Coral Reef Color: One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

A yellow trumpetfish is using a Yellow-masked Angelfish as a “stalking horse” to approach small fish unnoticed. The Angelfish is a sponge eater that is ignored by small fish.
An Emperor Angelfish with juvenile color pattern swims in front of a sleeping adult of the same species, with the adult color pattern. During a night dive in Bali, Indonesia (Pomacanthus imperator)
Cleaner shrimp, Lysmata debelius, on the nose of a laced moray eel (Gymnothorax favagineus), Bali, Indonesia
A Barcheek Wrasse (Cheilinus diagrammus) performing a threat display (to the photographer), turning brighter. The change in size and color will warn off intruders or potential rivals. (See image MM7148_0018 for non-displaying color)
A Barcheek Wrasse (Cheilinus diagrammus) basic coloration when not displaying (see image MM7148_0019 for displaying color)
A male yellow-fin flasher wrasse (Paracheilinus flavianalis) not displaying, with fins down. (See image MM7148_0021 for same fish in display colors).
A male yellow-fin flasher wrasse (Paracheilinus flavianalis) fish displaying for females. (see image MM7148_0020 for non-displaying pattern.)
A close-up of the colorful and contrasting spines of the highly venomous fire urchin warn potential predators away. Each red ball at the end of every spine is filled with a toxin that will cause a searing burn.
A twinspot lionfish (Dendrochirus biocellatus) with fin markings called eyespots. The spots are used to confuse and herd prey.
Crab-eyed Gobies displaying. False eyespots mimic a large predator like a grouper.
Marine flatworm (Pseudoceros sp.) crawls over a sponge.
Inimicus spiny devilfish (Inimicus didactylus) flashing bright colors on the bottom of its pectoral fins when disturbed. The flash of bright color is a warning of hisvenomous spines.
Inimicus spiny devilfish (Inimicus didactylus) in its normal camouflaged position. It spends most of its time camouflagued waiting for pray .
A cleaner shrimp services a cardinal fish at its cleaning station on the reef, where other fish are lined up for cleaning. Their red color is not visible underwater so their white limbs contrast highly against their black body to advertise where the cleaning stations are.
A golden damselfish swims among blue and yellow looking soft corals. Red wavelengths are absorbed and are not able to penetrate 80 ft below the surface.
A golden damselfish swims among colorful soft corals. The colors in the coral are illuminated by strobes. Without it the long red wavelengths can not reach the depths of the ocean.
An octopus (Octopus cyannea) hunts by making a tent with its legs and skin membranes over reef rubble. Various fish species wait to capture prey trying to escape the octopus. It is believed that by changing the color of the skin between its legs to white, the octopus tricks creatures into trying to escape from beneath rubble.