Dive Details

Location

Logged dive number

1735

Date

Sunday 22 December 2019

Time

8:20am - 10:23am

Buddy

Mike Scotland

Seas

Slight current and strong surge

Visibility

5 to 10 metres

Duration

123 minutes

Surface interval

 4 days 18:59 (days hh:mm)

Maximum depth

14.0 m

Average depth

11.0 m

Water temperature

20.1°C
                                       

Dive Profile from Citizen Hyper Aqualand

Tides at Botany Bay AEDT

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

High

5:55am

1.61m

Low

12:15pm

0.50m

High

6:12pm

1.43m

Details

Mike joined me today for a dive at The Steps. It was an early high tide so we'd have to live with an outgoing tide.

We jumped in and put our fins on in the water before swimming out on the surface. We descended to the kelp. The visibility was between 5 and 10 metres and the water temperature around 20°C. There was a bit of surge.

I swam to the rocks to look for the orange Red-fingered Anglerfish I'd found last Saturday (seen last Sunday but not on Tuesday. I still couldn't find the anglerfish.

We headed to the sand line and followed the sand line to the rock where the Pot-bellied Seahorses had been last year. The orange Red-fingered Anglerfish was still in the area.

We continued along the sand line to Pipefishes Hole. There were no pipefishes visible in the hole but "Teardrop", the male Weedy Seadragon, was in the kelp nearby. He still has eggs.

I headed up to Di's Rock and spotted a small Green Moray near the top of the rock.

I swam along the top of the reef towards the seahorses. Mike called me back to show me a grey Red-fingered Anglerfish. Apparently it has eggs. I made note of its location so I could find it again.

We headed to the seahorses. "David" was in the sea tulips on the side of the rock. "George" was low down on the rock where he often hides. "Skye" was on a green hand sponge on the south-eastern side of the rock.

Mike called me over to the rock with the large green sponge. He pointed out a male pygmy pipehorse (IL2019122201). I looked for a partner and found a female (IL2019122202) nearby.

Boosted by the idea of pygmy pipehorses in the area, I looked carefully on the rock to the south of the rock where the seahorses are. I spotted a small female (IL2019122203). I looked around for more pygmies on that rock but found none.

We swam on to the black Painted Anglerfish. It was partially hidden on the northern end rock where it has been of late.

I showed Mike the male pygmy (IL2019121702) that Cody had found on Tuesday and its partner (IL2019121703). While he was photographing them I looked on southern end of the large rock where the black anglerfish was for more pygmies. I found a pink juvenile (IL2019122204).

We headed down to Diversity Rock and then along the reef to the pair of pink pygmy pipehorses. The male (IL2019100601) was in his usual spot on the side of the rock. He's looking very pregnant with his pouch slightly opened. The female (IL2019100503) was on top of the rock.

We swam past the Doughboy Scallop and on to Long Rock. I found two male (IL2019121501, IL2019112401) and a female (IL2019121502) pygmy pipehorses.

I swam down to Big Rock to look for "Ouz", the yellow White's Seahorse and after not finding her swam back to Mike. The orange Red-fingered Anglerfish with eggs was gone. I spotted a Jorunna sp. nudibranch and Mike pointed out a Nembrotha purpureolineata nudibranch on High Pygmy Rock. I spotted a second on the rock where the one-eyed White's Seahorse used to be. Mike left me at this point.

I swam along the top of the reef to the basket star and then visited the pair of pygmy pipehorses there.

As I was heading towards the seahorses, I spotted another orange Red-fingered Anglerfish.

On the rock to the south of the seahorses, I spotted the pygmy I'd seen before and searched for more. I ended up finding another female (IL2019122205). That made 12 pygmies for the dive, including 5 new ones.

I quickly visited the seahorses before swimming along the top of the reef to the grey anglerfish. I wanted to confirm I knew where it was.

I swam back via the orange anglerfish on the rock where the seahorses were last year. I then swam to the rocks in front of the exit for another look for the orange anglerfish I'd seen last weekend. I didn't find it.

I ascended to Split Rock and did my safety stop before swimming underwater to the exit.

Camera gear

Camera

Nikon D500

Lens

Nikon AF-S Micro Nikkor 60mm f/2.8G ED

Housing

Ikelite 6812.5

Lens port

Ikelite Flat Port 5502.41

Strobe(s)

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.

Red-fingered Anglerfish, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 11.4m.
 

Eggs on the tail of a male Weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, ("Teardrop"). 12.4m.
 

Weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, ("Teardrop"). 12.5m.
 

Red-fingered Anglerfish, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 11.1m.
 

Male Pot-bellied Seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("David"). 11.6m.
 

Male Pot-bellied Seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("George"). 11.3m.
 

Female Pot-Bellied Seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Skye"). 11.4m.
 

Male Sydney Pygmy Pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2019122201). 10.7m.
 

Female Sydney Pygmy Pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2019122202). 10.6m.
 

Female Sydney Pygmy Pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2019122203). 11.1m.
 

Painted Anglerfish, Antennarius pictus. 11.7m.
 

Female Sydney Pygmy Pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2019121703). 12m.
 

Male Sydney Pygmy Pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2019121702). 11.8m.
 

Female Sydney Pygmy Pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2019122204). 11.2m.
 

Male Sydney Pygmy Pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2019100601). 13m.
 

Female Sydney Pygmy Pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2019100503). 12.5m.
 

Doughboy Scallop, Mimachlamys asperrima. 13.4m.
 

Male Sydney Pygmy Pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2019121501). 13.3m.
 

Male Sydney Pygmy Pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2019112401). 13.1m.
 

Female Sydney Pygmy Pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2019121502). 13.5m.
 

Nudibranch, Jorunna sp. 12.1m.
 

Nudibranch, Nembrotha purpureolineata. 11.3m.
 

Nudibranch, Nembrotha purpureolineata. 12m.
 

Basket star, Astrosierra amblyconus. 11.4m.
 

Male Sydney Pygmy Pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2019121702). 11.6m.
 

Female Sydney Pygmy Pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2019121703). 11.7m.
 

Red-fingered Anglerfish, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 10.8m.
 

Female Sydney Pygmy Pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2019122205). 10.7m.
 

Red-fingered Anglerfish, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 10.7m.
 

Red-fingered Anglerfish, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 10.8m.