Dive Details

Location

Date

Monday 29 January 2018

Time

8:04am - 9:26am

Details

High tide was around 7am so unless we wanted to dive late in the day we'd have to settle for diving on an outgoing tide. The easterly swell was also picking up so we decided to dive at The Monument.

We got in at the rocks in front of the flagpoles and surface swam out past the East-West wall. We descended to the sand. Visibility was initially good at around 5 metres and there wasn't any current. The water temperature was around 17°C. We swam east along the base of the wall checking out the rocks.

We arrived at Sunshine Rock and started looking for "Sunshine", the female pot-bellied seahorse. We found her low down in an orange finger sponge. After taking photographs we continued east. The visibility had dropped to around 3 metres and stayed like that for the rest of the dive.

We got to the large rock where the large orange red-fingered anglerfish has been hanging out but after a lot of searching we couldn't find it. We checked the top of the rock and found the bright orange red-fingered angler pretty much where we'd seen it on Thursday. We then started searching around the area for the large orange red-fingered anglerfish. I looked over the surrounding rocks but I kept thinking to myself that if the bright orange angler had barely moved, why would the large one have? So I went back to the original rock and checked more closely. I found it half hidden behind some sponges. I took some photographs and then went looking for Mike.

I found Mike near where the pygmy pipehorses had been. He'd found the white red-fingered anglerfish. He showed it to me and then I took him back to the big rock and pointed out the large orange anglerfish. I went back to the white anglerfish.

When Mike caught up we followed the point around and then started swimming along the next wall. As we swam I noticed a white male pygmy pipehorse on the wall. I tried to get Mike's attention but he was swimming away from me. I stopped to take some photographs before continuing.

As I swam along the reef I checked out all the rocks I have previously seen anglerfishes and pygmy pipehorses hoping to find them or some new ones but I found none.

I caught up with Mike not far from Split Rock. He looked at the rock where the white female pygmy pipehorse had been on the white anglerfish and I looked at the rock between there and Split Rock. He found one brown male pygmy pipehorse and I found two.

We continued on to Slope Rock. I found Dama's red male pygmy pipehorse in its usual spot but I could not find any others in the area.

I wasn't sure where Mike was so I continued along the deep wall in search of the orange red-fingered anglerfish. I found it in the same area we'd seen it on Thursday. I swam back along the wall and bumped into Mike so I swam back with him to point out the anglerfish.

We were both low on air so we swam up over the wall towards the exit. As we swam past the rocks were the orange painted anglerfish had been I spotted a male pygmy pipehorse next to the white honeycomb sponge. I stopped to take a few photographs, despite the surge before continuing on to the exit.

We ascended to 5 metres and started our safety stops. I was able to navigate my way to the bay area where I exited. Mike got out on the rocks to the north of where I got out.

Buddy

Mike Scotland

Seas

Surge

Visibility

3 to 5 metres

Duration

82 minutes

Maximum depth

13.1 m

Average depth

10.5 m

Water temperature

17.1°C
                                       

Dive Profile from Citizen Hyper Aqualand

Tides at Botany Bay AEDT

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

Low

12:30am

0.42m

High

7:04am

1.82m

Low

1:47pm

0.29m

High

7:44pm

1.39m

Species Seen

 

Species

Common name

Number
  Fish

 

 Antennariidae

 

Porophryne erythrodactylus

Red-fingered anglerfish

4

 

 Syngnathidae

 

Hippocampus abdominalis

Pot-bellied seahorse

1

 

Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri

Sydney pygmy pipehorse

6
  Cephalopods

 

 Sepiidae

 

Sepia mestus

Reaper cuttlefish

2

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

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.

Female pot-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Sunshine"). 11.9 m.
 

Red-fingered angler, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 9.4 m.
 

Red-fingered angler, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 10.3 m.
 

Red-fingered angler, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 10.3 m.
 

Red-fingered angler, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 10.8 m.
 

Red-fingered angler, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 10.9 m.
 

Red-fingered angler, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 10.7 m.
 

Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2018012901). 11.4 m.
 

Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri. 12 m.
 

Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri. 12 m.
 

Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri. 12.2 m.
 

Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri. 10.9 m.
 

Red-fingered angler, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 11.1 m.
 

Red-fingered angler, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 11.4 m.
 

Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri. 10.5 m.