Porkfish

Porkfish - IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern

With the proper exposure and lighting, a photograph can reveal interesting details

Porkfish is a funny name for a fish, especially for a fish that humans generally don’t eat. Porkfish are a member of the grunt family. Like other grunts, porkfish can grind their teeth to make a pig-like grunting noise. They use this sound for a variety of communications including defense, courtship, or when they are bothered. This colorful fish is abundant in the Florida Keys, where this photo was taken. Porkfish can be found on the east and west coast of Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, and throughout the Caribbean as far south as Brazil.

Gray Triggerfish

These fish generally grow to around 10 inches but can max out at around 16 inches. They are laterally compressed (bodies that are flattened side to side) with a distinct sloping forehead. Their color and pattern are also unique. Porkfish have two vertical black bars on their head, one of which goes through their eye. Their lips look like human lips. Behind their pectoral fins, horizontal yellow and silver stripes run the length of their body. Porkfish have a deeply forked yellow tail.

As juveniles, these fish are considered cleaners. As the name implies, cleaner fish provides a service to other fish by removing parasites, dead skin, and infected tissue from the gill areas of fish. This can be a fun thing to watch underwater. The larger fish getting the cleaning will generally hover in the water column or perch on the bottom motionless. The larger fish will open their mouth and gills while the small cleaner fish swims through the mouth and gills cleaning. As a diver, you can observe this regularly if you know what to look for. This behavior is not unique, as fish throughout the world in salt, fresh, and brackish water perform this task.

Pygmy Filefish

Porkfish are found in shallow waters, generally less than 60 feet deep. They start their lives in the shallow seagrass areas then progress to deeper waters as they get older. Porkfish will school with other porkfish, which is a cool sight. As a diver, you can get very close to this fish as they tend to not be bothered by humans. Although they are often observed in the daytime, they are technically nocturnal.

As you can see in this photograph, these fish are masters of camouflage. They can also remain perfectly still, so it is easy to swim right next to them without seeing them. Bandtail searobins tend to be wary of divers. I was able to get this close up image by getting close to the seafloor and approaching very slowly.