When it comes to my Aliens Collection, the weirder the better - and few fish are weirder than the larval-stage #Lamprogrammus #cuskeel

#deepsea #deepseacreatures #deepwater #deepseafish #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #blackwaterphotography #gug #chrisgug #gugunderwater

A male #cardinalfish rotates his brood of eggs.

#mouthbrooder #mouthbrooding #bali #amed #amedbali #tulamben #tulambenbali #chrisgug #gug #gugunderwater

Spent 30+ minutes with this giant #mimicoctopus - of the dozens (hundreds?) I’ve encountered, this might be the biggest, with a legspan of >2’!

#octopus #thaumoctopusmimicus OK fine, I’ll tag #wunderpus just in case… #tulamben #amedbali #tulambenbali #bali #🐙 #gug #gugunderwater #chrisgug

A giant #Pteropod #seabutterfly, Corolla spectabilis, cruising through the nighttime open ocean.

Shot in the wild, using scuba, while drifting out over the deep abyss, at night, off Okinawa.

#corollaspectabilis #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #kumejima #okinawa #gug #chrisgug #gugunderwater

A quick clip of the first-ever sighting of a bony-eared assfish (#Acanthonus armatus) in Okinawa!

#bonyearedassfish #assfish #acanthonusarmatus #deepseacreatures #deepseafish #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #blackwaterphotography #gug #chrisgug #gugunderwater

A larval-stage Brama pomfret clings to a ctenophore (comb jelly).

#pomfret #brama #bramidae #larvalfish #ctenophore #combjelly #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #chrisgug #gugunderwater #gug

I presume this is a type of Myctophidae lanternfish, but I’m not 100% sure.
TL ~2.5cm
Shot offshore from Palm Beach, FL in Feb2025

#lanternfish #myctophidae #deepseafish #fishlarvae #larvalfish #deepseacreatures #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #blackwaterphotography #gug #chrisgug #gugunderwater

A big, beautiful, bebeh whalefish, drifting with the plankton over the nighttime abyss.
Body without the crazy “tapetail” is ~6cm

#whalefish #tapetail #deepseafish #deepwater #deepsea #deepseacreatures #larvalfish #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #blackwaterphotography #gug #chrisgug #gugunderwater

Straight outta Arrakis
Like the worm riders in Dune, an imperator shrimp rides atop of this 3” nudibranch. They’ve stayed together in the same spot for 4 weeks now!

#nudibranch #symbiosis #imperatorshrimp #emperorshrimp #seaslug #gug #gugunderwater #chrisgug #tulamben #tulambenbali

1st photo: what NOT to do with an underwater camera.
2nd photo: for context to explain what the heck is going on.

#eel #moray #morayeel #gymnothorax #giantmoray #giantmorayreel #tulamben #tulambenbali #bali #gug #chrisgug #gugunderwater

While I don’t think anyone has made a specific designation between “larval” and “adult”, in the moorish idol, I’m going to label this one “post-larval”

#moorishidol #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #blackwaterphotography #kumejima #okinawa #chrisgug #gug #gugunderwater

The most colorful #squid I’ve ever seen! And such a cooperative poser too!

#🦑 #cephalopod #chromatophores #calamari #underwater #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #blackwaterphotography #blackwatervideo #kumeisland #kumejima #okinawa #chrisgug #gugunderwater #gug

Ctenophores, more commonly called comb jellies, are pretty much everywhere in all oceans, but they’re incredibly hard to see during the day. But at night...

#combjelly #colloblasts #blackwaterdiving #blackwater #blackwaterphotography #okinawa #kume #kumejima #chrisgug #gug #gugunderwater

Crazy-looking larval cusk eel with an impressive external gut. We’re still not sure why having the intestines on the outside is advantageous, but there must be a good reason 🤔
TL ~2.5cm

#cuskeel #larvalfish #deepseafish #deepseacreatures #blackwaterdiving #chrisgug #gugunderwater #gug

How cute! This Bony-Eared Assfish has a pet amphipod!
And yes, that’s the actual name of this this #fish - the bony-eared #assfish #Acanthonus armatus

#cuskeel #bonyearedassfish #acanthonusarmatus #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #deepseafish #larvalfish #deepsea #chrisgug #gugunderwater #gug

Jellyfish helmet!
This larval-stage jack fish (aka trevally) is living inside the #jellyfish for protection against whatever might come his way.

#jackfish #trevalley #jellyfish #🪼 #symbiosis #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #blackwaterphotography #gug #chrisgug #gugunderwater #okinawa #kume #kumejima

One of the smallest Armored Sea Robins that I’ve ever seen - its body a little larger than a pea.
This is the same species featured in my Aliens Collection Print, “Alien #27”.

#armoredsearobin #searobin #larvalfish #deepseafish #blackwaterdiving #gurnard #chrisgug #gug #gugunderwater

Here’s a weird one for ya - even by my standards! This #crab has a pair of #barnacles growing out of its forehead!
This crab is in an early life stage known as #Megalopa
#parasitism #symbiosis #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #blackwaterphotography #okinawa #chrisgug #gugunderwater #gug

The largest larval-stage #Lucibrotula corethromycter cusk eel I’ve ever seen!

#cuskeel #larvalfish #deepseafish #deepsea #deepseacreatures #lucibrotula #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #blackwaterphotography #gug #chrisgug #gugunderwater #scubadiving #underwater

A young #argonaut #octopus (aka “paper #nautilus”) hitches a ride atop a muave stinger #jellyfish.

#papernautilus #symbiosis #muavestinger #🐙 #🪼 #blackwater #blackwaterphotography #blackwaterdiving #chrisgug #gugunderwater #gug #kumejima #okinawa #marinelife

A beautifully-crowned #Tonguefish larvae (#Cynoglossidae sp.), drifting with the #plankton in #Okinawa. Don’t worry - it gets more “tongue-y” as it gets to its adult stage.
#flatfish #fishlarvae #deepseafish #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #gug #chrisgug #gugunderwater

First (and only) time seeing this species - and this doesn’t appear to be a larval-stage - perhaps a juvenile, just post-metamorphosis.

#soapfish #larvalsoapfish #blackwater #blackwaterdiving #blackwaterphotography #chrisgug #gug #gugunderwater

I’ve watched this pair of #clownfish through two full breeding cycles over the past month and a half - as of yesterday morning, they’re empty nesters once again. It’s been cool documenting the whole process and watching the eggs develop.
#anemone #tulamben #gug #chrisgug #gugunderwater

I’ve never seen so many anemones in all my life! Every surface covered in anemones as far as the eye could see!
.
.
#anemone #clownfish #anemonefish #emperorangelfish #tulamben #bali #chrisgug #gugunderwater #gug

The weedy #rhinopias (Rhinopias frondosa) is a holy grail species for any fish nerd, and I returned to shoot this guy several days in a row.

#rhinopiasfrondosa #weedyrhinopias #chrisgug #gug #gugunderwater

I mean…. It’s gotta tickle, right?

A scarlet cleaner shrimp plays doctor with an emperor angelfish from last week.

#cleaningstation #symbiosis #scarletcleanershrimp #emperorangelfish #tulamben #bali #chrisgug #gug #gugunderwater

This little 1” goby is caring for several clutches of eggs. The newest ones are more solid, while the most mature have little eyeballs and tails inside. She had glued all of them to this tunicate.

#goby #gobywitheggs #gobyeggs #tulamben #chrisgug #gugunderwater #gug

Had a surprise encounter with this massive Bluespotted Pufferfish. He was huuuuungry, and chomped away at this & that on the reef.

#bluespottedpufferfish #pufferfish #arothron #arothtoncaeruleopunctatus #bali #tulamben #chrisgug #gugunderwater #gug #scubadiving #underwater

Found this cute little 1” #goby living on a feathery #SeaPen today while looking for something completely different. Tomorrow will be my first day not diving in 3.5 weeks - gotta head to the city to restock “supplies”🍷

#tulamben #muckdiving #gug #chrisgug #gugunderwater

Arguably one of my very favorite photo subjects - the schooling coral catfish. I’ve probably seen this >500 times in my days, but for me, it never gets old.
And BTW - no licking 😝- venomous spines.

#coralcatfish #plotosuslineatus #catfish #chrisgug #gugunderwater #gug #tulamben #marinelife