by Kat Ramage | Jun 3, 2017 | Kat Ramage Photos, Mucky Pirates Bay
Meet the sand shrimpgoby
One of the joys of diving for me is learning about and trying to photograph behavior. Today’s photos are not really portfolio-worthy, but they show the interesting relationship between the sand shrimpgoby and the shrimp they share a home with.
These two creatures are symbiotic (meaning their interaction benefits both of them). The gobies stand guard while the shrimp plays “housekeeper” to their burrow, continually digging and cleaning out the sand. The Gobies will signal when predators are near. When I got too close, they both dashed back into the hole. The fish came back out first, followed by the shrimp a few moments later, then the housecleaning continued.
Here’s you can see the shrimp doing some housecleaning while the goby is on lookout
Another shot of the pair–all of the floating sand was brought out by the shrimp
Here’s a closeup of the goby’s face–looks like he has a mouth full of sand so I guess he shares in the cleaning chores
by Kat Ramage | Jun 1, 2017 | Kat Ramage Photos, Mucky Pirates Bay
Brethren David wanted to check out the amazing shore dive at Mucky Pirates Bay here in Pemuteran, so we enlisted dive guide Edy to find some unusual macro subjects for our cameras. We were definitely not disappointed.
David–be sure to send us some of YOUR photos to post on the website!
This fangblenny found a home in a discarded piece of PVC pipe
This shy moray eel wouldn’t venture out of his hole
I tried to move in for a close-up of the eye, but he dashed back into his hole in a cloud of sand
This juvenile lionfish was TINY–thanks to Edy for finding this little gem
Lots of pipefish on this dive
by Kat Ramage | May 29, 2017 | Kat Ramage Photos, Mucky Pirates Bay
The resident photo wench did another long shore dive today (138 minutes) at Mucky Pirates Bay with the helpful support pirate crew from Sea Rovers. Although not as productive as yesterday photo-wise (no trusty guide to find critters), I thought I’d post the top 3 shots. Enjoy!
Surprisingly, this little guy let me get close enough for the +10 diopter
Another patient little fish that let me get quite close
A peek under the mantle of a Chromodoris nudibranch
by Kat Ramage | May 28, 2017 | Kat Ramage Photos, Mucky Pirates Bay
The photo wench takes her new camera for her first shore dive at Mucky Pirates Bay
After being sick for most of May, I was excited to take my new camera for my first dive to Mucky Pirates Bay with Abdul from Sea Rovers. We enjoyed a very leisurely 120 minute dive checking out the residents below the pier and out to the moorings. Here is some of what we saw.
Friendly pipefish
You don’t always get to see under the skirt of a nudibranch
This lionfish was too big for my lens, so I got a closeup of his face
I thought Abdul pointed me to a clump of sand until I looked at it with the 10x diopter–a TINY scorpionfish
Who doesn’t love Nemo? There’s a nice anemone with false clownfish at 6-7 meters so it’s a great place for your safety stop
by Kat Ramage | May 8, 2017 | Initiates Into the Brethren, Menjangan Island
Ann poses along the wall at Pos II and gets photo-bombed by brethren John & Gwen
Ann hovers like a pro along the wall at Dreamland in Menjangan
Ann came to Sea Rovers in NW Bali after getting her Open Water certification a few years ago. Since she didn’t have any diving experience beyond her OW class, she did a refresher course with instructor Wayan in Mucky Pirates Bay before continuing with her 3-day dive package that included diving in both Pemuteran Bay and Menjangan. As you can see from the photos, her improved buoyancy skills allowed her to really enjoy the impressive wall dives at Dreamland and Pos II in Menjangan. Hope you will back to see us again soon, Ann, now that you are officially one of the Sea Rovers Brethren.