Amazing Critters on a Bunaken Night Dive…
We see some amazing critters at Two Fish Divers, especially on a night dive, like this sleepy scorpionfish spotted on a Bunaken night dive. Mike Toupin found the subject in the photo above and got this great shot when he was diving with dive guide Geraldo last week.
Scorpionfish (Scorpaenidae) have a type of “sting” in the form of sharp spines coated in venomous mucus and can be deadly to humans. Predominantly bottom dwellers they mostly eat crustaceans and smaller fish and they like to wait in disguise for their unsuspecting prey to pass by before attacking. Scorpionfish are suction feeders that capture prey by rapidly projecting a suction field around their mouth to snare anything unlucky enough to get too close.
On other night dives this week we have been lucky enough to see not just scorpionfish but other critters too. Martino did a Bunaken night dive as part of his PADI Advanced Open Water course this week and saw lots of arrow crabs, hingebeak shrimp and banded boxer shrimp, while only last night, Isabelle and Valerie enjoyed the basket stars and bobtail squid with Rian and Irwan. On most night dives we also see the sparkling of bioluminescence in the wake of our fins as we explore the reef. If you have never seen it before it is quite magical and you must add a Bunaken night dive to your bucket list!
Divemaster trainee Maria left us this week but her and Sophie have been getting stuck in with their training here at Two Fish Bunaken. With pool sessions, PADI courses to assist, fun diving and oxygen administration training, the skills needed to be a Divemaster take a while to learn and lots of practice to master but the progress you see in just one or two weeks is inspiring. Well done so far Maria, enjoy your second location, Two Fish South Lombok, and we look forward to reading a blog about Bunaken from your point of view.
Edward, Sophie and Maalya from France have spent the week diving and snorkeling with us and Pierre brought his wife Manon and 2 children, Jules and Evie, to refresh and learn how to dive. Last week we had Caroline diving with her partner and 2 kids, and we also had Mathieu, wife and 2 kids here for a few days. Scuba diving really is a family activity and it’s great to have parents and children diving together and enjoying the wonders of the underwater world. Well done to Evie and Jules for completing the PADI Open Water Diver course, it was great fun teaching you and now you can join your parents underwater! Congratulations to Melina for also completing the OWC and joining your sister, Emilia as an underwater explorer.
Are you interested in spotting some of the amazing marine life found in Bunaken and joining us for a Bunaken night dive? For more information or to make a reservation for fun diving or taking a PADI Course or professional internship, fill in the form below and we will get right back to you.
We look forward to diving in Bunaken with you soon!
Photo: Mike Toupin
