Exciting New Supersized Format

Check out the new format. I just realized that photos posted via Hello via Picasa www.picasa.com are supersized. Check out the Stone Fish Close-up

Stone Fish Close-up

Here's a close-up shot of the stone fish we saw this morning at the pier.

White-eyed Eel

Just a close-up shot of another white-eyed eel. 

This Morning at the Pier

Thanks to Diane, Liz, and Nick for a great dive at the pier this morning. For those of you losers who were invited but chose to get "beauty sleep", you missed a great dive. Once again it seems that the best time for a pier dive is in the early morning at low tide. The visability was a bit compromised from the rain last night, but we experienced virtually zero current. Hope you enjoy the photos.

It's a Baby

It's a baby. This Jorunna funebris was at the northern end of the pier and just below a much larger individual who was laying pink eggs on a coral branch.

White-eyed Eel

Look carefully at this one. This white-eyed eel was poking in and out of this hole. It took a second to realize the scorpionfish just above the eel.

Risbecia tryoni

Risbecia tryoni on the underside of a coral covered pipe.

Stone Fish

This is only the second stone fish that I have photographed. The other was on the eastern side of Bob's Rock over a year ago. This individual measured about 15cm and could have easily been mistaken for another piece of rubble between the pylons.

Bornella anguilla

Check out the enormous sex organs on these Bornella anguilla.

One-Tree Clownfish

A shot of a little clownfish from one-tree for Tracey...if she ever checks out the site.

Bobtail Squid

This is a Bobtail Squid I shot on a night dive at SB. This photo is another one you have to double click on to see the metalic detail of the squid's skin. Double click the photo and take a look at the larger format.

Decorator Crab

Our good buddy Nick found this decorator crab (Hoplophrys oatesii) in a soft coral (Dendronephthya) at K41 on a night dive. The crab has attached pieces of the soft coral to its body and blends in perfectly with its environment.

NOTICE: Dawn Dive Tomorrow

Dawn dive on wednesday. Meet at Pertimina Pier at 5:30. Should be a nice calm dive; low tide is at 6:07am. For more tide info, check out Easy Tide Predictor

The Dive

Diane and I headed out early this morning to our favorite dive site known by a couple different names, including Sand Box or Sandy Bottom. Diane is the unlimate spotter of all things small. And today she did not disappoint, finding a number of species of frogfish as well as an amazingly small lion fish hatchling. Visability was about 15M with a light current from the east.

Dart Fish

Sorry the focus is not sharp on this guy's mouth, but he was swimming so fast I was lucky to snap this.

Nudibranchs

Nudibranchs (7mm) mating.

Lion Fish

Just a lion fish hiding under some branch coral. The photo is actually upside-down.

"Scruffy" Frogfish 2

Another shot of a "scruffy" frogfish. This photo may be a bit difficult to wrap your head around, but it's nearly head-on. Notice the open mouth and green eye.

Orange Frogfish

My favorite shot of the day. I believe it's the same idividual that I photographed last week.

White Frogfish

This white frogfish (~1.5cm) was hiding in some algae at 20M.

Nudibranch

This nudibranch was on the same leaf as the lion fish hatchling. Notice the hole on top of his back. This nudibranch pumps water through it's body and can suck it's head inside itself.

Nudi

Nudi at 5M

Lion Fish Hatchling

Lion Fish Hatchling. You have got to click on this one!

Crinoid Squat Lobster

 

Little Green Fish

This little green fish is quite small, maybe around 1cm. The brown thing on the left is actually a blade of sawgrass. Both were swaying in a slow current at the Sand Box. If you happen to know the species of the little green fish, please let me know. Click the "comments" button.

Ornate Ghost Pipefish

This guy is hanging out at about 21M at Bob's Rock (aka Behau Forest). This individual has been spotted twice in the last couple of days.

Shrimp on Sweetlips

Cleaner shrimp on a sweetlips at Dili Rock. This photo was taken at about 14M on Saturday. Just as the sweetlips swam away a cold current came along pushing a mass of tiny fish and murky water. 20M of visability turned to 5M in about 15 seconds. Diane and I decided to spend the rest of the dive in shallow water just about the cold current.

Frogfish

A minute frogfish, perhaps a Spotfin, but difficult to tell for certain. It's just over 1cm long and was found at about 16M at SB. 

Bobtail Squid

Bobtail Squid "coupling" at Sand Box. They were found at about 14M and are 2cm each. Often when approached they scramble to bury themselves under the sand with just their eyes breaking the surface.