Dwarf Frogfish (Antennarius pauciradiatus) – Blue Heron Bridge, Riviera Beach, Fl
This Dwarf Frogfish was very excited to make friends with us on this dive. Why? Well because we brought food. Usually perched among sponges, lying in wait, Frogfish are hard to differentiate from their environment. However, with 2800 lumens of light emanating from my focus and video lights, I was a giant bug light – and the bugs were swarming. Microscopic plankton, shrimp, and other items on the Frogfish’s menu are drawn to light, and I was wrangling a hive of Frogfish food. As I was slowly cruising near the bottom, this Froggy left the safety of his home sponge to gorge himself on the feast I had brought. Shocked to see this unusual behavior, I snapped these pictures as he gulped down an easy dinner staying close to the food around front of my camera rig (a photographer’s dream). You can see the myriad of incredibly small plankton surrounding the Frogfish in these pictures.
Canon G15, Nauticam NAG15, Inon s2000 (x2), Sola Photo 800
1/1000 sec, f/8, ISO80