Sunday 4 November 2012

Sharks at Finger Reef


male Orange Anthias, Pseudanthias squamipinnis.
When a male dies the top female in his shoal changes into a male.
Saturday 3rd November

We had two shark dives this morning an hour to the north of Bandos: Vashimas Thila and Finger Reef, which is the most northerly reef in North Male Atoll. Vashimas Thila  had only 3 sharks, but provided an adrenalin rush at the end. As we tried to ascend we found that fining up resulted in a descent – not good. A few puffs of air into the Buoyancy Control Device (BCD) didn’t make much difference so I held the button and the BCD fully inflated which finally resulted in an ascent. Adel and Abdulla, my dive buddies, had the same experience. I have never experienced such a strong down current in 30 years of diving.


Vashimas Thila 







At Finger Reef we saw plenty of White-tip sharks, including three resting on the sandy bottom of a sandy gulley. Abdulla shot some great video of some coming really close to him which I will post here later.

Our afternoon dive was on the Bandos house reef, a lovely gentle dive from the entry point to the wreck, then to the second buoy and back to the first buoy. 
Abdulla
Acropora coral
staghorn Coral, Acropora cervicornis
Black-spotted Pufferfish, Arothron nigropunctatus
Blotched Porcupinefish, Diodon liturosus
Blotcheye Soldierfish, Myripristis murdjan
Blue-green Chromis, Chromis viridis
Clown Triggerfish, Balistoides conspicullum
Imperial Angelfish, Pomacanthus imperator

Orange Anthias, Pseudanthias squamipinnis
Oval butterflyfish, Chaetodon trifasciatus
Peacock Rock Cod, Cephalopholis argus
Regal Angelfish, Pygoplites diacanthus
Sailfin Tang, Zebrasoma desjardinii
Slender Grouper, Anyperodon leucogrammicus
Spotted Sea Cucumber, Synapta maculata
Harlequin Sweetlips, Plectorhinchus chaetodonoides
Titan Triggerfish, Balistoides viridescens
Vermilion Rock Cod, Cephalopholis miniata
Whitetip Soldierfish, Myripristis vittata
Whitetip Soldierfish, Myripristis vittata
Yellowmargin Lyretail Grouper, Variola louti
Yellowtail Anthias, pseudanthias evansi
Sponge among corals
end of the day on Bandos:

Oriental Garden Lizard, Calotes versicolor

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