Underwater Photography Of The Tropical Fish And Coral Reefs of Curaçao

Underwater photography of the incredible and colorful tropical fish and coral reefs of the island of Curaçao in the Caribbean Sea.

A sergeant major fish (Abudefduf saxatilis), Underwater Photography Of The Tropical Fish And Coral Reefs of Curaçao
A sergeant major fish (Abudefduf saxatilis) in Curacao

I had an amazing trip to the Caribbean island of Curaçao. While there I dedicated a lot of time to snorkeling in the shallow reefs right off the beaches. Of course the tropical fish and reefs there were incredible. As a result, I was able to get some awesome photos of beautiful tropical fish underwater by bringing an underwater case for my camera.

I also explored and took photos of Willemstad, Curaçao, you can see them here: Willemstad, Curaçao, A Pretty And Colorful Dutch Colony In The Caribbean.

For this trip, I bought a relatively cheap underwater case for my Nikon DSLR. It was basically a waterproof thick plastic bag. If you are curious about it, here it is on Amazon. For the most part, it worked really well for only costing $100. All in all, I didn’t have any issues. In fact, I was able to control my camera really well with it. Because of this, it allowed me to do some amazing underwater photography of the tropical fish and coral reefs of Curaçao.

Tropical Fish

By and large, was a huge variety of tropical fish I was able to capture. I was able to get pretty close to them and enjoy their beauty.

This is a very rarely seen Salp, mainly due to its transparent nature. It was completely by chance I saw it. While trying to find fish to photograph I saw this guy floating right in front of me, barely visible. Thankfully I was able to get this awesome photo of it.

Salp (Salpidae), a transparent sea animal, floating in the caribbean sea, Underwater Photography
Salp (Salpidae), a transparent sea animal, floating in the Caribbean sea

Tang Fish

These fish were really cool looking with their bright bold blue colors. They are the type of fish that Dory was in the movie Finding Dory.

Atlantic Blue Tang (Acanthurus coeruleus) fish in Curacao
Atlantic Blue Tang (Acanthurus coeruleus) fish in Curacao
Atlantic Blue Tang (Acanthurus coeruleus) in the Caribbean Sea
An Atlantic Blue Tang (Acanthurus coeruleus) in the Caribbean Sea
Atlantic Blue Tang (Acanthurus coeruleus) fish in Curacao, Underwater Photography
Atlantic Blue Tang (Acanthurus coeruleus) fish in Curacao
Doctorfish tang (Acanthurus chirurgus) in the Caribbean Sea
Doctorfish tang (Acanthurus chirurgus) in the Caribbean Sea
Doctorfish tang (Acanthurus chirurgus) in Curacao
Doctorfish tang (Acanthurus chirurgus) in Curacao

Butterflyfish

Foureye butterflyfish Foureye butterflyfish (Chaetodon capistratus) in the Caribbean Sea, Underwater Photography
Foureye butterflyfish Foureye butterflyfish (Chaetodon capistratus) in the Caribbean Sea
Foureye butterflyfish (Chaetodon capistratus) in Curacao
Two Foureye butterflyfish (Chaetodon capistratus) in Curacao
Banded Butterflyfish (Chaetodon striatus) in Curacao
Banded Butterflyfish (Chaetodon striatus) in Curacao

The great barracuda, this fish was huge and creeped me out a bit because of how aggressive they are known to be. Luckly, he never swam too close to me.

The Great barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda), Underwater Photography
The Great barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda)
Trumpetfish (Aulostomus maculatus)
Trumpetfish (Aulostomus maculatus)
A Sergeant major fish (Abudefduf saxatilis) in the Caribbean Sea
A Sergeant major fish (Abudefduf saxatilis) in the Caribbean Sea
White sea urchin (Tripneustes ventricosus)
White sea urchin (Tripneustes ventricosus)

Parrotfish

Overall, parrotfish are my favorite type of fish. This is because I love their colors, shapes, and patterns. They look like they have beaks. They also grow to be quite large. For this reason, Every time I see one I get really excited. Here are a variety of parrotfish that I captured:

Stoplight Parrotfish (Sparisoma viride) in the Caribbean Sea
Stoplight Parrotfish (Sparisoma viride) in the Caribbean Sea
Blue Parrotfish (Scarus coeruleus) in Curacao, Underwater Photography
Blue Parrotfish (Scarus coeruleus) in Curacao
Stoplight Parrotfish (Sparisoma viride)
Stoplight Parrotfish (Sparisoma viride)
Albino princess parrotfish (Scarus taeniopterus) in Curaçao
Albino princess parrotfish (Scarus taeniopterus) in Curaçao
Queen Parrotfish (Scarus vetula) in the Caribbean Sea
Queen Parrotfish (Scarus vetula) in the Caribbean Sea
Yellowtail Parrotfish (Sparisoma rubripinne) in Curacao, Underwater Photography
Yellowtail Parrotfish (Sparisoma rubripinne) in Curacao
Yellowtail Parrotfish (Sparisoma rubripinne)
Yellowtail Parrotfish (Sparisoma rubripinne)

Lol I even captured a parrotfish in the middle of happily pooping

A Yellowtail Parrotfish happily pooping in the sea
A Yellowtail Parrotfish happily pooping in the sea

Coral Reef Formations

There were also some incredible coral formations I also captured. Because of how close to the surface the coral formations were, there was a huge variety of flourishing coral and sea plants.

Elkhorn Coral with a Yellowtail Damselfish, Underwater Photography
Elkhorn Coral with a Yellowtail Damselfish
Stove-Pipe Sponge in Curacao
Stove-Pipe Sponge in Curacao
Christmas Tree Hydroid in the Caribbean Sea
Christmas Tree Hydroid in the Caribbean Sea
Coral formations in Curacao coral reef, Underwater Photography
Coral formations in the Curacao coral reef
Porous Sea Rods in Curacao
Porous Sea Rods in Curacao
Giant Caribbean Sea Anemone (Condylactis gigantea)
Giant Caribbean Sea Anemone (Condylactis gigantea)
Brain coral (Diploria strigosa)
Brain coral (Diploria strigosa)
Fire Coral in Curacao, Underwater Photography
Fire Coral in Curacao


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