March really has been the month of rare sightings!

In Bodu Hithi we have spotted a pair of Halimeda ghost pipe fish at Shark point in about 12 meters depth of water. Usually they are hovering next to their matching host, perfectly camouflaged but in our case they are on the top reef at the base of a coral block that fortunately stands out, making it easy for us to find back to them. The Jalimeda ghost pipe fish is the smallest of the family of ghost pipe fishes with a maximum length of 5cm. They are characterized by their hard body plates and tubular snouts, similar to the closely related seahorses. Ghost pipe fishes are often seasonal visitors settling for a few months and then moving on.

Further we have seen a green leaf fish in Rasfari Beyru. It has about 10cm in length and sits in the corals at a depth of 19-20 meters, depending on the tide. Unfortunately it is not really territorial so sometimes not easy to track down. The leaf fish is a very elusive creature with an outstanding disguising ability. It blends into its surrounding like a (the name says it) leaf, swaying from side to side in the water currents.  Like other scorpion fishes it is venomous and does not swim along the reefs but only moves sudden and just long enough to find a new place where to observe pray patiently until the moment comes to catch it.

Another ‘master of disguise’ is certainly the rare stone fish, which this month, turned out to be not as uncommon. In fact, we have found quite a number of them all over the dive sites. It is known to be the most venomous fish in the world and body contact can be fatal for humans. Considering its fascinating ability to appear as if being a stone, remember to keep your hands of the reef at all times! Like that blowing their perfect cover is a pretty nice success.