Aussie diving 25 - 30 September 2008

[almitywife]

:blinking: I saw 3 PJ's and about 4 PJ eggs. Heaps of Nudis of all types. I find there is a lot of colour on the eastern side but not as much fishlife as the western. Where was the Red Indian? hmmmm if Fish gets a drysuit can I get one too????

Red indian fish was about 16mtrs in the sponge gardens... after the ledges that the yellow sea horse lives in occasionally

he was a real purty one too... wished hubby had a camera as he would have been the nicest red fish ive seen, nice colour and markings

 

[bowlofpetunias]

We have to sus things out for Sas when she comes over! Better start checking the known sites for golden crested weedfish and those pipefish .....:blinking:

I posted my dive shots in the September diving thread

 

[Sas]

We have to sus things out for Sas when she comes over! Better start checking the known sites for golden crested weedfish and those pipefish .....:blinking:

YaY! I have only seen two pipefish before, one in Sydney and one in Melb - so hard to spot! PJs also sound great I haven't seen one for a while as I have been doing a lot of shore diving over boat diving and they all seem to hang out a bit deeper.

 

[almitywife]

pipefish or pipehourse??? the pipehorse is very small, the size of your fingernail but if you find one, the partner is usually not too far away

i reckon they are seasonal as ive only seen them in Jan to April

 

[Tassie_Rohan]

Wow - thats a great photo! you must have the eyes of a hawk to spot one..

 

[Sas]

Oh I have never seen a pipehorse! I was referring to pipefish Not sure if we have those little critters in Melb...

 

[almitywife]

they cheeky little buggers.. you gotta look over the rocks into the growth they hold on to and they blend in really well. you watch.. when the current takes the growth one way, these buggers are fighting the current to move the opposite direction

ive only found them a few times, usually its this method plus i move my light over them and you can get a reflection off their eyes

they only studied and named in the past 5 or 10yrs and they are tiny. Petunia found them last time and one of the pair was white

they are not easy to find!

 

[almitywife]

Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri
Sydney's pygmy pipehorse

underwater.com.au | image | Pygmy Pipehorse (<em>Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri</em>)
A rare Pygmy Pipehorse (Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri). Looks similar to the Seahorse Family except for the little antenna's.They are about 30mm in length hard to find and not to mention to photograph! You have to wait for the current to position their tiny little body's there so delicate. Taken at Bare Island, Sydney, Australia with a Sony DSC T3 with Marine Housing. Exact location is a secret!!
Photocomp November '5 - Novice

 

[Tassie_Rohan]

Are they also found in Victoria?

I've never heard of one in tas - but if they have only been identified in the last 10 years there could be a few down south waiting to be found

(Although swimming bass strait when you're that small would be an truly epic journey...)

 

[Sas]

I can only find references to them being in Sydney "Southwestern Pacific: known from the Sydney region (Clovelly, Cronulla and Botany Bay) and Jervis Bay. "

http://www.fishbase.org/summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=62171