There’s a group of cake urchins in our house reef in Amed. Contrary to what we can think Urchins are actually moving a lot, and these move together as a big group in the middle of a sandy bottom. We call them cake urchins (clypeasters) because of their pink/purple color which is kind of appealing like a good raspberry creamy cake. But the most important with them, and so why you should always check at it, is that they are actually hosting life. This week was a festival, we counted, swimming and hiding between their spikes, twelve Ornate ghost pipefish, a little group of juvenile moorish idols, some tiny damsel fish and loads of babies octopuses… The scene was magic and we stayed around for a good ten minutes just looking at these beauties. They can as well host pigmy cuttle fish and some very small schrimps. Yes, Urchins are far from being boring.

In another kind, Lara and Louise, two Open Water students, had the privilege during their very first dive to see a mimic octopus, a warty frogfish and some of these ornate ghost pipefish still hiding with the urchins. Sure that they didn’t really realize their luck but they really enjoyed their course and the amazing marine life available around Amed.

This week at two fish Amed we also welcomed an Instructor Examination and have been extremely happy to help out with this offering logistic for the five candidates, or may I say five instructors by now.