Just found the new thread. YAAAY!! Thank you all so much for continuing it. The job I have often entails a bit of stress and long hours (if I only work nine hours in a day I feel like I am getting off early....LOL) I come home in the evening lately and look for this thread just to enjoy the beautiful pictures and wonderful sense of humor of the folks here.
Special note for John......take care of yourself and do what the docs tell you, don't make me come out there and do the "mom thing" I have years of experience and can freeze you at fifty paces with "the look" LOL........ Seriously though, if you need anything just let us know and keep us up to date on how you are doing with your surgery and recovery.
Nature's Underwater Gardens 3
Ann, that was such a sweet offer! I'm so glad we can give you some relaxation after so many hours of work. We've had that comment before, but it is always soooooo nice to hear!
See John, I am laughing at you now big boy! And Katie can tell you why! Feelin the love?
Just when I think I have seen the best pictures yo could possibly show you come in and post more that are spine tingling beautiful. That very first picture is really neat. How on earth/water did you do that?
Good morning!!! Wow, I crashed early last night and have awoke to so many wonderful wishes and ideas posted here. Thank you, all of you!!!
I came up with an idea to use my photos as jigsaw puzzle pieces, someone else on the island beat me to it and started a puzzle company. I think it is still a good idea but just need to find the right market somewhere...
The split shots are not hard to do, just takes flat calm conditions and practice. i haven't shot many splits but have an idea for a shot that might be fun...
I will absolutley do what the dox say, I have been down this rehab road many times and doing the excercise is key in a successful operation. I need mobility in my line of work and can't afford not to heal properly. Thanks for the kind words of encouragement and thoughts.
Okay Trops, here is another shot of Elephant Ear sponge with an adult Gray Angelfish swimming in front of the camera. This fish is slightly bigger than a dinner plate to give you an idea of the size of the sponge behind it. Almost the same shape as the fungus above and about the same color. The sponge listed in my profile is bigger that a garage door!!! Catch up with you kids tonight I guess....I am on early in the morning and check here throughout the day. I notice this thread gets no activity before noon, Florida time...but if you are up and at 'em, stop in and say hello!!!
Thanks again everyone, you are the best!!
j
Way cool, John! that's a big sponge, where I grew up (Atlantic Beach, NC), we can't see anything cool underwater at all, so we always had to go to the aquarium for that kinda stuff.
Have to venture off topic for a second (I don't have great pics, bear with me) ---the graffiti artist guy left me this in a weird place in town, I picked it up this morning....yep, it's Ali
This message was edited Jul 19, 2007 8:21 AM
This just gets better and better with every post. This is God's country!
Woooohooo.
Well, I did find a picture of the beach where I grew up, just so you guys could remember what it looks like from here ;)
The water and sand sure are different there
A couple of questions about the fish and the sponges.
Are the angel fish eaten by humans? They are beautiful and often seen in aquariums. Are they endangered?
I had no idea that sponges got so huge. Are these the same thing we get when we buy a "natural sponge" and if so is the harvesting of them causing them to be endangered? Or are they raised on Sponge farms like they do with trout here?
Zany, there are so many different sponges that this is really not tht forum to start to discuss it. Just take in that sponges come in a variety of shapes and colors, branching, encrusting, rope, barrel shapes, can range from a half in in diameter to the giant barrel sponges that you can fit a VW inside of. Color and shape can be different within a same species dependant on water temp, salinity, depth,etc....
I don't know that anyone eats Angelfish. We have numerous varieties here in Cayman, French, Greys as pictured above, Queens, Rock Beauties, etc....did you know that Angel fish mate for life? Humans should be so lucky....not sure if i posted this pic before or not, but, here it is again in case anyone missed it...These are juvenile French Angelfish, like teenager stage, note that the stripes on their sides will disappear as they mature into adults....
One other note, the favorite food for a Hawksbill Turtle is the Leather Sponge....
Hope this answered some of your questions and made you think of more....
aurabest,
j
For the fabric designers in the world these pictures of all the colors and combinations and...and...and....What a place for inspiration. Although no one is ever able to copy nature and do half as good. Thanks again, John, and Shari, and Tropi and any of you that are saving under=the=sea pictures.
Soooo lovely.
Sponges you can fit a car into?? WOW Do you have any pictures of barrel sponges? I have a fascination with natural sponges. I just find it amazing that something that was once a living thing should be soft and hard at the same time and just seem to last forever. The ones I am familiar with range in size from an inch to about 8 inches. Have never had the opportunity to see a live one.
Aloha everyone! G'day! How Do you Do??? Eat an Angelfish.....no! I don't know of anyone that does. Mainly because it is a reef fish, and no one eats reef fish out here....Ciguatera poisoning is serious, so we only eat open ocean fish. But also.....they are too pretty to eat! I suppose way back when, maybe islanders did eat the pretty ones, but no one does these days. Here is a pic of an Emperor Angelfish....on of DH's favorites - and he was so happy the day he got this pic!
Well, I am happy to learn those lovely creatures are not used for human consumption! I had to look up Ciguatera poisoning and it sounds like a great reason to leave them alone.
What is really amazing is how big they are in the ocean and yet they stay small in a tank.
I had no idea there were so many different sponges. I often wonder just how many different species are out there that are still unidentified by man.
Aloha all,
We don't eat most reef fish here either. The local lore is if the fish is brightly colored it is not edible. However I have seen large parot fish being caught by the local boys who spear fish, they tell me they are good eating.
Never, ever seen anybody spearing angel fish, which do get pretty big here. For us they are not endangered species.
We are counting the months until our whales come back! Do you get whales John, Shari?
John, take good care of yourself - we will all be thinking of you....
Jenny
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Oh yes...we see them out here, but only in passing. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures. For me, its like with the dolphins, I'm so busy just watching them in awe, that I forget all about a camera until it's too late. I wouldn't dare eat a parrotfish either! Any of the larger reef fish that eat smaller reef fish have a higher concentration of the toxin...if there is any at all. Better not to take the chance. Here's that Emperor hiding in the coral...
Something that comes to mind regarding not eating brightly colored fish is the same thing in insects. The more brightly colored insects usually either have a toxin or a bad taste so predators leave them alone. There are several species of insects that copy this tactic even though they do not have toxins or a bad taste.
Just happened to look to my side at the rain gauge. It has rained 1 1/2" in less than a half hour......and I finally ran the sprinkler system yesterday. Here we go again............
Good point Ann - and maybe that is why we feel so compelled to NOT eat the pretty ones. Might have something to do with that (again!) thing the scientists say we don't have - racial memory. All I'm sure of is that no one I know of eats reef fish. Now, sometimes ocean fish come into the reef through one of the passes, and they will get caught and eaten - but the actual reef dwellers are pretty darn safe....must be why there are so many of them for us to enjoy! Sorry that last pic was so dark....I posted the wrong one.
I thought you enlightened folks here on Tropical Gardening might appreciate this, (sorry Shari, wanted to tell you first;)):
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/750754/
Well honey, to me you did! I read your d-mail, before I got in here....so I saw it a few minutes ago! So what did you mean "on the home page".....I didn't see it there. Maybe what I call the home page isn't the home page, but MY home page??? I .....get....so....confuuuuused.
Yeah, it was on the main page most of this morning and for soome reason I figured it'd be an all day thing, but I guess they do several?
Where on the main page? Random Photo?
I haven't posted a pic in a while - so here is a Titan Triggerfish nesting. These guys are very territorial - especially when they are nesting. In just a moment I'll show you why you need to back away quietly when you come upon them.
In was on "Today in the Forums" --the beige box...something about a cake in there now..lol
Very nice, Shari!
This is a little on the difficult to see side, but if you blow this up and look at the fish that is staring right at the camera - you will see his teeth. They are very aggresive - and those teeth will hurt! They will chase you and bite you if they can!
I don't know where that is....Oh....on the Log-In Page?
Getting bit by a fish?? That is funny! Unless of course you are the person being bitten.
I've been bitten by a smaller one, and its not funny! They hurt! The one that bit me was only about a third the size of this one. It's hard to tell in the picture, but this guy is probably about 3 ft long, and a foot or so high....maybe 25-30 lbs.
That is a big fish! From watching this thread I have learned that you grow 'em big around your place. Whenever I think of angelfish and such I always picture the small ones that you would commonly see in an aquarium. Eight inches or so is considered big. I would probably have a coronary on the spot if I saw a fish like that one in person!
Shari, Take care of yourself! Thanks again for another lesson.
Oh, I'm fine....I was bitten a couple of years ago. It hurt - but it wasn't bad. Sorry if I gave the wrong impression.
It's the barracuda that scare me, they just stare you down! I had a lovely new bikini that was sort of glittery, which I thought was the cats whiskers until I found out that 'cuda strike at anything that shines like fish scales. Needless to say I don't wear that outfit anymore!
Got any pics of 'cuda? Mean looking devils! I know that in some places they are quite tame and are acually hand fed for the tourists groups. Not here! There have been some nasty bites (mainly in deep water) and our friend who is a paramedic said that they can cause worse injuries than a shark that tend to bite and let go if it isn't to their taste. 'Cuda grab a mouthful at high speed!
We had a shark bite on the island of Oahu a couple of days ago. Swimmer survived, but they found a couple of turtles with large bites out of them caused by a tiger shark - both unfortunately died (the turtles that is). It's all very well to say it's a case of mistaken identity, it didn't add to that fellows happy vacation, I'm sure!
For me, I am happier on the reef with the smaller creatures!
Aloha to all...
Hey everyone!! One more day to get the chores done before I am out of commission for a while. Have tons of yard chores ahead today...gotta get it done as it will be at least a few weeks before I can do anything....I will have a laptop with me and although I may not be able to type fast, I can peck away a few lines to stay in touch here....I'll keep ya posted if able to...here is a shot of a painted tunicate, like a sponge in the way it it a siphon feeder, but much smaller and come in a variety of colors...see y'all soon
aurabest,
j
Vaya con dios, mi amigo. Will be thinking of you, John. Pray all goes well and no complications.
Christi Lou
Take care John and heal fast!
John, your picture is awsome! Looks like glass! Take care, stay out of trouble, be NICE to your nurses! And as above - heal fast! We'll miss you, so do try to stay in touch. Here's a little cutey to help you with your chores:
What kind of lighting do you have to carry on a dive to get these clear shots?
who are you asking?
Hey, John. I thought you were already in......hmmm...myjammie. No, today you tried to kill yourself in the yard, yes? Well, we went to to a play to see "Love Letters"....oh so good.....and then went to have 'nawlins style homecookin' at Dodies. Next time you are in Dallas I will take you there. Soft shell crab, bienville topping, seafood gumbo, Shiner beer, and bread pudding.
OMGosh. All those beautiful pictures and I am talking about eating the inhabitants. Sorry.
Chaka Christi...no problema. I eat lots of seafood....had Marlin last night as a matter of fact. John probably does too. As far as the lighting goes Zany, I think John uses a double strobe, my DH just uses one. One of the many reasons John gets such great shots....that and his talent!
All the pictures here, that you and John post look well lit. I wondered how they could get that way in the dark underwater world. How in the world do they manage to swim and carry around cameras and lights? It all seems so complicated.