Pygmy Seahorses in Gili Air

The Pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus Bargibanti) can be found off the shore of the Gili Islands! Pygmy seahorses in Gili Air are usually found at around 16-40 m and live exclusively on gorgonian corals of the genus Muricella. They have recently been spotted at Bounty Wreck, Gili Meno.

These amazing creatures grow to an average size of 1.4 to 2.7cm long and are usually in one of two colours: purple with pink tubercles or yellow with orange tubercles.

You need a sharp eye or a fantastic guide to spot pygmy seahorses because they are so tiny fish that they are nearly indistinguishable from their habitats due to their size and extreme camouflage. They have to be good at camouflaging to fend off predators! It’s a good job that Two Fish can help you out here! But be careful if you want to take a photo – these seahorses don’t have eyelids and are therefore really sensitive to light.

Fun fact! Unlike other seahorses, male pygmy seahorses use a pouch in their trunk – not their tail – to brood their young! Want to see pygmy seahorses in Gili Air? Come and join us!!

Nina finished up her PADI Open Water Course with instructor Jenny while her partner, Stuart, continued fun diving with guide Jen. After completing her training, both Nina and Stuart decided to embark on their first ever night dive with instructors Komang and Jenny! They were nervous, as to be expected, but they did great and learned some good tips for how to make their next night dive more enjoyable.

Komang and Veronica in Gili Air

This week we were happy to welcome Veronica back to do her PADI Advanced Open Water Course with instructor Komang! She started off with her Deep Dive, followed by acing the Underwater Navigation Dive even with some current making the square pattern a bit more challenging. After that, she joined Komang for her first night dive and she LOVED IT! Veronica’s enthusiasm is contagious and we are so happy to see her flipping through our Fish Identification books to draw pictures in her logbook. The following day she finished the course by completing her Drift and Fish ID dives. Now we are sad to say goodbye to her but we hope she has an awesome time diving in Nusa Lembongan! She’s been here for so long now she feels like part of the family!

Komang and Veronica at Two Fish Divers Gili Air

Matt, from Texas, walked into our dive shop this week as we were about to prepare for a night dive so he joined us on that dive and then out for a couple of days of fun diving around the Gili Islands with our guide, Jen. He was also a pleasure to have around this week, hanging out and enjoying some Lombok coffee with us while we waited for the rain to pass. Matt had just completed his PADI Advanced Open Water Course at Two Fish Divers Nusa Lembongan with instructor Tom!

Jenny and Nina on Gili Air

Some quieter days around the dive centre we continue to spend making small improvements to ensure everything is prepared, organized and comfortable for our divers! Our boat returned to us last week after dry-dock and we can’t wait for you to see the result. If you’d like to join us, fill in the form below and we will get right back to you!

Until next week, happy bubbles from the pygmy seahorses in Gili Air!