As I write posts for this site, there is a series of categories which I can select that best fit the theme of the post.  From Corals to Conservation and Industry to Invertebrates.  There are a few categories, though, that I seldom use, one of which is Too Cute.  To address this situation, here are a few images from my library that I think have cuteness aplenty.

My first image is this shot of a clown (Amphiprion nigripes) from the Maldives.  As you can tell, it is a tiny little fish, staring out from its anemone home into the great unknown.

Next up is a shot that is slightly disingenuous.  The fish does look cute and I love the bold colors on the fish itself and the encrusting red sponge.  In reality though, this is a Blue striped Fang Blenny, a fish that makes its living by nipping the skin of larger fish.

Undeniably cute, unless you’re a prey item, in the zooplankton, is this juvenile cephalopod.  I shot this little guy in the Maldives and it took me an awful long time to shoot – it was the size of a grain of rice.  I’d love to know what it will grow into, squid or cuttle?

Demonstrating that beauty is in the eye of the beholder is this blenny (Salarias sp.?).  This characterful fish was shot amongst rock pools in Mauritius.  The fish was living in a small hole in the rock and every time a wave splashed across the nearby rocks, it would hurl itself towards growths of algae to graze, before returning to its hole.

Finally, I have a fish that is destined to become one of the ugliest on the reef, a species of Scorpionfish.  As an inch long youngster it was a rare find.