Below:  A tiny club-tipped anemone

Moray eels are common in all tropical waters, and the Maldives are no exception.  One of the most beautiful (except for those who say yechh to all eels) is the Honeycomb Moray at left.  On the right is an Undulate Moray, which prowls Maldivian reefs at night, looking for Kleenex.  Below are three shots of the very common Black Cheek Moray.

Below are the mantles of several giant clams.  The clams themselves had shells from one to two feet long.  I don't know if the different colors indicate different species, or are just individual variations, but the patterns were always subtle, intricate and beautiful.

The Titan Triggerfish is the largest species of triggerfish in the world.  This three-foot giant was excavating the reef by carrying pieces of coral weighing a couple of pounds.

While clearly yellow with a blue snout, this is called a brown butterflyfish.  In the background is a purple Gorgonian sea fan.

This striped triggerfish was a familiar sight, though they are a little shy of the camera.

Red fire gobies are generally found in pairs, but this one's mate has already ducked into a hole in the sand.

The sling-jaw wrasse extends its mouth to be cleaned by the blue-streak cleaner wrasse.  The mouth is used as a suction tube when hunting food.

A Little Combtooth Blenny sticks his head out of his hole in the reef.

A phantom bannerfish.

The tine red goby is almost perfectly camoflaged against the red sea fan.

A school of Oriental Sweetlips.