CHECKERBOARD WRASSE

The wrasses or the Labridaes, they are the most diverse of family because they are basically a large family of fishes. Bright and colorful, they have 81 genera, 9 subgroups. Small tiny 20 cms up to 2.5 meters which are the Humphead wrasse, a little smaller than the Humpheads are the Checkerboard wrasses.

The checkerboard wrasse is quite striking to the eyes of divers. They have three dark red to black vertical spots that starts from the back of the head to the middle part of the body. They have yellow rings that are stunning and a green orange and pink striping on the dorsal fin. You might also notice the reddish line passing through the checkerboard wrasse’s eyes stemming from the tip of the snout.

Called checkerboard because of the white to greenish colors and hints of blue to black on the edge of their scales, they are very slender fishes with lengthened body and prominent mouth conveniently feeding on worms, molluscs, echinoderms they find in the sand and feather dusters, but really are very well known Guardians of the Open Water Corals.

I found these beautiful fish by the big rock in Batok dive site in Anilao Batangas just a little less than a kilometer away from Sombrero Island. He seems to be following us around, must be showing off his home, asking us to be mindful and respectful. Not to touch, just view, bask in his coral garden but keep our distance. I loved how he just disappears, swims ahead and then reappears like a tour guide, a divemaster… he missed out showing off a bunch of other species, nevertheless he proved to be fun to watch.

Batok dive site has the most unique of all basic fishes. Most basic of all are these wrasses, never threatened cos their magic has allowed them to be ignored by fishermen. Must be their bright colorful scales that leads the fisher folks to by pass them. Either due to too pretty to kill or too thin to be of substance hahahhaha. I dunno, just my two cents.

These glamorous looking fishes are what makes a coral garden bloom. Their unique intricate patterns are commonly seen in corals and oftentimes go unnoticed, but their friendly nature is what makes a coral garden flourish. A give and take relationship in a plethora of a predatory world is very much relaxing to think about. How amongst such butchery in the wild, us being the forerunners, they are allowed existence and allow persistence in return.

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