The permit, a large member of the pompano family much prized by the serious game fisherman, is a regular visitor to this area. Here a horses hoe-shaped curve cuts into the coral on the very edge of the reef. Coral types and patterns are very similar to the Hollywood site. The depth here is 60 feet (18 m). Located along the same reef trend, Permit Paradise reefs are similar to those found a short distance north at Hollywood. Looking down from the surface after entering the water, you can see abundant clusters of large coral stacks. Most have 10-15 ft of relief above the white sandy bottom at a depth of 40-60 ft. Large, deep-bodied permits are present in mid-water above the reef consistently enough for this site to bear their name. These graceful and fast swimming fish feed in small schools and make a challenging photographic subject. The coral growth is fresh and varied. Forked sea feathers are especially noticeable because they form a virtual forest of swaying branches. Other soft corals contributing to the graceful canopy above a garden of stony coral include corky sea fingers, deep-water lace corals, candelabra and scattered growths of black coral. Boulder and brain coral form the framework of most coral stacks, but large plates of various kinds of fungus coral are common along with flower and finger corals. Invertebrates and fish of all types find these ideal hiding places, so divers can discover dozens of organisms by exploring a single coral stack. Adding to the spectacle of color and form are a variety of emergent sponges. Plenty of large basket, yellow tube, rope, iridescent tube and stinking vase sponges rise above to compete for living space with corals. The space struggle is equally great below where encrusting sponges and moss animals monopolize the undersides of corals and line the walls of caverns and reef overhangs.