Often some of the most interesting and unusual stuff is found on the shallow sand flats between coral heads and reefs.

This vividly colored 3/4-inch tobacco fish stood out against the stark white sand near Bus Stop reef and caught my attention.

But as I looked closely at the image before I cropped it, I found several other well-camoflaged translucent fish on the same frame. I had not noticed them when I was making this picture.

This kind of natural dichotomy always makes me wonder what advantages the colorful species have over the more mundane ones — or vice versa — especially on the apparently monotonous sand, where the colorful are sure to contrast sharply.