Aussie Diving November 2012

[bowlofpetunias]

Hey it has been ages since I started on of these threads Finally got a dive in after work!

Spotted a Pygmy Pipehorse

He had a little friend in the background

and a pipefish

It was great to finally get wet again. I am flying for work this weekend so the mid week dive was my only option. Seas look to be high this weekend anyway

 

[bfowles]

Great pics, love the closeup of the pygmy pipehorse.

---------- Post Merged on November 4th, 2012 at 03:49 PM ---------- Previous Post was on November 3rd, 2012 at 10:13 AM ----------

I tried my Subsee +10 diopter for the first time last night with my 60mm macro (I used to use it regularly with my NEX setup). It was fun but very heavy! I think I will be buying a flip diopter holder for the camera, as it is a PITA to screw it on and off all the time.


pipefish-closeup by Byron.Fowles, on Flickr


pipefish-closeup-2 by Byron.Fowles, on Flickr


bobtail-squid by Byron.Fowles, on Flickr

 

[ferris213]

great photos, i like the pygmy pipehorse, and the bobtail squid shot. how big are they fully grown??

i managed to get out for a dive at byron bay last weekend. met up with mantra and his wife finally, and another friend of theirs for a couple of nice dives. the grey nurse sharks are still around, and we saw a few kingfish that were by far the biggest i have ever encountered. all the usual critters were out, some really nice nudis and a mantis shrimp cleaning out his hole.

it was just great to be diving again, however i'm done for at least the next couple of months. with a five week old baby at home and shoulder surgery to recover from, i dont think i will be getting out anytime soon...

 

[kzen]

The weather and water temps are starting to warm up here in Melbourne so the wife and I managed a short dive at Blairgowrie yesterday before getting too cold. Great to get wet again.

Heaps of nudibranchs, especially this guy (Hedgpeth's Polycera):




Lots of the tiny hermit crabs, with this one doing a spot of gardening while passing the time:


It's amazing how much colour there is on the piers.

 

[bfowles]

Thanks ferris213, the bobtail squid can get quite large around 6cm but most are smaller.

kzen great pictures, you should invest in a drysuit it makes the dives a lot more comfortable (that is until you need to go to the toilet ).

I have won first prize for the best sex picture in The UnderWater Festival Underwater Festival | Photos | Winning Photos

 

[bowlofpetunias]

You may find the information on the Sydney Pygmy Pipehorse interesting .. here is a fascinating link about how it got it's scientific name by the person whose name it carries underwater.com.au | Article | The Sydney Pygmy Pipehorse

They are quite small. The orange one in the foreground is an unusual colour! It would have been perhaps an inch from not to tip of tail. The one in the background was much smaller! They are quite tiny.. the filaments on their bodies and faces aren't much bigger than a human hair! The adults are larger than Pygmy Seahorses... largest I have seen would be maybe three times the size of a Pygmy seahorse.. the youngsters no bigger than the Pygmy Seahorse. I think they would have to be my favorite of our local creatures!

 

[kzen]

Thanks bfowles. We're saving up for dry suits. Wetsuits are getting a little old anyway.

You've posted some fantastic shots of the dumpling squids! Whereabouts were they taken?

 

[bfowles]

bowlofpetunias I read that article as well, do you find the pygmy pipehorse all year round?

kzen my drysuit was probably the best bit of dive gear I purchased. It allows me to dive all year round. The dumpling squid are taken at Blairgowrie but you can find them at almost any shore dive site in the bay (Of the sites I dive regularly Blairgowrie and Rye are the best spots to find them). You will need to do a night dive to see them however, I have only ever seen one out during the day.

 

[kzen]

Ahh, that would explain it. We usually do day trips so we haven't managed a night dive yet. Thanks for the tip.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

I just checked and I haven't got pictures of Pygmy Pipehorse in the months of June though October. That isn't to say they aren't around but we do tend to dive a bit less often in those months.

The other issue is that they are extremely hard to find and obviously very delicate. Those of us who locate them are very careful about who we share their location with. I showed one to an instructor who then started poking his dive knife at it to show his dive buddy I grabbed his wrist and indicated that there were 4 others some very tiny. The next time we dived the area was trashed, sponges were torn up and the colony of 5 were no where to be found! Another time a group spotted me taking pictures and came to investigate.. :doh: One floundered down on top of me while I basically protected the colony with my body. If I hadn't taken that precaution the entire colony would likely have been wiped out! That is why we are so protective.

Some people just don't care about the impact of their activities on the creatures!