Family name: Antennariidae
Order name: Lophiiformes
Common name: Frogfish or Anglerfish
Scientific name: Antennariidae
Frogfish are very misunderstood and very little is known about this unique underwater lie-in-wait predator. They live generally on the ocean floor around coral or rock reefs throughout tropical and subtropical waters. Most species live in shallow water although some species are deep dwelling. Recreational divers in Asia are most likely to spot certain species including giant, clown and painted frogfish.

Around the Andaman we have seen frogfish in the Similans, Richelieu Rock, Koh Tachai, Koh Doc Mai, Phi Phi, Racha Yai and Noi.

Frogfish, are named because of their squat resemblance to the common amphibians, they range in size from around 5cm to the giant frogfish’s 40cm. The resemblance to frogs is that their fins are more like legs, which they use to walk slowly over the sea bed and on top of sponges and corals to lie in wait for their prey.
Colour is often not much help in identifying different frogfish since they can change this to allow themselves to camouflage and blend in with the environment they are in. Depending on the species, this change might take seconds or weeks. Some frog fish’s skin is also covered by bumps, flaps, hairs and tassles which further allow for mimicking the nearby seabed, corals, sponges or weeds. This also explains how divers can often cruise straight past, not noticing their presence.

There are not many other fish that you could mistake for a frogfish but it can be exceptionally difficult to distinguish between the sexes or species. Unless you get out your scalpel, there is no way to tell male from female. Since colouration is not a method of identification for all but the most rare species, you should be looking out for species-specific features such as what form the lure takes (maybe it is mimicking a worm or fish), the number of eye spots and the number of spines.
Frogfish move very slowly but they have the fastest strike speed of any other animal on earth. They move by gulping water with their massive mouth, then forcing the water through the gills, this allows them to move about the reef or bottom.

As the frogfish is scaleless and unprotected camouflage is an important defense against predators. Some can also inflate themselves, like pufferfish, by sucking in water in a threat display. In aquariums and in nature, frogfish have been know to when moved from their hiding spots and are clearly visible, to be attacked by clownfish, damselfish, and wrasse, and even to be killed.
It is the feeding approach of anglerfish that makes it such interesting creatures. They are perfectly camouflaged and lie in wait for any prey. The lure may be used to attract prey in a variety of different ways, depending on the species.

They can also use a chemical attractant so sometimes they just lie in wait for some unfortunate creature to venture too close. When the prey is within grasp the attack takes place. The frogfish expands its oral cavity engulfing the prey with a reflex that instantly sucks it in by creating suction pressure inside the mouth. Taking no more than around 6 milliseconds.

Frogfish have also been seen stalking their prey by sneaking towards their target along the sea bed.

They eat mostly small fish, shrimps and crabs but their prey sometimes being up to twice their own body size. As they are toothless the frogfish swallows its prey whole, allowing digestive enzymes to do the rest. The prey can often be seen twitching and writhing against the walls of the its stomach until they no longer are alive. Frogfish have also been observed to eat lionfish; the poison appears to have no effect on them.  In addition to expanding their mouths, frogfish can also expand their stomachs to swallow animals up to twice their size.

What eats anglerfish? the main answer is another frogfish, they are known for being cannibalistic. However considering that they are designed more to catch fish swimming in the water column, this is a rather rare phenomenon. Moray eels have also been witnessed eating frogfish, but again, this is an uncommon sight.

Learn more interesting facts about the local marine life to Phuket by joining us on a Naturalist or Fish ID specialty course.

Few months ago, I decided to leave Europe for my internship at Scuba Cat. As I had been told that I would have many opportunities to do diving here, I had become over excited because I could never image how the undersea lives looked like. However, I had felt very nervous at the same time.
My first dives DSD (Discover Scuba Diving) took places at Paradise Reef, a beautiful shallow site in the Patong Bay.

My instructor is Sean Porter, an incredibly optimistic English man. I heard that Sean was a very experienced dive instructor but I was still unable to hide my nerves.
I received a thorough briefing about mask, fins, pressure, breathing, etc before I jumped into the water. After putting on me a BCD and air tank, Sean did one more check to make sure that everything was well-setup. For this first dive ever, Sean would only take me down till 6 meters depth. Then now I was ready to explore the ocean.
Once being in the sea, I must breathe through the regulator. Although the air in the tank is similar to the normal air, I felt like it was the weirdest air I had ever breathe in my life. Being told to face down slowly into the water, I had feeling that my heart beat ten times faster to make it. Gosh! I felt water everywhere. I didn’t feel comfortable at all! As struggling few times with breathing and descending, I was now undersea.

Sean guided through reefs, show me fishes. He kept asking whether everything was ok with my ear, my mask and so on. He and I still remember how I was excited as I tried to catch the fishes with my hands. OMG! Fishes are everywhere surrounding me. My eyes opened as big as they can. I saw Sergeant Majorfish, Clark’s Anemone Fish, Longfin Bannerfish, Moorish Idol, Lined Butterflyish, Powder Blue Surgeonfish, Corals, Blue Sea Star, and that “ugly” Sea Cucumber and “scary” Black Diadema Urchin and many that I don’t know their names. I didn’t notice that 20 minutes had gone until Sean gave sign to go up. When we came back to the boat, Sean teased me that I could catch the fishes well but I should stop doing it next time.

The second dives would be the most unforgettable dive in my life. This time I didn’t have problem descending but struggling with breathing and water (again!). As water came into my mouth and my mask, I started feeling unsafe and wanted to go back but few seconds after that, I couldn’t resist anymore. I was shaking, trying to blow water out and somehow the regulator was out. In a second, I thought that I would end my life there but thank to Sean, he put the regulator in my mouth again, pressed the air button, the air flew into my lung and immediately I felt “alive” again. He inflated my BCD and I was already on the surface few seconds after that.
I went diving again a few days later, the feeling of being scared had disappeared and I felt more relaxed, and I guess it will feel like that more and more each time I do it.

It’s hard to believe that I just returned from a scary-but-interesting journey. In dedication to Sean, who made my first dive experience absolutely amazing. He has been doing a brilliant job as an hero undersea. How challenging it is to get over myself to see a wonderful world undersea but since that moment, I knew that I truly loved diving again.

I must agree with Dave Barry- a Pulitzer Prize-winning American author- as he said
“There’s nothing wrong with enjoying looking at the surface of the ocean itself, except that when you finally see what goes on underwater, you realize that you’ve been missing the whole point of the ocean. Staying on the surface all the time is like going to the circus and staring at the outside of the tent.”

December 5 is an important day for Thai nation to celebrate the birthday of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world’s longest reigning monarch. This year, it marks his 85th birthday.
His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, or King Rama IX, was born in 5 December 1927 in Cambridge, ascended the throne on 9 June 1946. The King is more than an icon in the heart of Thai nation through his combination of dedication to the well-being and development of his people as well as a good understanding and awareness of political and social issues.

The King’s birthday is a national holiday and is celebrated all over the country with great enthusiasm. Buildings and homes on this day are vividly decorated with flag, lights, flowers, portrait’s of Majesty which are predominantly in the colour yellow or gold. It’s wonderful to see Thai nation showing the love, respect, homage and joy to his honor Majesty.

Moreover, the day is also regarded as the nation’s Father’s Day since The King is recognised as the “Father of the Thai nation”. In respect of Thai tradition together with welcoming divers on this day, Scuba Cat happily introduce the special promotion for all divers and their families: ScubaKitten love ScubaCat. Many discounts on all father and kids diving, snorkelling and equipment will be given on December 5. This promotion encourages diver parents to discover new experiences with their beloved children. In other words, it engages children in diving experience with their parents.

has just launched a ‘Dive and Win’ campaign that new divers can benefit from. The idea is to give new divers a chance to win great prizes by just becoming certified. So if you have friends or family members, or you are planning to learn to dive you can benefit until January 31st next year.

Any student who takes the certification, Scuba Diver or Open Water from the 1st of November 2012 until the 31st of January 3013 can enter the Dive and win competition. You just need to share why you became a diver and you will get a hat.

You will then automatically be entered into a prize draw with a weekly winner of a GoPro® Hero3 camera,

and a monthly winner of an Apple® iPad 2.

Plus all entry’s have a chance to win the grand prize of an Aggressor Fleet live-aboard.

To enter the competition just follow the link below

http://apps..com//Campaign/DiveAndWin/DiveAndWin.aspx

For more information you can contact us at Scuba Cat if you have just taken your courses or wish to do so.

Peacock Mantis Shrimps (Odontodactylus scyllarus)

They are found in the indo Pacific region and we have many of these on all of the dive sites we visit, but you do have to look closely for them.
Although called shrimp they are not actually true shrimp, but a separate family of crustaceans called Stomatopods.

They are mostly found at the base of reefs where they build their burrows, the excavate a u shape tunnel by collecting nearby rubble or other substrate to go over and around suitable sites of rock crevices or corals.

They are very colorful and flamboyant when you find them, with red, green and blue warning coloration.

They feed on various fish and invertebrates and are fast, efficient hunters, though they often wait for their prey to walk by and pounce on them. The peacock is a ‘smashers’ type of mantis shrimp it has two club-like appendages to exo skeleton animals such as crabs, clams and snails. With just one hit the ‘club’ produces a force almost as fast as a 22-caliber bullet, 10m per sec, and this has been know to break aquarium glass. This is so fast it can actually vaporize the water at the point of impact!

In addition to the smashing clubs they also have a shorter body compared to the longer, very flexible tail, this lets them turn quickly and easily in tight spaces and burrows. The tail and the specialized swimming appendages on its underside provide a surprisingly fast swim when on the hunt, or when they get scared.

The eyes are stalk like which allows them to accurately see their prey from the protection of the crevices they live in, the eyes are complex with at least 8 types of different colour sensors, which include ultraviolet and polarized light. They can see 10 times more colours than humans.

From the mantis shrimps that have been kept in captivity, we have learned that they are the only invertebrates that can actually recognize individuals, they do this by body odor!!
They can be aggressive with others of there own species and get into fights using the flexible tails, they sometimes can fight to the death, but often decide who is victorious before either gets seriously hurt.

Some of the shrimps can mate for life, which can be up to 20 years, whilst others prefer a one-night stand. They usually court then come together. The female can hold fertilized eggs under the tail or in the forearms, or they can be laid in burrows and are watched over until they hatch into Larvae. These larvae are also keen predators often preying on other larvae during the 3 months it takes to hatch.

To see these fascinating shrimps you can join us on our daytrips or liveaboards where they are often seen at the divesites, ask our staff about them and other interesting creatures we have in the waters of Thailand.

Learn more about the marine life in our area by taking the Naturalist specialty course with us.