Have you seen an adult yellow boxfish in Bunaken? You probably have seen the cute little yellow boxfish somewhere in the world. From Two Fish Bunaken resort they are more common to see them when they are about 4-5 cm but sometimes you will see a tiny yellow spotty pea floating around. The tiny juvenile stage is definitely the cutest but they grow up very fast! Soon they are whizzing around the reef quickly hiding in cracks and crevices when they feel they are in danger. They are constantly on the move and quickly forget you are there watching them. Boxfish are incredibly hard to catch a photo of as they are always swimming and usually this is swimming away from you!
Yellow Boxfish (ostracion cubicus) feed mainly on algae but also can feed on sponges, crustaceans and molluscs. As they grow bigger their spots fade and they become less bright. Their colour becomes more grey and blue/purple on top with some dull yellow underneath. They can become a size of 45 cm long which is not too common. In Bunaken Marine Park we have been seeing larger yellow boxfish reaching about 20-30cm. They look so different from the juveniles.
We have seen the adults on the sloping tops of the reefs near to larger corals that they can escape quickly and hide underneath. They have the same shape as the juveniles so it is easy to identify them. When they are not frightened they come out and look for food between coral and close to the eelgrass.
This week in Bunaken our newest PADI Divemaster Yolanda has finished her training and is heading back to Hong Kong to continue doing coral research. I am sure we will see her return to Two Fish Divers for her PADI Instructor Course soon. It has been fun having her here and her jokes and playfulness will surely be missed by everyone.
Her buddy Bastien is still here continuing to get experience as a PADI Divemaster and has enjoyed helping Maia and Colin teach Yolanda. He has been guiding divers and large groups of snorkelers. In a few weeks he will be back in Two Fish Divers Lembongan to start the Instructor Development Course with our course director Restuning Sandini. He has had a great swimming pool in Bunaken to keep his skills fresh and make sure he can do them perfectly and neutrally buoyant.
Have you thought about a job in the dive industry? It takes time, patience, energy and dedication as well as a positive attitude towards fun, safe and environmentally friendly diving practices. At Two Fish Divers in Indonesia, we are committed to giving you excellent training and time to intern as a new PADI pro, to get plenty of experience working in the industry. If this sounds like your kind of thing then fill in the form below and let us help you to follow your dreams!
