Common Reef Fish on Havelock Dives
Parrotfish, butterflyfish, angelfish, wrasse, and anemonefish — the shapes we point out on Continental Scuba sites.
Learn a few shapes
You do not need Latin names. Once you can tell a parrotfish from a butterflyfish, the reef stops being a blur of colour.
Parrotfish
Beak, scraping, little clouds of sand. They bite algae off rock. A crunching sound on a quiet site is often this fish.
Butterflyfish and angelfish
Butterflyfish are the thin discs, often in pairs, picking at small bits on the coral. Angelfish are chunkier, with a spine at the gill cover. Neither likes being herded into a corner for a close photo.
Wrasse
Cleaners and hunters. Some are tiny, working a coral head; some are larger and curious around divers. If one is picking at your gloves, it is feeding. Hold still or move off.
Anemonefish
They stay with their anemone. You stay outside the tentacles. Watch the back-and-forth, then leave them to it.
Schools
Fusiliers and snappers use the open water. Look up as well as down when the current is easy.
After the dive we will put names to what you saw, or send a photo from the boat.