Macro challenges and nudibranch fascinations

The main attraction in a dive for most new scuba divers would be to experience the most spectacular marine life around. They want to see the big fellas… the whale sharks, sharks of any type, mantas, turtles and big fishes. Their eyes would light up in wonder and excitement as they come across these big stuffs, the pelagics. Point out a harlequin shrimp, a pygmy seahorse, an ornate ghost pipefish, a hairy squat lobster or a colourful nudibranch and you’d typically get a bored, vapid acknowledgement. Slugs such as nudibranchs were usually panned… *bleah*… just another slow moving slug.

I have to admit though that I was no different. Whilst I’m still interested and fascinated with the big stuff, my diving of late has been focused on macro diving. Perhaps it was the camera and underwater photography, but I doubt it. Seeing the big stuff just seemed less challenging and I just kinda lost interest (sound familiar?) although not much. Macro diving however, offered different challenges. There was less of a need to fight currents, no more endlessly staring into the dark deep blue, hoping the group was quiet enough to not spook the pelagics, no more finning frantically after them as you glimpse a shadow or preserving air as you went as deep and as long as non-decom dives could go and best of all poor visibility doesn’t ruin dives.

With macro diving the focus became perfecting buoyancy and hovering, playing around with the camera and settings, trying to frame the perfect shot without needing to rush and the most interesting of all, finding and seeing them while other divers overlooked them. Finding them in itself offered challenges as it meant that I’d have to learn about the various species and it’s unique habitats and their behaviours.

Living in the part of the world with the top marine biodiversity in the world obviously offered me the best of both worlds. On any dive, I could well be swimming with spectacular pelagics or playing hide (them) and seek (moi) with the smallest of sea creatures.So for now, I’m happy to focus on finding the tiny and beautiful marine life macro diving offers.

As I enter a dive now, it’s no longer simply looking at the marine life as they swim by. With macro diving, it’s truly exploration … hmmm… bubble corals - let’s see if there are any shrimps in town, sponges - wonder if there are any crabs or lobsters around, Crinoids - look inside… sea fans – look very closely… Woohoo… more challenges… the possibilities are endless. So there you have it… I’m into macro diving… because it gives me new challenges. See, I knew I’d figure it out somehow. Not everyone’s into it though… just ask the dive buddy as he frowns behind the mask everytime I stop and hover at a seemingly boring cluster of corals. Having said that, he was impressed with my pygmy seahorse spotting abilities though.

Nudibranchs in particular are my personal favourite. Their fancy colours, flowery gills just seem to… *je ne sais quoi*… do something for me. I guess they fascinate me. *shrug*

Neville Coleman referred to them as the butterflies of the sea. It’s apt, although in truth, they’re molluscs, slugs without shells belonging to the subclass ophistobranch. Nudibranchs have 2 antennae-like rhinophores on its head and external gills or cerata on its back. If I recall reading somewhere, Nudibranchs (nu-dee-branks) derive their name from the greek words nudus and branchus, meaning naked gills… or something like that. Don’t reference me though, I COULD BE WRONG.

I came away from the recent Sipadan trip feeling a little disappointed despite having an awesome macro dive trip. As I reflected on it, I realized it wasn’t the poor visibility or the near absence of the large marine life, but it was because I didn’t spend as much time as I wanted to in finding and seeing nudibranchs that I’d not come across before. I did see quite a few actually, at least 14 different types, of which perhaps 7 were new to me, but on seeing the other group’s photos and realizing that there were at least 4 types of nudibranchs amongst them that I didn’t come across on my dives, I felt a little disappointed. Amazing, but true!

I don’t have a favourite nudi as yet though. The silver tinged rhino and gills of the Chromodoris Willani, the various blue and purple variations of the Hypselodoris Bullocki, fascinating purple spots on a Chromodoris Kunei, the green spots and lines of the Nembrotha Kubaryana, the blue & purple chip cookies of the Phyllidias, the purple and white tipped cerata on the Flabellinas, the flamboyant and exotic moves of the Spanish Dancer... I could go on endlessly. They are all absolutely wonderful and beautiful to me. *grin* yes, yes… I know… geek comes to mind… *sigh*