4th of July dive: Lighthouse Reef, Cayman I

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First dive. We flew into Grand Cayman late last night arrived just before they closed the car rental place so we didn’t have to take a taxi to Sunshine Suites. Good start. We caught up with Everet and Essy expert critter finders in the Caymans. Awesome. We signed up for 3 dives at the Lighthouse reef. Everet and Essy took us to the shallows north of the pier where we saw Tritonias laying eggs, pale jawfish no eggs. Everet showed me a dragonet with brown nose apparently very rare but also very skitish. We saw different species of triple fin blennies, sailfin blennies and squat lobsters. The 2 black seahorses that they have been photographing weren’t around. Lots of cling fish under the rocks on the shore line at the end of the dive.

28 ft .116 min. 14 lbs. 80 cc AL. 1500 psi left.

Then we ran out to change our room from 3^rd floor to 1^st floor and met them for a Second dive. We headed for the wall. On the way they showed me very cool decorator crabs then we saw very big and healthy coralimorph with pretty cleaner purple shrimp. I was having light troubles so my photos weren’t anything great. They waved bye and my buddy and I stayed playing around. On the way back I found a female secretary blenny out of the hole looking for some attention from the male.

70 ft. 104 min. 14 lbs. 80 cc AL. 1200 psi left.

Dive 3. . Night dive. We headed for the wall at night where Steve found nudis on a red sponge. A red shrimp with white claws in the “touch me not” sponge. It is so pretty. I am definitely going back to get them. They live in an huge anemone at 70 ft. I forgot that I had turn my strobes down for the white nudis and I couldn’t get the light in the hole only when I was 3 min to get into deco I realized I had to turn the strobes back up. When I did I got a couple of id shots and then I notice they were eating the worms around them . Then I headed back up the wall into the shallows where Steve was shooting a very pretty white nudi with orange rings in the cerata. It almost looked like a variation of our occidentalis. Then a couple of crabs in the fire coral, shrimp everywhere and worms. I saw a cling fish getting carried around by the surge. Now I understand why they hide under the rocks.

65 ft 99 min 14 lbs. 80 cc AL 500 psi left.

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Photos

Dondice Occidentalis ID by E. Turner
My favorite nudi of the trip

White footed shrimp ID by E. Turner
I love the name it fits like a glove :)

Thorny Mud Crab ID by E. Turner
On Fire coral

Secretary blenny
FEmale looking for some fun.

Austraeolis catina. ID By E. Turner
I only included it because it was a good photo strobe exercise. White subject on a black background. I doesn't get any better than that!

Triple fin. Emblemariopsis ruetzleri,
Everet told us there are over 6 species

Decorator crab
Everet showed me this. Otherwise imposible to see.

Little cyphoma. Id by E. Turner
Essi showed me this Tiny winy purple shell And then I got confused: I didn't know who had better eyes, Essi or Everet

Comments

[Everett]

ID"s
Probably Austraeolis catina with very fat cerata, most of the ones we see look like this.

[Everett]

id
Great shot Dondice occidentalis

[Everett]

id
another great shot, especially as they usually sit in the hole in the sponge. This is the shrimp we named "White footed shrimp" after our collection and id expedition in 2009. It is Periclimenes harringtoni Lebour 1949 (Pontoniinae). Here is a link to the article I wrote about it:http://www.raf.mod.uk/rafsubaqua/rafcms/mediafiles/4BF7605F_5056_A30A_0986AF0E20D31AE1.pdf It is page 57

[Xeaman]

I don't think I got the link. I would love to read your article about it. I was on a mission to photograph this guy. I found than in the afternoon they sit and chill out at the edge of the hole like looking out the window. I went to see them at different times and they were inside. Cindy gave me a couple of secrets to shoot them.

[Everett]

id
The Austraeolis catina. While your photos and mine and Cindy www.cgills.com all look like this they don't look like the A.catina in the books. I am told it has fat cerata. We have wondered if it is a Facelinidae member similar to A.Catina but not the same but we aren't the experts.

[Xeaman]

hmmm You are prob right.

[Everett]

id
This guy is described as the Thorny Mud Crab in Humann's Reef Creatures. Good shot on a shy subject

[Everett]

id
Love the shot!. Tough to id this one looks like a secretary or probably spiny head from the angle There are lots of rough head blennies where you were diving and most have yellow -orange pigment around eye but this guy's head at least from this angle look to smooth.

[Everett]

id
Another great shot, these are hard to resist, likely secretary. Ben Victor tells me most Secretary Blennies are actually Spiny Head Blennies. they are hard to tell apart.

[Xeaman]

This one is also in the repeat list. First time I photograph it I think. I looooove these guys..

[Everett]

id
once again. love the shot and I would agree with your id. Not sure it matters when you have such a nice shot, who it it:)!

[Xeaman]

wait til you see Steves!!! lol I almost erased mine. But if I delete my shot every time that he gets a better shot I won't have anything to show ….

[Everett]

id
You found lots of these. Night? We see them during day frequently but they are easier to find at night more in the open on the sponges. Nice going!

[Everett]

id
Love the shot. From Shape of Iris this is Sailfin Blenny and I think perhaps your first "orange eyes" is also Sailfin and angle makes iris round rather than typical shape like this photo.

[Xeaman]

I should have taken more shots. I loved this guy. It is on my repeat list for next time.

[Everett]

id
Mena, like the shot and composition must be night? I think this is a sponge goby from the little spots. Check Les Wilk's reef Fish DVD.

[Everett]

id
Great Shot of very tiny subject. Don't think it is triple Fin this is Emblerariopsis sp blenny. It believe it is Emblemariopsis ruetzleri, one of the 4-6 species known in Cayman. these are the guys we photographed for Ben Victor in the winter of 2011. This version is predominately blue-green most of the others are reddish. Males are black when ready to mate and species are commonly referred to collectively as "Blackhead Blennies"

[Xeaman]

wow
Thanx Everet for the info on this guy and the others. I knew this particular one was different because of the sparkles. So adorable. It looks that it had something in its mouth. ..

[Xeaman]

wow
Thanx Everet for the info on this guy and the others. I knew this particular one was different because of the sparkles. So adorable. It looks that it had something in its mouth. ..

[Everett]

id
You did a great job of showing a difficult to see subject

[Everett]

id
The same solution we use to keep him from playing "run around the fire coral":)!

[Everett]

id
This is a little cyphoma we don't have an id for, check with Anne. PS I had better eyes until Essi got her new prescription mask from Seavision:)!

[Everett]

id
Great Capture! Most of my shots the eyes reflect too much light. This is one of a group of shrimp that we just call the "invisibles". Usually you find them becaues of the eyes, the rest of the bodiy is mostly see through and blends with the background. We need to find a good shrimp id guide if you know of one!

[Everett]

id
Forgot. love the background. This usually has lots of different blennies on it and make great background at least I think so!

[Everett]

good diving
Hi Mena, It was nice to meet you and Steve and fun diving with you guys. Always enjoy sharing the little stuff with people as enthusiastic as you two. One of these days we will make it to your bridge!