- Eels
Most eels stay hidden during the day but come out at night to hunt for food. When diving at night you may see one slithering along to bottom, on the lookout for prey.
- Lobsters
While I definitely was able to see some lobsters during the day time, I saw so many more at night time. Lobsters are nocturnal and will come out of their hiding spots during the night.
- Octopus
While diving tonight I really wanted to see an octopus, however, I didn't but another lady in the other group was able to see one. It's usually common to see one sitting on the bottom while diving at night.
- Nurse sharks
When we first got in the water we saw a big nurse shark swimming right past us which was really cool. We saw a lot of others during the day dives, however most were sleeping under ledges then. Sharks often hunt at night so that is why we were able to see one swimming around.
- Parrotfish
Parrotfish will build up mucus cocoons around themselves, protecting them while they sleep. I didn't see this while I was down there but it sounds really cool. Click here to see how and why.
- Corals
So we saw corals as we were diving along the the reef during the day, however corals often appear very different at night. Their polyps bloom exposing their feeding tentacles and show a bit more color.
- Phosphorescent plankton
One of the thing I found so cool on the dive was the bioluminescence you can see when you wave yours arms around. These little lights are coming from little plankton which will emit their own light when disturbed. It looked like little stars in the ocean. Check out this website to see why the plankton glow.
This was a super interesting read and I liked reading what you saw since I was snorkeling! I also didn't know that about the bioluminescence.
ReplyDeleteHi Amber,
ReplyDeleteThe night diving really was amazing, even though it was a little nerve wracking at first. Finding the nurse shark as soon as we descended was so exciting, I was so happy because you know that it will be a good dive when it starts off with excitement like that. Seeing all of the different corals in the dark instead of the light can really give a new perspective, and while I really could not see the bioluminescence very well the little bit I did see was exciting. I really loved night diving and am hoping to do it again one day soon.
I agree as a snorkeler the darkness was eerie, I only saw movement from the surface. I couldn't make out any species of fish.
DeleteThe night dive was the part of the trip I looked forward to the most at the start of the trip, and it did not disappoint. I am glad you wrote this post since it explained some of the things I saw. I had no idea that what I was looking at was parrotfish mucus, but I got to see it, and now that I understand, it makes things that much cooler. I hope to go diving at night again in the future to seek out the things I missed this time around.
ReplyDeleteAs a snorkeler I wasn't able to see all this stuff from the surface during the night dive, but what I found interesting is how far I could see down with just the ambient light from the moon and stars. I tried using the flashlight but I found it just ruined my night vision and couldn't see as good after.
ReplyDelete