How does a frogfish eat? 18 January 2010
Posted by cat64fish in Land-lubber.3 comments
The answer: One gulp at a time!
I’ve seen pictures of frogfish yawning before, but not of them eating. I suppose that the suction action is too fast for most photographers to capture. However, I had the luck to encounter a frogfish that bit off more than it could chew, so it took some time for it to swallow.
The series of pictures below say it all:
Head first is best!
Distend the stomach and … gulp!
… and again!
… and again!
Burp! Oh, excuse me, is my tail showing?
Dive log: Lembeh, Dec 2009 18 January 2010
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Resort stayed at: NAD Lembeh Dive Centre and Resort
Airline used: Silkair (Singapore-Manado)
Land travel: Yes (Manado-Bitung)
Boat transfer: Yes (Bitung to Lembeh)
Dec 7 House reef
Dec 8 Batu Sandar 2, Aer Bajo, Pantai Pergiri
Dec 9 Hairball, Nudi Retreat, Runu
Dec 10 Makawide 1, Jahir 2, Tandu Rusa
Dec 11 NAD house reef, Coral Garden, Nudi Falls
There be dragons! 15 January 2010
Posted by cat64fish in Overseas high.Tags: Indonesia, Lembeh, pygmy seadragon
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The Lembeh Seadragon, Kyonemichthys rumengani – tiny, elusive, and the lastest in a long list of unique critters to be found in the small strip of water between Sulawesi and the Island of Lembeh. Discovered by William Tan in 2007, this critter has been seen by very few divers, much less photographed, so we were elated to be able to encounter these rare creatures.
Where could we find these creatures, we asked the guides.
“Oh, there were some at the house reef two months ago, but we haven’t seen them since.”
“Runu. Three months ago, but never see again, but we can try.”
“Maybe Nudi Falls, eh? Other guides found some there.”
So the hunt was on!
First to Runu, just 15 mins away from NAD. One hour later, me almost out of air, Eunice’s camera battery drained of power, the guides finally found one! Our elation was bittersweet – I had enough air to snap a few photos before I had to start absorbing oxygen from the water, and Eunice had no pictures of the critter. But what a critter is was! Looking nothing like a “normal” fish, its physical appearance and behaviour mimicked a sediment-covered strand of mucous perfectly! So much so that we lost sight of the critters each time we swapped positions or moved off slightly.
Lembeh Seadragon at Runu
Not very satisfied with the situation, we decided to try for the house reef.
“… they were seen around two oil drums on the left hand side of the bay, in about 10m of water. If you head out from here and turn left at the start of the reef slope, you will see the drums. Can’t miss (the drums)!”
Armed with this information, we eagerly donned our gear (more groggy from lack of sleep, truth be told) at 6.30am the next day to enter the super-still waters of NAD Lembeh’s house reef. Finding the drums was harder than expected – there was no distinct reef crest; all we had was the depth of the drums. Eventually we found 7 of them – the drums, that is. We scoured every surface of 3 drums before Eunice, who had much better eyesight than me, found one!
We almost fried the little bugger with the amount of photos we took. Even so, we only ended up with a handful of good, sharp photos. Cold, hungry, late for breakfast, but happy, we rushed back to shore for a bite to eat and to prepare for the scheduled morning boat dive.
Lembeh Seadragon at NAD house reef.
And for the grand finale, Nudi Falls – uncertainty turned to elation when the guides found three seadragons here! By this time, I was running on empty, and so was my camera, but I stayed as long as I could just to watch them float around amongst the mucous strands, thinking how great a trip it was .. and that we will be back again!!
Octopus behaviour 17 December 2009
Posted by cat64fish in Tales from the N2 bar.Tags: behaviour, Indonesia, marine life, musings
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Encountered and interesting article in the papers yesterday about an octopus species in Indonesia that uses coconut shells as protection (Octopus builds its own shelter, Straits Times, 16 Dec 2009), and saw other articles on it in the WildSingapore blog.
I was amazed that such behaviour was considered “new”, as this had been observed for a long time down at Lembeh (North Sulawesi). The local dive guides call the octopus the “coconut octopus”, for its rather quaint habit of hiding under coconut shells. I guess, from the reports, that the octopus is actually used to using clam shells, but have turned to the more common and abundant coconut shells that litter many of the dives sites in Lembeh.
I was in Lembeh just last week, and observed and photographed some of the behaviour described in the articles, although I am not sure if it is the same species of octopus.
The octopus almost “stilt-walking”, without the coconut shells in tow, of course.
The octopus trying to use a bottle to hide under – or maybe to bash the photographer harassing it!
I wonder, though, if this is *really* the first indication of invertebrates using tools? What about the humble hermit crab, that uses discarded marine snail shells as protection?
The mighty hermit crab who carries his house where it goes (I bet there is a sink in there too!). This one evens gives anemones a ride!
Or, for that matter, what about the spider crabs (below)?
The original sponge bob!
The “Halimeda algae” crab, also from Lembeh.
The “sea fern hydroid” crab from Rajah Ampat.
Maybe these crabs can also be classified as “new” observations to support the use of tools by invertebrates? I wonder what else we see commonly and take for granted that is new to science, and shed some light onto the way these creatures survive.
There is still so much we do not know!!
Getting A-Weh 2 July 2009
Posted by cat64fish in Overseas high.Tags: Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Pulau Weh, travel
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It was suggested that people might want to know about the actual travel arrangements to get to Pulau Weh, since such information might be a bit hard to come by. I’ve broken the travel bits into sectors for easier reference – our flights were all booked on Air Asia.
Sector 0: Home to Changi Airport
It is important to wake up on time! Our flight to KL was at 9am, so we needed to check in at about 7.30am. We managed to get to the airport at 8am, after battling the heavier-than-expected traffic – something to consider when you need to get to the airport during peak hours.
Sector 1: Singapore to KL
Our flight to KL (transiting at KL Low-Cost Carrier Terminal) was uneventful. Air Asia has an interesting policy on baggage – the ticket cost does not include baggage, and you only buy what you need, and there are provisions for “sporting gear”. Check Air Asia’s website for details.
We have a 3-hour transit at the KL Low-Cost Carrier terminal, which was good, because the KL LCC was quite happening, unlike Singapore’s Budget Terminal. Lots of makan places including the familiar golden M, and the not-so-familiar Old Town White Coffee Cafe. Remember to give yourself time to walk from the check-in counter to the gate … it’s a fair walking distance.
Chocolatey coffee and ice cream on waffles .. yum!
Sector 2: KL to Banda Aceh
The flight from KL to Banda Aceh departed 12nn and was only for 1.5 hours, over some heavily populated areas, but also over nice blue sea (if you like viewing the world from a higher perspective) – I just slept most of the weh .. I mean, way. We touched down at Banda Aceh Airport at 12.30pm local time. The usual (maybe not so usual for Singaporeans) scramble to get on the buses to ferry you to the exit gate, and another scramble through the tiny doorway into the airport proper.
The Banda Aceh airport, with its distinctive golden dome.
Sector 3: Banda Aceh airport to Ferry Terminal
Lots of time to spend before the 4 o’clock ferry – our driver (who also acted as a tour guide) took us to the “usual” tourist spots and we acted like tourists for a few hours. Eunice got hungry and took a chance at the “canteen” next to the ferry terminal.
The Rp67 BILLION Tsunami Museum.
The “ship” (actually a converted barge) that was pushed 5km inland by the tsunami!
Sector 4: Ferry from Banda Aceh to Weh
Fast ferry, looks a lot like the Singapore-Bintan ferries. Owned by a Singaporean, apparently. Comfortable executive class seats, the only downside is the cold cold aircon, and the karaoke video which they played. Same video on the way back.
The fast ferry.
Kara-no-oke?
The slow ferry (this shot was of the ferry leaving Weh for Banda Aceh).
Sector 5: Weh jetty to Lumba-lumba Resort
The only life in the fast lane you will see in Aceh .. the ride from the jetty to the resort is usually 40 mins along a winding mountain road barely wide enough for 2 cars – our driver took 30 mins! We had booked a private kijang for our journey to Lumba-lumba, assuming (and rightly so, we found) that we’d be tired out by the time we got to Weh and didn’t want the hassle of haggling with the local bus operators. The local bus would have been cheaper (about half the cost), but would stop along the way to let people off and would have taken 1 1/2 times as long to complete the journey.
All-in, the journey from Singapore to Weh took 10-12 hours. The way back from Weh to Singapore was basically the opposite of what was described: 7am – depart Lumba Lumba Resort, catch the ferry to Banda Aceh jetty, jetty to airport (there’s even time for another tour, of other interesting sites), Banda Aceh airport to KL LCC, KL LCC to Singapore and home. All in all, another 10-12-hour journey.
See my previous entry for a short write up on the diving, and mermate’s and my flickr accounts for what can be seen.
Pasir Ris-visited 12 June 2009
Posted by cat64fish in Local narcosis.Tags: intertidal walk, Pasir Ris, Singapore
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I finally visited Pasir Ris beach at low tide – I’m not much of a low-tide walker, preferring instead the weightless-ness of scuba diving, but Pasir Ris, for all it being a “developed” park, still held many wonders.
Our organiser for the walk.
The first thing we noticed as we hit the beach was the greenness of the inter-tidal area. Seagrasses mixed with the green alga Ulva were common around the rock bunds. Here and there, as busy as bees, were various snails, worms and hermit crabs, getting on with life, eating (or being eaten), making out or making eggs, and generally trying to run away from the big lumbering behemoths trampling on their turf.
Scattered amongst the green Ulva seaweed, hermit crabs!
Green, green grass of Pasir Ris!
Snails gliding over the green mass of seagrass and weeds.
Even with eight legs, this octopus couldn’t get away from the paparazzi!
The seastars too seemed very active today, although how they co-ordinate so many feet to move so fast, is still beyond me. But I suppose having many legs is better than just two, as we encountered the remnants of the last visitor to these shores.
A “biscuit” seastar looking quite appetising as we were getting hungry!
Residents of the two-legged variety were also out in force, despite the gathering storm clouds, preying on the local shore life. Many a worm or marine snail sur-”combed” these predators.
The approaching storm clouds did not deter the beach combers from scouring the inter-tidal area.
I was surprised by the fairly large amount of rubbish on the shores, comprising mainly plastic bags. One wonders where they came from? No surprise were the fishing lines, which criss-crossed the inter-tidal zone like a spider’s web. What makes fishermen think that their line will not get snagged on rocks or other things when they fish from shore is a bit of a mind-boggler.
Shufen and Kevin providing a reference to the amount of rubbish we saw. Lots of plastic bags.
Cheng Puay trying to gather up loose fishing line that criss-crossed the inter-tidal area like a spider’s web.
Alas, the impeding storm forced us to cut short our visit (along we had been there for almost two and a half hours already), so we made a hasty retreat to Changi Village for a well-earned treat of carrot cake and nasi lemak.
More pictures here.
Weh out there! 1 June 2009
Posted by cat64fish in Overseas high.Tags: Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Pulau Weh
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Our little adventure to Pulau Weh, located off Banda Aceh, at the northern tip of Sumatra, was a big surprise! Despite the two-boat dive limit, the dive guides there were more willing than willing to tough it out with us one-and-half-hour divers, and I must say that even though we didn’t spot as many “critters”, the dive spots were so full of other things to occupy your time that we had a hard time leaving the water!
Batu Tokong was probably my favourite dive site for this trip – upon entering the water, we were greeted with clouds of fish – fairy basslets, red-tooth triggers, sergeant majors, fusiliers … it took our breath away to see the symphony of colour and form before our eyes.
Clouds of fish, especially the anthias, greeted us on almost every dive!
Schooling Collare butterflyfish …. so brilliant!
Even in the depths, reef life thrived, as the rows and rows of seafans spread out, and down, before us to more than 30m. Whip gorgonians were also plentiful and for once, the water was clear enough for me to capture a decent enough image to show how extensive they were.
Seafans, many even larger than this one, were common on the reefs.
Even the house reef, just a hop-skip-step-and jump away from the dive centre, was full of interesting creatures. Staghorn corals were everywhere (as were the urchins), and on the sandy flats in 18m of water, we chanced upon well-camouflaged seamoths and flying gurnards; but we missed the elusive mimic octopus and the “ambon” scorpionfish.
A cloud of cardinalfish covers what I called the “magic” rock.
Urchins aggregating on the sea floor at the house reef.
These two rabbitfish were usually hanging out by the anchor of the guide line that the dive resort used to guide its boats into shore.
Usual creatures roam the house reef, like this eel (not sure if it is a moray or a snake eel).
Some of the sites were not so friendly, however – Panting Penutung and The Canyons (on the western side of the island), for example, were difficult to get to due strong winds and rough seas. Some hearty souls tried for three days to get to Panting Penutung, succeeding on the third try, and rewarded with (besides the seasickness) with the sighting of a hammerhead. At another site, aptly called Arus (strong current in Bahasa), a few of the divers saw a manta.
We learned later, over an iced tea, from Aris, one of the more experienced dive guides, that whale sharks and mantas used to be fairly common before the tsunami, but nowadays, only the mantas have been spotted, and not too many at that.
Our stay was far too short to get a good feel of the dives sites. What we saw of the place was good enough that we are now planning a second trip (hopefully in July) there.
Blue Plan for Singapore – an update 22 May 2009
Posted by cat64fish in Land-lubber.Tags: blue plan, marine conservation, Singapore
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So it seems the draft Blue Plan is finalised, and will be submitted to Minister Yaacob (MEWR) tomorrow (23 may 2009) at the opening of the Envirofest 2009. More on habitatnews. Good show to the drafting committee on getting the plan out in a timely manner!
Blue Plan for Singapore 24 April 2009
Posted by cat64fish in Land-lubber.Tags: blue plan, marine conservation, Singapore
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The latest Blue Plan for Singapore has been released by local marine conservationists. You can read about it at the IYOR 08 Singapore site, and the WildSingapore site.
There’s also a big spread in the Straits Times, on page C10 (sorry, I don’t subscribe to the internet version of the ST), and probably on the other newspapers as well.
Good stuff!!
Earth Day 2009 talk 22 April 2009
Posted by cat64fish in Land-lubber.Tags: events, marine conservation, Singapore, talks
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An old (well he’s old, too, but I meant that I’ve worked with him from a long time ago) collaborator and friend is stopping by Singapore and giving a talk for NParks’ celebration of Earth Day 2009.
Clive (Dr Wilkinson to you), among his many talents, is an internationally recognised coral reef scientist, and Co-ordinator of the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network. His Public Seminar is on “Status of Coral Reefs in Asia and the World: the search for solutions to reef decline.”
The talk will be held on Monday 27th April 2009, from 11am – 12pm, at the Function Hall, Botany Centre (SBG Tanglin Core). For us poor and always-in-need-of-food types, light refreshments will be provided after the seminar too!
Full details can be found here.
