas

And last one for today- sharknose gobies school

There are more to come, enjoy!

 

[DHaut]

YOU SHALL NOT PASS!!!

 

[reef28]

Great pictures nice

 

[tonyyammine]

wow that is so great i wish i could swim i would do the same things u are so lucky thanku for the pictures that was so cool

 

[tentacles]

I am so very jealous! I love the shots of the blenny, and those tarpoons, huge! Also, your picture of the reef octopus is pretty decent, they're masters of camouflage, and can fit into the tiniest of crevices (unfortunately, because they are amazing to look at if you can catch them "walking" from rock to rock.) Looks like your had a great time!

 

[JARRETT SHARK]

wow love those pics
were did you stay and were did you dive b/c i am looking to book a trip there soon

 

[Alex]

once again great shots. love the tarpon shot. the dolphin shots are great. I saw a kid show recently on New Zealand, they have a beautiful dolphin species there, I can't recall the name. Amazing species the dolphin.

I'm heading to MACNA later this month and I was planning on doing the whole dolphin experience, however after having seen the documentary "The Cove" the other day I've found myself doubting whether i will.

 

[smoq]

Thank you all for watching and for replies. I'm glad that you like the pictures. I didn't think about sharing them at the first but since it's the stuff we all like I quickly changed my mind.

I am so very jealous! I love the shots of the blenny, and those tarpoons, huge! Also, your picture of the reef octopus is pretty decent, they're masters of camouflage, and can fit into the tiniest of crevices (unfortunately, because they are amazing to look at if you can catch them "walking" from rock to rock.) Looks like your had a great time!

The octopus is an amazing creature and just like you said, they are lightening fast and can squeeze almost everywhere so it's hard to take a picture, especially in daylight.
You're right, I had a great time and thanks to this forum, this time I knew exactly what to look for when I snorkeled in the reefs (and vice versa, seeing the coral reef in person made me join the community)

wow love those pics
were did you stay and were did you dive b/c i am looking to book a trip there soon

I stayed in Marathon cause I didn't really care to be in Key West. I didn't do a single dive there, that's reserved for the next season when I finally get my diving license (BTW CAN ANYONE RECOMMEND A DECENT PLACE TO DO THAT?). All the underwater pictures are taken while freediving/snorkeling either offshore or on the snorkel trips. I can highly recommend going to Dry Tortugas even that is quite expensive. Great snorkeling there.

once again great shots. love the tarpon shot. the dolphin shots are great.

I'm heading to MACNA later this month and I was planning on doing the whole dolphin experience, however after having seen the documentary "The Cove" the other day I've found myself doubting whether i will.

Seeing dolphins in the wild is an unforgettable experience. You don't get very close to them, but they swim towards the boat often (because they're curious what's going on). I fortunately haven't seen The Cove by then...

I will post more pics in the nearest future, stay tuned