On a recent Blackwater Nightdive i took this photo of a Juvenile Sole. Even though juvenile Soles are not uncommon in Lembeh Strait this is the first one i’ve ever seen free swimming in the the water column. This is particularly interesting as these juvenile Soles are often stated to be imitating Flatworms. Kind of obvious as they…
On a recent Blackwater Nightdive I was lucky enough to witness a Shrimp Larvae shedding its skin. During our Blackwater Nightdives we attract weird planktonic creatures with strong lights and get to see various juvenile fishes, squids, octopi, worms and a lot of strange crustaceans. This shrimp caught my eye and at first I thought it…
The Denise Pygmy Seahorse (Hippocampus denise) is one of the several Pygmy Seahorses to be seen in Lembeh Strait. Like its bigger cousin – the Bargibanti Pygmy Seahorse – it lives in Seafans. But this species is not restricted to one type of seafan. It can be found it different types of seafans AND in…
One of the lesser known and more rarely seen families of fishes are the bandfish. These elongated, snaky looking creatures are relatively big and usually found quite deep – down to about 500m. But some species of bandfish can be found in shallower areas. For example the Yellow-Spotted Bandfish (Acanthocepola abreviata) which we see on some spots here…
The year is about to come to an end and – like last year – i want to post an album with my favourite moments, critters and photos of the last 12 months. The one big thing to mention about Lembeh 2015 is the extremely good high season we had. The cold water period started early…
The INON LF800-N is a torch that interested me since it first was released. The LF800-N is a special interest torch and has a very narrow 5° beam that creates a spotlight like effect. This can be ideal as a search or night dive light – or used in photography or videography. Now i finally got around to buy…
We had some really good summer months in Lembeh Strait. From a critter lover’s point of view that is equal to colder water temperatures. From July until middle of October the temperature was around 25-26° C. This means, that you’ll need a thicker wetsuit and also a hood and/or a vest. But in return you will see more…
On a Night Dive last week i stumbled over this very interesting fish: The Ghost Velvetfish (Cocotropus larvatus). As the name might suggest, the Ghost Velvetfish is a member of the family of Velvetfishes, which are closely related to the Scorpionfishes. But while we mostly see the Sulu Velvetfish (Paraploactis obbesi) and the Spinyskin Velvetfish…
Lembeh is addictive. Our return guest Andrea clearly can confirm that – because she keeps coming back here every year. This trip she could even celebrate three round numbers: 555 dives in total, 150 dives in Lembeh Strait and this morning her 100th dive with Paulus as her Dive Guide. On all her trips to…
Lembeh is never boring. There is always something to see and the abundance of critters is absolutely stunning. But it is for sure a very special moment when you see something, that you have never seen before. Like the Braun’s Pughead Pipefish (Bulbonaricus brauni), which I have been looking for since a long time. This week i finally managed to…