Dive Details

Location

Date

Thursday 4 October 2018

Time

11:23am - 1:00pm

Seas

Slight with surge

Visibility

5 to 10 metres

Duration

96 minutes

Maximum depth

13.4 m

Average depth

10.9 m

Water temperature

15°C

Dive Profile from Garmin Descent Mk1

Tides at Botany Bay AEST

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

High

3:48am

1.24m

Low

9:26am

0.60m

High

3:58pm

1.64m

Low

10:46pm

0.36m

Details

The housing for my D500 arrived back from service yesterday so I was keen to try it out. I was especially thinking about the upside-down and sawtooth pipefishes as the D500 focuses better on small subjects.

Conditions were still pretty good and I was looking forward to a good dive. The tide was still quite low so the entry was very easy and I just stepped off the platform. After I'd gotten ready on the surface, I descended to the kelp. Visibility was between 5 and 10 metres and the water temperature around 16°C. There was some slight surge. I turned right and headed into a slight current towards Big Rock.

I arrived at the rocks where the orange red-fingered anglerfish with the dark eyes has been. I looked extensively around the area for it but was unsuccessful. I did find the male White's seahorse on the same sea tulips he was on yesterday.

Male White's seahorse, Hippocampus whitei. 11.4 m.

I swam along the sand line to the hole where the upside-down and sawtooth pipefishes have been. I could see one upside-down pipefish and the sawtooth pipefish in the hole. The other upside-down pipefish was up above the hole in a hollow where I had left it yesterday. I don't know if it had been out the whole time.

Juvenile upside-down pipefish, Heraldia nocturna. 12.4 m.

Sawtooth pipefish, Maroubra perserrata. 12.5 m.

I continued along the sand line to the large yellow red-fingered anglerfish. It was still on the side of the rock where it has been for a few weeks. I looked around the area for the salmon red-fingered anglerfish but could not find it.

Pygmy leatherjacket, Brachaluteres jacksonianus. 11.6 m.

Red-fingered anglerfish, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 12.4 m.

Red-fingered anglerfish, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 12.3 m.

I swam on to Little Big Rock and looked on the large rock up from the sand line for the pygmy pipehorses. I initially couldn't find the female but found the male. Eventually, I spotted the female on the side of the rock.

Male Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri. 11.5 m.

Female Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri. 11.6 m.

I headed along the top of the reef past the gap where the octopus has been. It was there. I dropped down to the rock where the nudibranchs have been and found both the Nembrotha sp. and the Nembrotha purpureolineata.

Common Sydney octopus, Octopus tetricus. 11.2 m.

Nudibranch, Nembrotha sp. 11.6 m.

Nudibranch, Nembrotha purpureolineata. 11.5 m.

As I was heading for the sand line a weedy seadragon swam by. It swam quite close to the male weedy with eggs in the kelp between Little Big Rock and Diversity Rock.

Weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus. 12 m.

Weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus. 12.7 m.

I looked for my juvenile painted anglerfish just before Diversity Rock but it wasn't there. I also couldn't find any pygmy pipehorses on Diversity Rock. The basket star had one of its arms unfurled.

Basket star, Astrosierra amblyconus. 11.6 m.

I swam along the top of the reef to the rock with the one-eyed White's seahorse. I was able to find her fairly quickly. I turned and headed back from here.

Female White's seahorse, Hippocampus whitei. 12.4 m.

When I came on the basket star it had unfurled the arm even more. As I was swimming between the basket star and Diversity Rock the same weedy seadragon swam by.

Basket star, Astrosierra amblyconus. 11.6 m.

Weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus. 12.1 m.

I checked out the pygmy pipehorses on the side of the large rock behind Little Big Rock before continuing along the sand line to the large yellow red-fingered anglerfish. I looked again for the salmon red-fingered anglerfish.

Red-fingered anglerfish, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 12.7 m.

Red-fingered anglerfish, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 12.6 m.

I stopped at the upside-down and sawtooth pipefishes. The one in the hollow made its way back to the hole while I was there.

Juvenile upside-down pipefish, Heraldia nocturna. 12.5 m.

Juvenile upside-down pipefish, Heraldia nocturna. 12.6 m.

I swam on to the male White's seahorse before looking around the area again for the orange red-fingered anglerfish with dark eyes. I still couldn't find it.

I headed for the boulders and started my safety stop during my short swim to Split Rock. I finished my safety stop and exited at The Steps.

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