Islamorada Snorkeling

Rounded coral heads covered in winding grooves that look like a brain. Common on Florida reefs and slow growing, so a big head can be centuries old.

Diploria, Pseudodiploria, Colpophyllia

Purple, lacy soft corals that sway in the current on Florida and Caribbean reefs. They face across the current to filter food from the water.

Gorgonia

Colorful grazers with fused, beak-like teeth. You can hear them crunch on coral rock, and much of the white sand on tropical beaches passes through them.

Scaridae

Yellow fish with blue or bronze stripes that hang in big, slow schools under ledges and around coral heads on Florida reefs.

Haemulon

An electric blue and yellow angelfish with a blue crown spot on its forehead. One of the most photographed fish in the Florida Keys.

Holacanthus ciliaris

The turtle you are most likely to meet. Greens graze on algae over shallow reef and rest under ledges. In Hawaii they are protected and very used to snorkelers.

Spotting tip: Scan the rocky edges where waves wash over algae, and sandy cleaning stations where fish pick at their shells.

Guardian rule: Stay at least 10 ft away. Never block a turtle's path to the surface.

Chelonia mydas

A slow, brownish shark that spends the day resting on the bottom under ledges in Florida. It looks sleepy, but it can bite if grabbed.

Guardian rule: Never touch or pull a nurse shark's tail.

Ginglymostoma cirratum

The Atlantic eagle ray, dark with white spots and a pointed snout. In Florida it glides over sand and seagrass near reefs, often in pairs or small groups.

Guardian rule: Give it room and never chase it.

Aetobatus narinari

Clawless lobsters with long antennae poking out from under ledges. Caribbean spiny lobster live on Florida reefs and California spiny lobster in kelp and rock.

Panulirus

A small yellow and silver damselfish with five black bars. Bold and curious, it is often the first fish to swim up to you on a Florida reef.

Abudefduf saxatilis