What are your top ten favorite critters to find on a dive?

[scottitheduck]

Did you description go something like this.....

"It was kind of spotted and had big wing like things....."

G

 

[Brandon]

In no particular order, for local dives:

1) Giant Pacific Octopus, especially when they're out of their dens and feeling frisky.
2) Wolf Eels, especially when they're out of their dens.
3) Bering Wolffish - which I've only seen once.
4) Golden dirona nudibranchs.
4) Flabellina nudibranchs, which I find a lot less often.
5) Playful Sea Lions
6) Sailfin Sculpin
7) Grunt Sculpin
7) This tiny rockhead (<1") that is almost always at 15' at one particular dive site.
8) Seals, a lot less common than the sea lions, but awful cute when they pop up behind the kelp.
9) Rock Greenling, because they look like Jerry Garcia painted them.
10) And this time of year, spawning Salmon.

Tough list - I love our local diving and have lots of "favorites". Just came home a few hours ago from a great dive; three wolf eels, six giant pacific octopus, and we found two of the mystery fish I've been trying to get an ID on. I'm pretty sure it's a large wrymouth of some sort. Dive buddy shot some video, will have to see how it turned out!

 

[walrus2]

My 10 year old daughter described it, but yes, it did include wings

 

[knotical]

Anything unusual.
Critters interacting.
Healthy ecosystems.
Non-human mammals.
And oh yeah, sharks.

 

[justleesa]

Dive buddy shot some video, will have to see how it turned out!

Looking forward to seeing that

Did you description go something like this.....

"It was kind of spotted and had big wing like things....."

G

My 10 year old daughter described it, but yes, it did include wings

I’m still looking for a mermaid.

:rofl:

1) Flying Gurnard
2) Spanish Dancer
3) Gold Coins/Jewled Chalice

View attachment 103946

Silly pants

Top ten... I can go top few...

1) Seahorses are my mission...! <---snip---> Are Whales, Mantas, Dolphins, and Sharks considered Critters???

I hear they are seeing more and more here....would be cool to find. In my books, they are critters.

Anything unusual.
Critters interacting.
Healthy ecosystems.
Non-human mammals.
And oh yeah, sharks.

:thumbs-up

 

[Shaka Doug]

1: Seahorse... still looking.
2: Manta Rays.... been scarce lately.
3: Reef Sharks: Also been scarce lately.
4: Octopus: my favorite animal iin the world.
5: Lobster: I like seeing them more than eating them now.
6: Turtles: even after a squizillion encounters on Maui I still get a kick out of seeing them.
7: Eels: becoming scarce too.
8: Saddleback Butterflyfish: I see them in pairs only every once in a while. Beautiful graceful fish.
9: Flying Gurnard: if you've seen one you know what I mean.
10: My Mermaid... she just doesn't have the time to dive enough with me lately... I miss her!

 

[Thalassamania]

Humpback
Nautilus
Tiger Shark
Marlin
Spinners
Turtle
Tuna
Pelagic Jellies
Octopus

 

[justleesa]

Wow Doug! That looks like a lion fish on steroids!
So many things becoming rare? Why do you think that is?

 

[Shaka Doug]

Good question Lisa.

Half Price Sushi night (three nights and two evenings a week here on Maui). Lobster Fest at Red Lobster. All You Can Eat Shrimp at Long John Silvers. Longline Fishing. Shark Finning. The Pacific Trash Vortex. These are things that certainly do not contribute to the decline in local fish. The fish are simply swimming to Mexico because it's cheaper to live there. And the water is saltier. Plus, the Mexican fishermen fish in US waters so the fish are safer there. Look at this article I just read a couple of minutes ago...

Thousands of Sharks Perish in Texas | Care2 Healthy Living

 

[justleesa]

Yeah, saw that on the news the other day....so sad, poor puppies (