Small Challenges…..

There are a few very small critters here that I have been trying to get some images of for a long time. This week I had success with one of them.

Ever since I first saw one of these, in the Caribbean, 15 years ago, I have wanted to see one closely.

They look like metallic fish scales and you see them in the water column, usually as you are descending. They are tiny, about 5mm long. It takes a while to realise that they are not fish scales, but are in fact tiny creatures. I think I remember someone saying they were octopods (?) but cannot find anything about them.

We get them a lot in Lembeh. They are visible one second, as they reflect light, giving them their distinctive metallic blue colour, then they disappear. Just when I get in focus range, they always swim away, with a flick of their tails, Very frustrating.

This week I finally found a dead one! It caught my eye, as it had become attached to a tendril of something on the bottom. Finally I could see and film it’s body. Even when dead it still has this amazing reflective capability, almost ghost-like.

If you look very closely at the footage, especially when it disappears, you can see it’s tiny legs and body.

I hope this will interest others like me, who have always wondered what it is.

Click here to see the video in a new window

Last week we had Stephen Wong and Takako Uno staying with us. Our other guests learnt a great deal with their help. Stephen and Takako sent me some photos from their stay here. It’s a pleasure to show them

Juvenile Zebra Batfish – Takako Uno

Pair of Yellow Gobies with a Crab – Stephen Wong

Ring-eyed Jawfish – Stephen Wong

Wonderpus – Takako Uno

Barb is on her way back from the Boat Show in Germany, so we’ll have to wait until next week for her photos, but here’s a few still taken from my video of some of the creatures we saw this week:

(you can click on the photos to see them bigger)

It’s been a great week. We’ve seen We’ve seen more Blue Rings, so they haven’t finished quiet yet..I think mating season may be finally coming to an end..as well as Wonderpus, Mimic, Long Arm, Coconut and Algae Octopus. There have been Broadclub, Pygmy, Crinoid and Reef Cuttlefish, as well as Reef Squid and Bobtail Squid on night dives. We have seen Ornate and Robust Ghost Pipefish. There have been yellow and pink Bargabantis, Pontohi and Severn’s Pygmy Seahorses, as well as Common, Moluccas and Estuary Seahorse. We’ve also seen Pipehorses, Pipefish (some lovely Winged Pipefish) and Lembeh Pygmy Seadragons. Crustaceans have been fab, with Harlequin Shrimp, Bumblebee Shrimp, Tiger Shrimp, Boxing Crabs, Donald Duck Shrimp, Xenia Swimming Crabs, Zanzibar Shrimp, Crinoid Shrimp, Emperor Shrimp, Hairy Shrimp, Orang Utan Shrimp, Tozeuma Shrimp, Carry Crabs, Candy Crabs, Hairy Squat Lobster, Squat Shrimp, Elegant Squat Lobster, Skeleton Shrimp, Mantis Shrimp, Porcelain Crabs, Superb Coral Shrimp, Cleaner Shrimp and many more. And we’ve seen Giant, Warty, Painted, Hairy and Occellated Frogfish. There have been Leaf Scorpionfish, Bubble Shells, Bobbit Worms, Pegasus Sea Moths, Spiny Devilfish, Ambon Scorpionfish, Solar Powered Nudis, Pickachi Nudis, Crocodile Snake Eels, Cockatoo Flounder, Flatworms, Electric Clams, Zebra Batfish and much much more.

Thanks to all our great guests from the States, the UK, Japan and Hong Kong. Another wonderful week at KBR.