Good morning friends, it’s finally Friday!! I have for you today the hands down #1 most common reef fish in Curacao called a Bicolor Damselfish or for you scientists out there, Stegastes partitus, yeah say that 10 times real fast! These small Damselfish cover our reefs here and honestly can be found just about anywhere from the 20-80 foot zone. One of the cool things about this fish is all the different color variations it can be found in. For instance; in St. Lucia this same fish is half grayish-blue and white with a black tail and orange spot near it’s pec fins, in Barbados it’s all black with a white patch near the tail, in Roatan it’s cream colored with a black tail and orange spot near the pecs and in the Caymans this fish is almost all black or a dark gray. Here in Curacao we have three main colors, first, is the one you see above, notice the beautiful electric blue lines on the outside of the front and rear pec fins, it’s really a beautiful little fish. Second, this fish can be found with a half black and half white body and a faint colored orange pec fin. And third we have one here that is almost all black with faint blue outlines on the pec fins. There is also a half cream and white colored one with a dark tail but those are very rare! For a fish that is so small, maximum 4-inches, they are unbelievably aggressive, especially if it’s a male guarding eggs!! I can’t even tell you how many times I have been chased off or bitten by territorial Damselfish, they seem to have no fear at all! Because these fish are so aggressive most “would be” predators avoid them at all cost and as divers we see this happen all the time. Someone asked me if Lionfish eat these fish and I told them I have personally never seen it, I think the damselfish are too smart and to aggressive for Lionfish but I could be wrong. Still no rain here on our little Caribbean island, it is crazy dry and quickly turning back into an all out cactus desert!! I did go for a short mountain bike ride last night but with the strong winds and 85 degree temps it was a bit of a challenge! Well, they are still working on the submarine’s floating dock, it should be back in the water by Sunday and by next week we should be back down exploring the depths. Our submersible website is www.substation-curacao.com for those of you asking. We also have a live camera on the reef that you can see at www.seesubmarine.com this camera sits at 50 feet. Have a great weekend, see you Monday!! Barry/www.coralreefphotos.com