30
June
2008
Our next dive is on 27 July!
For reservations and enquiries, contact us by email only*. RSVP with the following:
1. Your name,
2. IC/Passport number,
3. Your email address,
4. Your handphone number, and
5. Equipment required^ including weights
*Phone calls and text messages will not be entertained
^Please list size of BCD and wetsuit in S,M,L and shoe size for fins
Join the The Hantu Bloggers Yahoo Group to read the trip itinerary, and to be informed of future dives.
Posted: Notices, Blog Dives
25
May
2008
Despite the days of rain and even the morning shower, we had uber fantastic weather and an appropriately comfortable day of average visibility diving. Storm clouds rolled in during the later part of the day but swept across Pulau Senang and left us rain free though it did bring the vis down deep a little lower. But of course, we still had an incredible day diving.
Though common on the reef, flabellinas continue to thrill divers with their electrifying colours. The reefs around Pulau Hantu are well known for their nudibranch diversity. Today, a new species was photographed by one of our diver guides Marcel den Herder. Once I get my fins on it, I’ll be sure to post it right here so you gawk at it. Star tuned.
Not usually easy to photograph are these tinsy tiny gobies. The sand coloured fish are extremely skittish and sometimes can be found sharing a burrow with a blind shrimp. Oddly enough, this one seemed stoned and unfazed by my presence so I had to reward it by posting it’s picture online for all to see. There are several species of gobies found in and around Hantu island. Not all have been documented. They can be found living in coral, the reef and the sand or rock crevices. Gobies are possibly the most species diverse fish in the ocean, only the diversity of wrasses comes close.
Seagrass filefish or Leatherjackets are generally calm and easy to photograph especially when they are busy feeding. They are capable of manipulating their pigment cells and can almost disappear into the water. You’d have to see it to believe it. When they are calm like this individual is, their patterns, either in the form of spots, stripes or even “hairy” appendage, can be seen. They are also known to be curious and can follow divers for several minutes!
In recent months, these tiny acoel flatworms have been seen to be encroaching upon all species of coral including the free living mushroom coral. These worms don’t parasite on the coral but can cause it damage by blocking out the sunlight the coral needs to produce foods. I’m keen to learn if anyone might know about what allows these worms to flourish and what are the effects if any of their presence on the reef. Please email me if you have any comments about this. Apart from these flatworms, over the past 2 months we’ve observed a significant increase in the presence of jellyfish. At least 3 species of jellyfish seem to be a part of this seemingly sudden population explosion. Jellyfish move with the currents and they also seem to favour warmer waters. What could be the reason for their abrupt influx? A sudden number of jellyfish has also been reported in Malaysian waters on the South China Sea.
Today was also a last dive for some of the Blog’s fave volounteers Ming Sheng and Marco. After helping Singapore raise the awareness of local marine fauna through the Blog as well as through their own efforts with various volunteer organisations such as Reef Check, Reef Friends, Reef Xplore and Blue Water Volunteers, the 2 are off to various parts of the world to continue their work in an effort to give Mother Nature a break. The Blog applauds the commitment of its volunteers and recognises their invaluable efforts in awareness building, education, leadership and citizenry. By the way, neither Ming Sheng nor Marcel are Singaporean. What gifts they are to the global volunteer network!
Posted: Blogs, Blog Dives
1
May
2008
Sorry this has taken awhile! Our server was out of sorts for a bit and we’ve had to sort it out. Nonetheless, here it is at last - evidence of a superb dive at Hantu with old friends and new! (Above: Bullocki nudibranch)
As much as Hantu’s infamous visibility can hinder a divers comfort, a day of good visibility is a cause for celebration! And we don’t mean pop the bubbly, we mean spot as many critters can you can and take all the wide angles you never thought possible! This Sunday’s clear waters has been a long time coming because experience tells us that the water tends to clear up after the monsoons. But as we’re all aware, patterns in the weather have been going out of wack lately. Apart from the water being a welcome reprieve from the annoying heat we’ve been experiencing lately, it was also a tricky place to be with one of the largest jellyfish blooms we’ve ever known in 5 years! 3 divers including myself brought home a little souvenir from a brainless friend (read: jellyfish), and we’re still carrying the marks of the heated exchange 4 days later! (Above: detail of seafan)
The saying goes “there ain’t so such thing as a free lunch” so I suppose good vis and slack waters was perhaps too good to be true? In all honesty, it’s a bit of a concern the reason behind the jellyfish bloom. An excess of freshwater or higher temperatures lead to jellyfish blooms, but were these the factors that brought about a sea littered with jellyfish this weekend? Was the effluence from surrounding industries a cause? The cooling pipes in Bukom refinery have been known to be clogged with jellyfish in the past and reversing the flow of the pump was necessary to discharge the clogged jellyfish. Did something similar happen this time? Or are we looking at something larger than the immediate environment? Is it something regional? El Nino? A friend out in the northern waters of Singapore also reported a jellyfish bloom. So what’s going on? (Above: A diver photographs a nudibranch)
Because of the current works going on in Bukom with large ferries moving people too and fro the island, diving around the Hantu’s north channel seems to be disallowed. But we didn’t fret - taking advantage of the excuse to check out new diving sites that turned out to be as promising and from a whole different perspective! That said, we love diving the north channel because there’ve been some amazing things we’ve seen there like reticulated puffers, blotched sea cucumbers, the mesmerising giant hydriods with their tiny nudibranch inhabitants. Not to mention the seahorses, seasnakes and schools of rabbitfish and barracuda that see seem to encounter there and no where else. Hopefully we’d get to dive there again soon without any hassle. Every reef surrounding Hantu is precious. (Above: Damsel in carafe)
I was reminded of ReefXplore instructor Jani when I encountered this maroon-coloured crinoid. Jani used to love photographing these guys. Especially if they were red as that was her favourite colour… Check out her fantastic albeit backdated Blog on her research in Singapore waters!
Especially because we g diving in the north channel a miss this month, it’d be really good to revisit it in May or the following months to check out how things are getting on over there. I was particularly stressed that we might not be able to spot any seahorses this weekend because we didn’t dive the usual spots and were not sure where to find them, but… find them we did!
And I suppose it was good to be pushed to check out other sites, find new stuff and identify new spots to find some of our favourite critters! Check out more pix form this weekend’s dive at our Gallery, or swing by the following blogs and weblogs to read more accounts from Sunday’s dive!
Samson’s Manta’s World of Nature’s Goodies
HB’s Memories
Chay Hoon’s Colourful Clouds
Posted: Blogs, Blog Dives
27
April
2008
I’m sure some of you who couldn’t make it for this dive have been wondering how much you’ve missed. The consolation is that you didn’t miss the coral spawning, but you still missed on some truly incredible night diving! (Above: Anemone with ascidians)
Marine biologist Jeffery Low was the unofficial scientific officer for this dive, which was also advised by Karrene Tun, another biologist who recommended the day for our dive. Karrene had been monitoring the development of egg sacs within the coral in specific sites in Singapore, and will be conducting certain experiments to better understand the reproduction of corals and the environmental factors that threaten or support them. (Above: Sleeping fish)
We set up 4 transects along the fringing reef and assigned a pair of buddies to work along each 20m transect. The point of the transect was simply to avoid double counting any corals that had spawned. So each buddy hung out and of course they didn’t just twiddle their thumbs as they indefinitely waited for the corals to spawn! With some of the most advanced spotters the Blog has ever encountered, camera flashes were ablaze across the reef as some of the most minute to some of the truly largest creatures on the reef were being photographed and observed! (Above: Octopus)
The night began with our encounter with Betsy the large hawksbill turtle as I posted yesterday. She truly is a large one and this time we weren’t just guessing! Because she was lying right next to the transect tape we were literally able to measure her up! From head to base of carapace, she measured about a meter! Her shell was covered with algae and freckled with barnacles. I’m blown away just thinking about how old she might be and the changes she must’ve witnessed and experienced as a turtle living in Singapore. Did she get a chance to mate? Did she ever return to shore to lay her eggs? I wonder, I wonder… (Above: [top row] Coral crab, shrimp, swimmer crab, eight-banded butterflyfish, flatworms [bottom row] box crab, swimmer crab, decorator crab, ‘closed’ crinoid, ‘open’ crinoid)
Some things you don’t have to wonder about though, is the myriad of macro (and mega) fauna that dotted every bit of reef, which certainly bursts into a spectacle of life at night. I’ll let the following images of shrimps, crabs, tiny fish, and some amaturish videos, do the talking. The only other largish animal I encountered on the reef was the blue spotted fan tail ray, which I was too absorbed watching that I at first forgot but later decided not to document (sorry!). To understand what it’s like, perhaps you’ll have to let yourself experience it first hand… (Above: Acopora goby)
A rare find: Divers are more used to finding this Imperial shrimp riding on the backs of the Spanish dancer nudibranch. Here is finds safety in an Acopora coral.
A young Yellow-finned angelfish tries to remain safe from predators by hiding deep within this coral, but safety doesn’t come easy on the reef. Several predators look for food by creeping within the corals as well.
Posted: Blogs, Blog Dives, Videos
27
April
2008
Wow! So much has happened this week! From the dive on Thursday in an attempt to catch this years coral spawning, to the talk on Saturday at the Botanical Gardens, now I’m getting ready for tomorrow’s dive! Phew! But one thing at a time! Here’s a taste of what our Earth Day night dive at Hantu on Thursday was like. Stay tuned for more pix and a more indepth post! Meet Betsy - the ginormous resident hawksbill turtle at Hantu. Inevitably she was disturbed in her sleep when we took this video, so please enjoy it as bast as you can! Move videos to be uploaded soon!
Posted: Blogs, Blog Dives, Videos
21
April
2008
This year’s mass coral spawning in Singapore is estimated to fall over the next few days, from 23 - 25 April, 2008. As this period falls over Earth Day week, we’re making this dive a part of our Earth Day 2008 activities!
If you’d like to join us for this dive, you have at least be an advanced open water diver or its equivalent. You are required to have a camera and your own slate. Divers will be paired up and required to survey a designated zone around Hantu Island. Details of the spawning (should it happen! there’s no guarantee!) such as the time, depth, species, and it’s location should be recorded. This data will be collated with surveys being done in other areas of Singapore, and will help scientists in understanding the factors that influence coral reproduction in Singapore and the nearby regions.
Time: 1800 - 2200 hrs
Venue: Pasir Panjang Ferry Terminal
Cost: $95.00
Registration for this dive has closed.
Posted: Notices, News, Blog Dives
25
March
2008
Good things come in small packages, like allied cowries, porcelain crabs, decorator crabs, and whip gobies. We waited an entire year for this day - the one day in each year we insanely decide to spend 12 hours out at sea diving 4 dives including a thrilling night dive for the sake of showcasing Hantu’s wildlife and it’s potential for bringing diversity, pleasure, and inspiration into the lives of locals and those who visit our country.
This March we commemorate 4 years of diving and blogging. Through the years we’ve managed to miraculously organise 56 dives to Hantu (excluding your research and training dives!) and led almost 500 members of the public into Hantu waters! It really has been super, and when I first started blogging one plain day 4 years ago, I really had no idea something like this was in store - ReefXplore! and a team of volunteers! Who’d have thought? The Hantu Blog’s dive trips, and the very blog itself, would not have been sustained without the priceless commitment of our volunteers in teaching others about Hantu’s marine life! A massive thank you to all those who’ve dived wit us through the years. This Blog and our dives can’t exist without you!
If you already saw our post with the video logs, you’d know that we had an outstanding dive last weekend around Hantu. Here’s the evidence…
I saw a total of 3 seahorses at 2 sites. One of our volunteers saw another one during the night dive, making the total at least 4 seahorses across 3 sites!
There were heaps of nudibranches out today. Particularly the Gymnodoris. This one here’s laying a ribbon of pretty pink eggs.
This fella here with the big ugly mug might very well have bagged the prize for the best find this weekend. It’s not a sponge, not a cluster of ascidians… It’s in fact, a very privileged find - a frogfish! Divers were shrieking under their regulators in excitement, attempting to clap their hands and giving high fives underwater when this critter was spotted!
The coral polyps were also out in full force!
This was an interesting find: A shark’s eggs case, with a developing pup inside nonetheless!
These Blue spotted fan tailed rays are extremely shy and never fail to humour me. They kind of suffer from the ostrich syndrome, thinking what they can’t see can’t see them either. These rays are most frequently detected because they have their faces wedged into some coral crevice whilst their tails are left extended out in the open! Perhaps their tails have nothing to fear because they are so deathly barbed, but still! Anyway, they are always fantastic to photograph because their blue spots turn out brilliant in pictures.
Here’s something else we haven’t seen in awhile. The above picture taken by volunteer guide, Marcel, is of a carpet eel blenny. These animals are usually shy and dart away into sandy burrows or crevices in the reef as soon as they’re spotted. But this individual seemed to enjoy the limelight. Allowing a good number of shots to be taken as it crept along the reef.
Marcel being one of the 1st to descend for the 2nd dive managed to grab this surreal picture of a school of silver moonies. In a later photograph, the moonies are joined by a few Long finned batfish.
Another photo from Marcel, a Ceratosoma nudibranch.
This is just a tinsy sample of some of the things we saw during the Anniversary dive. If it’s not enough to make you jealous, you can visit our gallery. Prepared to be blown away!
Some other creatures we saw but didn’t manage to get photos of included Octopus, Sweetlips, Sea Bass, Groupers, Swatooth shrimp, and a Turtle!
Posted: Blogs, Blog Dives
25
March
2008
In case you haven’t already heard, the Hantu Blog’s 4th Anniversary celebrations on the island and it’s reef was uber fantastic! Everyone was nervous about the outcome, what more with the relentless rain we’ve been having for the past week! Dark clouds made the morning appear ominous but as we entered the early afternoon, things started to look a bit brighter. As we entered the water, things also turned out a lot CLEARER than we’d expected!
Yes, Hantu waters (or local waters for that matter) are infamous for their visibility (or lack of). But there’s also a saying that runs “the most difficult paths lead to the most beautiful views”. I’m sorry, but this particular post is for me to brag (not often do I get to do that!) about the great escape 8 divers, 3 volunteers and myself made to our southern island ocean this past weekend. It was like a dream - the water, weather, company and conditions were perfect. We couldn’t have asked for more. Even for some of Hantu’s most seasoned divers, this the 4th anniversary marked one of the best times we’ve had discovering, documenting, and PLAYING in our waters.
Here’s a prelude to the photo blog that will be coming up soon. Enjoy these videos!
Not every crinoid is this expressive. I know we recently posted a video of a larger one swimming quite bombastically though the water, but this was seemed to have a mission - to boldly go where no crinoid has gone before! We got a little worried as it seemed to ascend way above the reef and towards the surface! We hoped it eventually found its way back to the safety of the reef!
Batfish meets Jellyfish: I was playing around with this jellyfish at first, taking some pictures and sorts, when I just started to shoot a video of it, I was startled by a largish figure that entered into my frame (as can be told by the sudden jolt during the shoot). It turned out to be a young Longfinned batfish. These are absolutely gorgeous fish. Some of them can be quite curious and follow divers along the reef. It was nice to bump into one. Or have one bump into me rather!
Map puffer fish: It’s been awhile since I ran into one of these great massive puffer fish. They like to take it easy during the day, hanging out on the seabed, watching the world go by. Like veterans on the reef, they probably sit there pondering why the rabbitfish bother to swim about so much. “What’s all the rush about?”
Posted: Blog Dives, Videos
19
February
2008
If you read our Blog Log last month, you might’ve gasped at the report of us having to “dodge the currents” because they were so strong. Well, this time around, we weren’t quite so lucky as to be able to dodge them! The currents created little whirl pools on the waters surface, giving divers a good Sunday morning workout trying to beat the current! But it all ended well, with the spectacle that is Hantu shining through despite the less than favourable water conditions! “At least the weather was good!” we all consoled ourselves! And the 27 degC waters (water temperatures have been observed to drop during the turn on the monsoon seasons) left all of us nicely chilled despite the intense sunshine. This post features pictures taken both by myself and long-time, super experienced, critter hunter, reef walker, and Hantu diver, Chay Hoon!
We had quite a cosmopolitan weekend with divers joining us from origins of France, Australia, and Indonesia. Beneath the waters surface, life was as if not even more diverse! Flabellina’s were out in full force! With large ones and even tiny ones braving the currents as they creep along the reefs in search of a mate or a meal!
As we stuck really close to the reef, there were somethings that we kept ourselves well aware of (and away from)! Such as the stinging menace that hydriods are. Like corals, hydriods are a colony of animals living together. They are from the family cnidaria. Although they are infamous for the wave after wave of pain the can incur for the careless diver, they are actually very pretty animals. They occur in an array of colours from white and yellow, to red and black, resembling a feather of a bird or a frond of a fern.
Other details that we caught notice of were the intricate patterns of corals such as this Diploastrea and the tentacles of a palm-sized mushroom coral. The latter is a free living coral, capable of moving itself across the reef. Hantu Blog reefguide Mingsheng enlightened me once that mushroom corals achieve this by infusing themselves with waters, making themselves less dense. Doing this allows them to “float” and skim across the reef. This trait is possibly one of the reasons why mushroom corals are so hardy, being able to relocate themselves to greener pastures when the going gets tough! They also have the largest coral polyp amongst all corals, and unlike other corals, do not live in colonies but occur singly.
Here’s a look at a truly LARGE Serpent coral colony. This one has a diameter that is about twice my height! Incredible if you wonder how old it possibly is, considering these animals grow so slowly. The curves and edges of the coral as it grows is reminiscent of cloud forms in period Chinese and Japanese art!
Recruits! This round bubble coral colony is one of the many tiny colonies of corals we saw today, that may one day grow to be as large as the resilient serpent coral colony!
Then there are the sponges, which when they get to a good size can be very intriguing to look at. This is a pink variation of Spiky Sponge. Sponges consist of a mass of cells supported by fibres or by spicules made of silica. The polyps are known to be able to recolonise if separated by squeezing them through a wire mesh and contained in a fixed body of water.
There were also plenty of swimmer crabs!
And Chay Hoon’s favourite - nudibranchs! She even added a new one to her record today! A new record for Chay Hoon is a new record for all of us!
And of course, everyones perennial favourite - the seahorse. We love our seahorses. They are ambassadors of Hantu’s reef, and represent the elusive, exotic and enticing nature of our reef and all the fauna that is contained within it! You haven’t quite visited Hantu if you haven’t met one of our seahorses!
For more pictures from the dive, check out the Hantu Blog Gallery!
Posted: Blogs, Blog Dives
1
February
2008
What an exciting dive it was last weekend! Now we’re really motivated to do more diving this year! Sure you saw of our photos from the last post, but there’s nothing quite like watching the animals and our divers in the ACTION of exploring and discovering new things in Hantu’s reefs!
Here’s an tinsy tiny flatworm that Pei Wen spotted whilst we were shielding from the monstrous current out in deeper water. Boy! Was she eagle eyed! Imagine how treacherous it must be for a tiny fella like that to be surviving in the rough habitat of the reef. With all the hungry fish darting about, does it have some sort of secret weapon?
And here we go creeping into the eerie and claustrophobic thicket of the sargassum “forest”. Even though we call it “seaweed” sargassum is really a kind oflarge brown algae. I wouldn’t have ventured in if not for the enthusiasm of my divers! It’s amazing how even though the area of the reef is relatively small compared to some greater reefs out there, there still so many different ways to dive it, so many things to explore, and a ton of things to discover!
Here we have the famous Tomato Clown anemonefish, one of 3 species of anemonefish that can be found in Hantu waters. As you can see, these fish are very shy, always trying to dodge the camera, into the safety of their anemone. Other types of anemonefish found around Hantu include the Flase Clown and the other being the Saddleback. The latter is a truly rare encounter!
Finally here’s taking a peek at what it’s like to cruise along the reef flats of Hantu with confidence! Sibling Wen Loong (who gave the “v” sign) and Pei Wen were amongst the most enthusiastic divers I’ve ever led!If you’re inspired to join us next month, drop us an email with your details!
Posted: Blogs, Blog Dives, Videos
