Snapper are one of my favourite coral reef fish to dive with, because sometimes they’ll allow you into, or very close to, the dense schools they form over the reef. This must be what it feels like to be a fish, albeit one that breathes loudly and blows bubbles!
[youtube=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fay7FA7rNEA&w=540″]
We saw these bluebanded snappers (Lutjanis kasmira) on a dive at Seven Mile Reef in Sodwana, last September. Notice the pair of Moorish idols (Zanclus cornutus) at the start of the video.
[youtube=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CwmlTtPXO8&w=540″]
Here’s another school of snapper we came across shortly after the first one. There are often other kinds of fish, including other types of snapper, in the school.
[youtube=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KToXFu6iRS0&w=540″]
The Reef Guide is a good place to learn more about, and identify, the fish you see on dives off South Africa’s south and east coasts.
