Dive at The Steps, Kurnell, NSW on Sunday 15 December 2019

Dive Details

Location

Logged dive number

1733

Date

Sunday 15 December 2019

Time

9:20am - 11:21am

Buddy

Mike Scotland

Seas

Strong current at times and mild surge

Visibility

10 to 15 metres

Duration

121 minutes

Surface interval

22:40 (hh:mm)

Maximum depth

15.1 m

Average depth

11.9 m

Water temperature

19.1°C

Dive Profile from Citizen Hyper Aqualand

Tides at Botany Bay AEDT

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

Low

4:41am

0.50m

High

11:14am

1.88m

Low

6:00pm

0.28m

Details

Mike joined me today for my dive at The Steps. I was keen to revisit some of the fish I saw yesterday but also to look for more. I had told Mike about the orange Red-fingered Anglerfish I'd found yesterday at the entry/exit and we knew of some other Red-fingered Anglerfish. I also wanted to look for more pygmy pipehorses.

We jumped in at The Steps and swam out on the surface. We descended to the kelp. The visibility was at least 10 metres and the water temperature around 19°C.

I navigated to the rock where I'd seen the orange Red-fingered Anglerfish and it was still in the same spot. I took some photographs and then pointed it out to Mike.

Red-fingered Anglerfish, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 10.5m.

Red-fingered Anglerfish, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 10.4m.

I headed to the sand line and headed to the rock where the Pot-bellied Seahorses had been this time last year. I spotted the orange Red-fingered Anglerfish there. Mike caught up to me and I pointed it out.

Red-fingered Anglerfish, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 12.5m.

Red-fingered Anglerfish, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 12m.

I continued along the sand line to Pipefishes Hole. There were no pipefishes visible in the hole. I spotted "Teardrop", the male Weedy Seadragon, by the kelp near the hole. He still has eggs.

Eggs on the tail of a male Weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, ("Teardrop"). 13.3m.

Weedy seadragon, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus, ("Teardrop"). 13.2m.

I swam along the sand line to Little Big Rock and then up to the seahorses. I found "David" in the purple sponge and "George" low down on the rock where he often is. "Skye" was on the side of the rock.

Male Pot-bellied Seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("David"). 12.4m.

Male Pot-bellied Seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("David"). 12.6m.

Female Pot-Bellied Seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Skye"). 11.9m.

Male Pot-bellied Seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("George"). 12.4m.

We continued on towards the basket star. I spotted the black Painted Anglerfish. and stopped to take photographs. I pointed it out to Mike and swam to the basket star.

Painted Anglerfish, Antennarius pictus. 12.1m.

Basket star, Astrosierra amblyconus. 12.6m.

I dropped down to Diversity Rock and looked for the small Miamira magnifica nudibranch but couldn't see it. I then noticed a Eastern Fiddler Ray on the sand along from Diversity Rock and swam down to take photographs.

Eastern Fiddler Ray, Trygonorrhina fasciata. 14.1m.

I caught up to Mike and we continued to the rock with the pair of pink pygmy pipehorses. The male (IL2019100601) was in his usual spot and the female (IL2019100503) was top of the rock.

Male Sydney Pygmy Pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2019100601). 14m.

Female Sydney Pygmy Pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2019100503). 13.6m.

Male Sydney Pygmy Pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2019100601). 13.7m.

I dropped down to the Doughboy Scallop and then up to the orange Red-fingered Anglerfish with eggs.

Doughboy Scallop, Mimachlamys asperrima. 14.5m.

Red-fingered Anglerfish, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 12.9m.

We then headed to Long Rock. I found the two males (one new, IL2019121501, IL2019112401) and two females (also one new, IL2019121502, IL2019102702). Mike left me at this point.

Male Sydney Pygmy Pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2019121501). 14.5m.

Male Sydney Pygmy Pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2019112401). 14.3m.

Female Sydney Pygmy Pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2019102702). 14.4m.

Female Sydney Pygmy Pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2019121502). 14.5m.

I swam on to Big Rock and looked for "Ouz", the yellow female White's Seahorse but couldn't find her.

I headed back to the orange anglerfish with eggs and looked for the eggs, but couldn't see them. I then went back to the pair of pink pygmy pipehorses to take more photographs.

Female Sydney Pygmy Pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri, (IL2019100503). 13.7m.

From here I headed towards the shore and checked out some of the rocks on the sand on the top part of the reef. I spotted a Miamira magnifica nudibranch crawling across one of the rocks. It was moving quite fast.

Nudibranch, Miamira magnifica. 12.4m.

Nudibranch, Miamira magnifica. 12.5m.

I stayed along the top of the reef to the basket star and took a photograph or two of a Pygmy Leatherjacket.

Pygmy Leatherjacket, Brachaluteres jacksonianus. 12.4m.

Basket star, Astrosierra amblyconus. 12.7m.

I stopped at the black Painted Anglerfish before swimming to the seahorse for some more photographs. "George" hadn't moved but both "Skye" and "David" had.

Female Pot-Bellied Seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("Skye"). 12m.

Male Pot-bellied Seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, ("David"). 12.8m.

I headed back along the top of the reef but dropped down to the rock where the Pot-bellied Seahorses had been last year to take some more photographs of the orange Red-fingered Anglerfish.

Red-fingered Anglerfish, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 12.8m.

I then swam to the rocks in front of the entry/exit and the other orange anglerfish there. I was about to head to the boulders when I spotted two Striped Catfish so I took photographs of them.

Red-fingered Anglerfish, Porophryne erythrodactylus. 10.7m.

Striped Catfish, Plotosus lineatus. 11m.

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