Trip Report Bonaire & Curacao

[b1gcountry]

A little more info on the Sergeant Majors...
When the Males are ready to mate, they will clear off a bit of rock of all algae and growth, and start to display and attract females. When a female is interested, she will go over the cleaned area, and deposit her eggs. The Male will often woo several different females to lay eggs in the same area, and fertilize the eggs as they are laid. The male then tends the egg garden by defending it aggressively from predators, clearing off debris, and aerating the eggs by fanning water past with their pectoral fins. The Male changes color from his usual yellow and black to a deep purple and black.

The eggs will mature and hatch over about 7-10 (?) days, and as they start getting ripe, you will be able to see the change in color from a deep purple to a bright red. The last two days, if you look close, you will be able to see little eyes in the egg yolks.

Next time when you see a dark colored sergeant major and he is acting aggressive, look around and try to spot his clutch of eggs. Sometimes they are clever, and patrol an area a few feet away from the clutch

Tom

 

[morecowbells]

That was such a helpful report. Thanks for taking the time to post. The photo of the two eels side-by-side- was priceless! I think the one fellow on the right is a goldentail with reverse colors. A great find.

 

[melissabeads]

A little more info on the Sergeant Majors...
When the Males are ready to mate, they will clear off a bit of rock of all algae and growth, and start to display and attract females. When a female is interested, she will go over the cleaned area, and deposit her eggs. The Male will often woo several different females to lay eggs in the same area, and fertilize the eggs as they are laid. The male then tends the egg garden by defending it aggressively from predators, clearing off debris, and aerating the eggs by fanning water past with their pectoral fins. The Male changes color from his usual yellow and black to a deep purple and black.

The eggs will mature and hatch over about 7-10 (?) days, and as they start getting ripe, you will be able to see the change in color from a deep purple to a bright red. The last two days, if you look close, you will be able to see little eyes in the egg yolks.

Next time when you see a dark colored sergeant major and he is acting aggressive, look around and try to spot his clutch of eggs. Sometimes they are clever, and patrol an area a few feet away from the clutch

Tom

Thank you so much for the detailed information! I figured it had something to do with the mating/egg laying process.. Very cool.. now I can explain it to my boys better!

 

[melissabeads]

That was such a helpful report. Thanks for taking the time to post. The photo of the two eels side-by-side- was priceless! I think the one fellow on the right is a goldentail with reverse colors. A great find.

A goldentail... cool! Thanks so much for letting me know that and the nice comment!

 

[b1gcountry]

That was such a helpful report. Thanks for taking the time to post. The photo of the two eels side-by-side- was priceless! I think the one fellow on the right is a goldentail with reverse colors. A great find.

Are you sure it isn't a chestnut? It's got a bit of that poorly fitting jaw thing going for it. They are usually smaller than goldentails though.

Tom

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

I'd say it's two goldentail eels side by side - one a definite brunette, and one a strawberry blond. It's amazing how one species can have such a range of color patterning - we saw variations from almost totally golden with just a bit of black to almost totally dark brown where the light would have to hit them just right to see the golden flecks.

 

[DiveMaven]

Great report Melissa...too bad we missed you on island...maybe next time!

You have to be careful around the Sargent Majors when they are tending their nests. They can be overly aggressive and bite painfully (seriously!). They're worse than Damselfish when it comes to defending their space.

 

[gotdogs?]

This is an informative and comprehensive view of both islands. Thanks for posting. Nice pics to boot. I agree that the smaller eel (one on the right) is a Goldentail with reverse markings which is not at all common. The other one(left) looks like a mature goldentail eel. With that kind of luck in finding the two together is when you go out and buy a lottery ticket.

 

[melg]

Hey what is the deal with beer on Bonaire anyway? Is there a law that says only Amstel and Heineken?

Amstel and Heineken are both Dutch so it's a legacy left behind along with the guilder!!

 

[b1gcountry]

They also sell the one beer with the girl in a bikini on the can...