CLOWNFISHES - Here is Nemo's family (technically False Clown Anemonefishes). As with all clownfish (and most other fish, too), the largest (2-inches) is the female, the smaller one (1.5 inches) is her male mate, and the littlest (1 inch) is one of their babies.
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A mated pair of Tomato Clownfishes. The larger one (4-inches) - red with orange fins - is the female, and the smaller (2-3-inch) orange one is the male.
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Female 4-inch Tomato Anemonefish (aka clownfish). Female Tomato clownfish are known for being quite ornery, often swimming 6 ft or more away from their anemone to threaten would-be intruders. However, if you actually go towards the anemone, they take refuge in it like any other anemonefish would.
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This female Tomato Anemonefish (4-5 inches) is more orange than most females, who tend to only have orange fins and tail.
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Male 2-3 inch Tomato Anemonefish (aka clownfish). Males are almost always bright orange, and (unlike females) almost never venture away from their anemones.
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4-5-inch long female Tomato Anemonefish (aka "clownfish") underneath its anemone.
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A mated pair of Pink Anemonefishes (aka Clownfish). The larger one (2-3 inches) is the female, and the smaller (2-inch) one is the male.
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Pink Anemonefishes (aka Clownfish)
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Pink Anemonefishes (aka Clownfish)
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My favorite kind of clownfish...this is a 5-inch female Maroon (or Spine-Cheek) Anemonefish (aka Clownfish)
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You can clearly see the spines on this 5-inch female Maroon (or Spine-Cheek) Anemonefish (aka Clownfish)
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3-inch male Maroon (or Spine-Cheek) Anemonefish (aka Clownfish). Like male Tomato clownfishes, male Maroon/Spine-cheek clownfish are generally bright orange, and seldom venture far from their anemones.
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Whale shark (15-20 ft long) at Oslob
20-25 foot whale shark at Oslob, where locals in dugout outrigger canoes dump buckets of krill and shrimp into the open mouths of these gentle giants. (This is the same way that aquariums with whale sharks, e.g., the Atlanta Aquarium, feed them.)
20-25 ft whale shark. I have very mixed feelings about this practice of feeding the whale sharks; while it brings in huge amounts of money (and makes the locals protect, rather than kill, whale sharks), there were hundreds of people flailing about on the surface taking selfies, and I saw several of them actually kick the whale sharks.
A far different scenario applies to viewing Thresher Sharks near Malapascua. It is tightly controlled, with divers having to stay behind ropes in designated viewing areas. Furthermore, the Thresher Sharks aren't lured in - they come near divers as part of their natural behavior - they swim by to get "cleaned" (i.e., have parasites and dead skin picked off by butterflyfishes), so it is very much on their terms.
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Thresher Shark at 6AM and depth of 100ft, no strobe or flash. As you can see, their eyes are much larger than most sharks, as they feed mostly at night or deep water.
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Thresher Shark tail, used to stun prey (small fish) - see description near top of this gallery. Taken at 6AM and depth of 100ft, no strobe or flash.
Huge school of Pyramid Butterflyfishes (5 inches long)
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Huge school of Pyramid Butterflyfishes (5 inches long)
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School of Red-tooth Triggerfishes (8-10 inches), with school of Pyramid Butterflyfishes in the distance
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Anthias (2-3 inches long) swimming against strong current
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7 MILLION SARDINES - the following photos are of the largest school of "resident" sardines in the world. They range in size from 2 to 6 inches.
The sardines are quite an attraction, and the water was thick with divers (here, despite the murky water, you can make out the bubbles of about 15 divers!).
Sardine "ball" - watching the sardines move (they're in constant motion) is mesmerizing.
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A "river" of sardines
Solid wall of sardines
This 3-foot Coronetfish, which eats sardines, certainly picked the right place to live!
Filefish (female), 4 inches long
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Filefish (male), 3 inches long
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Mated pair of Orange-spot Gobies (4-5 inches long) near their den - the female appears to be pregnant.
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Mated pair of Orange-spot Gobies (4-5 inches long) - the female appears to be pregnant.
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Pair of Glasseye Snapper (8 inches long). Like many fish, they can change color, so they could reverse colors if they chose to.
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