Dive Details

Location

Date

Monday 7 December 2015

Time

10:56am - 12:32pm

Details

The waters around Bare Island looked fantastic, especially on the western side of the island. We got in on the northern side of the island to the west of the ramp, surface swam for 20 metres or so and then descended. Visibility was around 5 metres.

We swam past the outboard motor, over the ledge and along in front of the boulders to the top of the slope. I checked out the rocks at the top of the slope for pygmy pipehorses but found none.

I caught up to Kim at the rocks with the pink sea tulips. I looked carefully at the side of the third rock where we have seen pygmies before but could not find them. I did find a very small juvenile pygmy. It played nicely for me and I was able to photograph it.

I swam on to the rock above Pygmy Rock and came on Kim photographing the female (IL2015101402) but there was no sign of the male (IL2015073104).

We continued down the slope. The two white pygmies were on their usual rock. The female (IL2015081402) seems to be losing here colour but the male (IL2015081403) looks the same.

I swam to the corner hoping to see the large drab male (IL2015102601) but he was not there. Kim pointed out a few interesting nudibranchs including the Ardeadoris rubroannulata which I first found in January. We are pretty sure it is the same individual because it only has one rhinophore.

We swam back up the slope and I pointed out the tiny juvenile pygmy to Kim. After taking more photographs of it we swam back to the exit doing our safety stop along the way.

Buddy

Kim Dinh

Seas

Slight

Visibility

3 to 5 metres

Duration

96 minutes

Maximum depth

14.4 m

Average depth

10.0 m

Water temperature

17.9°C

Dive Profile from Citizen Hyper Aqualand

Tides at Botany Bay AEDT

Note that tides at dive site may vary from above location.

High

6:24am

1.48m

Low

12:45pm

0.61m

High

6:32pm

1.31m

Camera gear

Camera

Nikon D7000

Lens

Nikon AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm f/2.8D

Housing

Ikelite 6801.70

Lens port

Ikelite Flat Port 5502.41

Strobe

2 x Ikelite SubStrobe DS161

Photographs

Depth information, where present, indicates the depth of the camera when the photograph was taken and can be used to approximate the depth of the subject.

Juvenile Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (). 9.5 m.
 

Juvenile Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (). 9.5 m.
 

Female Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015101402). 10 m.
 

Female Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015101402). 10.1 m.
 

Nudibranch, Cratena lineata. 11.8 m.
 

Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015081403). 12.2 m.
 

Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015081403). 12.3 m.
 

Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015081403). 12.3 m.
 

Female Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015081402). 12.3 m.
 

Nudibranch, Polycera hedgpethi. 12.8 m.
 

Nudibranch, Ardeadoris rubroannulata. 14.1 m.
 

Nudibranch, Favorinus tsuruganus. 12.8 m.
 

Nudibranch, Favorinus tsuruganus. 12.9 m.
 

Juvenile eastern smooth boxfish, Anoplocapros inermis. 13.6 m.
 

Female Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015081402). 12.3 m.
 

Female Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015101402). 10 m.
 

Nudibranch, Tambja tenuilineata. 9 m.
 

Juvenile Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2015120701). 9.4 m.
 

Eye of a red indianfish, Pataecus fronto. 9.3 m.