What are they?

[chocolate]

Can anyone tell me what fish are they?
Thanks.

 

[Rick Murchison]

First one's a (probably Seaweed) Blennie
Second one's a Dragonette of some sort
Third one's ... hmmm... where are these from?
Rick

 

[chocolate]

1 & 2
They were shot at Kapalai, Malaysia, in the same dive, basically. Not sure about how deep I was at, probably somewhere between 12-15m.

3
I saw them in Sipadan. Twice I saw them at shallow water at about 5m, both times they were close to a school of jackfish.

 

[Deefstes]

The first one must be a Blenny of sorts but not the Seaweed Blenny as they are restricted to the western Atlantic - but Rick wouldn't have known that these were photographed in the Indo Pacific. I'm wondering if it isnt a Black Combtooth Blenny (Ecsenius namiyei).

I'm not familiar with "Dragonettes" but I would think the second one is a Triplefin of sorts (might be just another name for the same type of fish). I won't even try to identify it down to species level and even the genus could be Enneapterygius or Enneanectes. It could also be something completely different and I'd rather leave this one to someone who actually knows something about them because I don't.

The third picture looks like a school of Macolor niger to me, commonly known as Black Snapper, Black and White Snapper or Black Beauty.

 

[ZenDiver.3D]

It looks like a seabream or snapper. 3rd that is..

 

[Rick Murchison]

... I'm wondering if it isnt a Black Combtooth Blenny (Ecsenius namiyei).

Looks good to me...

I'm not familiar with "Dragonettes" but I would think the second one is a Triplefin of sorts (might be just another name for the same type of fish)...

Dragonettes are indeed Triplefins... but which one???

The third picture looks like a school of Macolor niger to me, commonly known as Black Snapper, Black and White Snapper or Black Beauty.

I believe that's the one.
Thanks Deefstes... we're gettin' close
Rick

 

[chocolate]

Thanks a lot guys.

But how do you tell the difference between a blenny and a goby? They look awfully similar to me.

Also, aren't black snapper... black?

 

[Deefstes]

But how do you tell the difference between a blenny and a goby? They look awfully similar to me.

Tell me about it! I can't really answer your question as I am no expert on the field, just an enthusiastic amateur. To me, the Blennies have a distinctive face, they look very friendly, while the Gobies have a pretty fish-like face. Yeah, I felt it's time we raise the bar a bit on meaningless answers on SB

No but seriously, compare the eyes and mouth of a Blenny to a Goby and you may understand what I mean. To me the bigger challenge is to seperate Triplefins (or Dragonettes for that matter) from Gobies.

Having said all that, I have to add that it seems these names are not neccessarily used accurately all the time. Some fish are called Blennies even though they are not taxonomically related to the true Blennies, and the same goes for Gobies.

Also, aren't black snapper... black?

You'd think so wouldn't you? Have a look at this page for some more pictures. You'll notice that the juveniles are very much black and white. Also, I believe the adults can get much darker that those on your picture, which might account for the name of Black Snapper.

 

[Vie]

This dragonet is a male Synchiropus bartlesi, I think...

Dragonettes are indeed Triplefins...

Dragonets are from the family Callionymidae. Triplefins are part of the blenny family (Blenniidae).

how do you tell the difference between a blenny and a goby?

From Allen, Steene, Humann and DeLoach - "Blennies can be easily distinguished from gobies by noting their single, long continuous dorsal fins (except for a small group known as triplefins), ventral fins situated clearly in front of their pectoral fins, and their habit of resting on the bottom with curved bodies. Gobies have distinct, two-part dorsal fins and ordinarily perch with straight bodies."

 

[Deefstes]

Great, thanks for the info. Seems I wasn't anywhere close with that second one - or my understanding of Blennies, Gobies and Triplefins for that matter.

I'm curious though, would Malaysia not be out of range for either Synchiropus bartlesi or Synchiropus morrisoni?