Palm-sized Melibe

December 4, 2011

Pseudoceros flatworm. Photo: Joshua Tan

By Hantu Diver, Joshua Tan

I last visited Hantu on 26November. Visibility then was pretty bad, around 1 metre; I could barely see the tip of my fins. Currents were pretty strong as well, Sargassum seemed in full bloom. This weekend however, visibility was good, around 3-plus meters, and currents were manageable. I tried looking for seahorses but couldn’t find any, but I saw quite a handful of nudibranch and flatworms, 2 large urchins, at least 2 red swimmer crabs, loads of sand divers, a few butterfly fish and silver moonies. Spent the last part of my dive trying to chase down a good shot of a filefish but failed miserably.

Melibe sp. Photo: Joshua Tan

On my second dive, I went down trying to hunt for the filefish again but decided to explore a slightly different area. That was when I met the highlight of the dive the awesomely large Sea Slug (Melibe sp.) the size of my hand! I was a bit stunned when I saw it and had to do a double take to make sure it wasn’t another piece of Sargassum. I read about a nudibranch which Chay Hoon found in her previous dive but this one was different. Check out the video! Spent most of my time with the slug until batteries ran out. Buddy found the seahorse (darn it!) On the way back, saw a large black marine flatworm but was already out of juice for that. Other divers saw a small fingernail-sized cuttlefish as well.

Pulau Hantu's north island and reef flat with a view of Pulau Ular. Photo: Joshua Tan

Overall it was a good day out. Good vis, excellent weather (until we went back to Singapore in the evening), good company. There was unfortunately, quite a lot of rubbish under the jetty, plastic forks, broken fishing lines, sinkers and metal cans. Tried to bring up as much as I could, including a broken drinking glass. Got to bring a small mesh bag the next time I visit on the 18^th of Dec.

Rainbow over Pulau Bukom Shell Oil Refinery. Photo: Joshua Tan

On another note: There were people fishing at the jetty, one of them caught small barracuda (about 3-4, each around 20-30cm) There was also another barracuda caught, but this one was almost 1m long! No photos unfortunately.

The Hantu Blog thanks Joshua Tan for sharing his trip report with us! If you have an experience to share as well, email us! See more amazing photos and videos of Singapore’s sea life first on our Facebook Page!

Posted in Blog Log, Photography