7 Things to See Night Diving in the Keys

7 Things to See Night Diving in the Keys

Erika Schoeneberg

Tavernier, Fl

June 11th, 2017

You might be a certified diver, snorkeler or swimmer.  If not already SCUBA dive certified, look into it before taking a trip to the Florida Keys.  While diving during the day you will see many colorful fish, corals, and underwater surprises.  Night diving you will see many of the same species, but keep an eye out for these additional nighttime eye-openers.

1. Your Partner

Whenever a diver enters the water they should always have a buddy!  Night diving is an especially important time to make sure you and your buddy are able to communicate effectively.  It will be dark and while you may have a dive light, it is still easy to lose track of one another!

2. Squirrelfish

Squirrelfish can be best seen at night since they are nocturnal carnivorous feeders. They are bright red in color and have very large eyes.  They have sharp spines on their back that may secrete a poison to ward off predators.  Squirrelfish are also capable of producing a grunting sound which is heard much more often at night.

3. Cardinalfish

Cardinalfish come out at night when there is less competition so that they do not have to worry about protecting their territory.  They have large eyes and a large mouth to help them eat plankton that are out at night.  They are usually a pink or red color which make them easy to spot in the dark.  There are a few types of them including the flame cardinalfish, and the belted cardinalfish.

4. Large sleeping animals

While peeking under the corals, do not be alarmed if a nurse shark tail is sticking out.  The nurse sharks take cover for the night and go to sleep so try not to shine a light in their face!  Green sea turtles will also bunker down close under a reef for the night as well.  Allow them to get their beauty sleep so they can wake up feeling refreshed instead of annoyed by weirdos with bubbles leaking from them

5. Coral tentacles

At night corals extend their polyps so that they can eat.  When darkness comes over the reef, plankton begin to rise up into the water.  The little coral tentacles consume the plankton as a major source of food.  Since there is no light, the coral cannot photosynthesize so it has nothing better to do than eat plankton all night long.  

6. Bioluminescence

At some point in the dive when it is very dark make your way to the bottom of the waterway and have a seat.  Turn out your lights and take in the darkness.  Next, wave your hands around in the water in front of our face.  A small blue illumination of water should occur.  These are tiny stimulated plankton glowing just for you!

7. The stars

When you get back on the boat after an amazing night out on the reef do one simple thing- look up.  Ocean dives are especially an amazing place to experience the night sky.  Turning off unnecessary boat lights will make the sky seem bigger and the stars seem closer than ever.

So next time you get a chance to hop in the water, remember to look for these 7 night dive essentials!  To book a night dive sign up with a friendly crew here at http://captainslate.com/

For more information about diving at night check out this article from SCUBA diving magazine: http://www.scubadiving.com/article/other/night-diving-made-easy

#nightdiving #SCUBA #keysadventure