SIMILANS, KOH BON, KOH TACHAI AND RICHELIEU ROCK 7^th Feb to 11^th Feb 2014

Thank you Kath and Nicolas for a great trip on boat MV Scuba Adventure to the Similans this week

What a fantastic trip.

On board for the 4 days 4 nights were Steve and Jo, repeat customers of Scuba Cat Diving, last time they were on board MV Scuba Cat where Steve proposed to Jo underwater. That was 5 years ago as well as Wendy, Andreas, Mikkel and John.

MV Scuba Adventure – photo Steve Willett

After a very successful check dive on Anita’s Reef, Island 4 in the Similans they headed straight to Koh Bon as Captain Pu had heard reports of a giant manta sighting.

Similan Islands – photo Steve Willett

Needless to say, a couple of hours later they were there enjoying the moment with the manta and 30m visibility. Very lucky indeed, they had the manta to themselves.  During the second Dive on Koh Bon the manta made came back and joined them all to say goodbye!

Manta Ray

The next day Richelieu Rock had fantastic visibility with so much action. Many glassfish being hunted by their predators, school of barracuda’s, bent stick pipefish, cleaner pipefish and SO much more including the tiniest sea horse sitting on a sea fan. They did 3 dives there with minimal current.

Ghost Pipefish – photo Steve Willett

Back to Koh Tachai, for the sunset dive. “Just like being in another world” quoted Jo Willett. The huge school of barracudas were there for the duration. Kath’s favourite dive site delivered with the trevally feeding frenzy, snappers, napoleon wrasse & marble groupers. This site was repeated the next morning and the highlight saw 2 large schools of barracuda merging together. Thankfully Koh Tachai was also kind with almost no current.

Sunset Dive – photo Steve Willett

Koh Bon, for the third dive of the day and yet again…. Mantas!!!!

The gangsters of the ocean, the Trevallies were feeding on glassfish and for good measure a Napoleon wrasse graced them with its presence.  When they surfaced there were many other liveaboard boats, the decision was made to leave the manta experience on a high and head back to the Similans, Christmas Point on Island 9 to enjoy the unique swim through’s. Amongst other things Kath spotted a white tip reef shark as it swam straight across her.

Feeding time

Next West of Eden, Island 7…. they didn’t need to go diving! A teeny-tiny whale shark came alongside MV Scuba Adventure, 2m maximum! (Doesn’t sound tiny does it!) The lucky customers were kitting up on the back deck when it came to say hi.

Whale Shark

Day 4, Deep Six for the morning dive. Hoping to see the whale shark as it was in the area the day before. Great swim throughs and a white tip spotted again by Kath at 27.5m. Unfortunately, no one else saw it. Many fusiliers and banner fish.

The last dive of the Northern trip was on Shark Fin Reef, declared as “incredible” with 40m visibility. It was like diving in an aquarium. The neon fusiliers were like a train that never stopped!!! They were very fortunate to see a bump head parrot and an eagle ray. What a treat!

Huge Congratulations to John who completed his Advanced Open Water on board Scuba Adventure.

Some lucky customers were staying onboard to continue their Andaman Sea adventure with us to Hin Dueng, Hin Mueng, Koh Haa, and Phi Phi

South Andaman Sun Set – photo Steve Willett

After 20 years of being based only in Patong, Scuba Cat has decided to open a shop in a new area, NaiHarn.

Naiharn Shop

Two years ago was a big change for Scuba Cat with the closing on the beach road shop and the premises moving to the Kee Plaza and Soi Wattana shops.

During this time we noticed that many of our return customers just came into the Soi Wattana shop to see us again, and so we decided to close the Kee Plaza shop and move out to a new area of Phuket to offer a better service covering a larger area.

So for the first time we are now out of Patong……..

Naiharn at the south of Phuket Island is an quieter area with a what most people think is the best beach on the island.

The bay is surrounded with Palm tree’s and there is the famous sunset viewpoint of Prom Thep Cape close by. There is also the lagoon area behind the beach which is great for children to swim and paddle in all year around.In the green season it is sometimes possible to surf in the area too.

Prom Thep Cape

The area has many good restaurants and cafe’s all along the main area and there are hotels and guest houses to suit all budget and taste, but it is not a big party area, more a chill out place. There are some good bars if you want but people tend to visit just 1 or 2 in a evening rather than many as is the case in Patong.

Rawai is very close to NaiHarn, and although there is no beach there, this area also has good restaurants on the shore area. The Sea Gypsy’s have been resident in Rawai for many years and have small market area where trinkets and fresh sea food are for sale.

Rawai

Along the shore line there are many local long tail boats which offer trips to the close coral island for the morning or afternoon.

The whole area is not really know for the shopping or markets, but these can be easily visited in Phuket Town or Patong with a short taxi ride.

Our new shop is located on Sai Yuan Road opposite the popular Da Vinchi Italian restaurant.

The shop is newly built and has a retail area, fully equipped classroom and office. We will be conducting all courses from both Naiharn and our Patong shops, so you can choose either depending on the location of your hotel.

Classroom

One more improvement we want to offer is free transfers to and from the boat that will now include the Naiharn and Rawai area’s and the hotels along Visit Rd to the pier at Chalong.

The lionfish is a common site in the Andaman and seen on all of the dive sites we go to, both by daytrips and liveaboards.
Nobody knows for sure how they got their name, and they are also known as turkey or dragon fish in some area’s. One thought is when they spread out their pectoral fins it sort of looks like a lion’s mane, and they are ferocious predators

They are beautiful and fascinating fish but due to their colouring, as is common in nature, most times bright and beautiful means dangerous. Its bright colours advertise its poisonous tentacles. The venom of the lionfish, delivered by up to 18 needle-like dorsal fins and is purely defensive. A sting from a lionfish is extremely painful to humans and can cause nausea and breathing difficulties, but is rarely fatal.
The scientific name for the lionfish is Pterois, and there are fifteen different species in the Pterois Genus of fish.

The largest of the lionfish species can grow to about 40cm in length, but the average is closer to 30cm, with the smallest around 6cm, and they weigh somewhere around 500 to 900g. Their lifespan in the wild can be around 15 years.

They are mainly active during the day and at night the Lionfish find crevices among rocks that they rest in, this is so they are not out of the open where they would be at risk of predators consuming them.

It relies on camouflage and fast reflexes to capture their prey which is mainly fish and shrimp.. Adult lionfish use their distinct pectoral fins to attract the prey. As soon as the prey comes within their reach, they swallow it in a single motion. Though not quite unique, this method of hunting is highly successful in regions where the lionfish is a non-native species as the native population of the area is not used to such traps. They are able to move around very quickly in the water. They are very good at using those long pectoral fins to herd fish and other prey into a confined area, trapping it making it simple for them to get their food. The lionfish’s stomach can expand to 30 times its normal size so they can really fill up, this is why it is such an invader in the Caribean.

They are solitary and they will become very aggressive if they feel that their home territory is at risk. The males tend to be more aggressive overall than the females. While adult lionfish are solitary creatures, juveniles are known to live together in groups. Over the course of time, they become highly territorial and don’t even hesitate to take on the other members of their group to capture and/or defend their territory.

The native habitat of lionfish spans the rocky crevices and reefs of the Indo-Pacific waters, but they can be found in the eastern coast of America. It is not clear how they have found their way there but it is thought that some specimens who were released by certain aquariums, and have begun to thrive in these warm waters without any natural predators. There is one documented case of lionfish escaping from an aquarium located in a house damaged by Hurricane Andrew – the fish were seen swimming nearby after the storm. The “on purpose” introductions are assumed to occur from hobbyists who dumped them into canals (not knowing any better) when the fish either got too large for their aquariums or became unwanted. Genetic evidence from recent scientific results suggests multiple introductions.

Learn more about marine life in the area with our AWARE Fish ID, Naturalist or Advanced open water courses.

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.

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.