The pygmy seahorse was only recently discovered for the first time after a specimen of a gorgonian fan was bought in for research by a scientist whilst diving in Asia Supremely well camouflaged the pygmy seahorse can grow to just 2cm in height and is therefore the smallest species of seahorse in the world. Large bulbous tubercles cover the species body which resembles the soft coral polyps of the host gorgonian fan making it extremely difficult to spot in its natural environment.

What is perhaps most fascinating about the Pygmy Seahorses is the way they have taken on the characteristics of so many other species of both marine and terrestrial life. Whilst it has the head of a horse, its tail is much like a monkey’s which it uses to wrap around its host. It also has the pouch of a kangaroo to carry its young, the exoskeleton of an insect and the eye of a chameleon, making it one of the most impressive fish found in the ocean.

During courting behavior the male will attach itself to her hitching post and then proceed to vibrate his dorsal fin to attract her attention. She then extends her egg tube and will pass them into his pouch. The male seahorse then holds the eggs during pregnancy and is one of the only species of its kind to carry out birth. Pygmy seahorses are thought feed on the same zooplankton as their host polyps although very little is known about their life cycle thereafter.

Pygmy seahorses are found all over the world, but are especially widespread in the western pacific, specifically Indonesia, Papua, Fiji, and the Philippines. Those diving in Asia are increasingly on the look out for this rare species which is increasingly growing in popularity amongst the diving community since its first discovery.

Some say that the choicest scuba dive vacations can be found in the Caribbean. Now we’re not going to agree or disagree with this idea. We will leave it up to you to tell us what you think and where your best scuba dive locations are – if you want to share the secret?

Of course the Caribbean is well noted for its excellent underwater visibility, warm water temperatures and an abundance of marine life and dive sites that appeal to both beginners and seasoned divers alike.

If you went to the Caribbean scuba diving for solely the underwater creatures you are surely missing out on the most impressive range of treasures to be found there: from shipwrecks of old, drop-off wall sites to make you blink more than once, drift dives galore, cave adventures of an underwater kind you didn’t expect, as well as shore and boat diving.

Preservation is extremely import to the Caribbean diving community and they are devoted to ensuring that the underwater environment is more than adequately preserved. Not only does the Caribbean have protected marine parks with thriving aquatic life, but the scuba dive vacation areas offers the most varied examples of tropical marine life imaginable, including angelfish, barracuda, crabs, dancing eels, goat fish, grouper, lobster, octopus, parrot fish, seahorses, sea turtles, sharks, snappers, spiny puffers, and stingrays.

If your are a complete scuba dive beginner, don’t worry. All scuba dive vacations have dive facilities that appeal to beginners, who probably don’t know a regulator from a wet suit. But that doesn’t mean that the experience scuba diver and certified divers are not catered for as well.

We’re sure you’ll find a variety of dives to suit every notion you’ve had about scuba diving, and you can most definitely be assured that trained professional staff divers at the scuba dive vacation places will lead all dives. They will also provide instructions, high-quality Cressi SUB equipment, as well as courses for non-certified divers, and PADI (Professional Association of Dive instructors) or NAUI (National Association of Underwater Instructors) certification courses. That about covers what to expect whether you are a beginner or advanced scuba diver.

ng>Scuba Diving Malaysia – Sea Dragon Malaysia

Scuba Diving Malaysia Sea Dragon Malaysia Sdn Bhd is an independent, wholly Malaysian scuba diving training center conveniently located near Time Square in Kuala Lumpur.

Scuba Diving Malaysia is a member of PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors), the world’s largest recreational diving membership organization. The membership includes dive businesses, resort facilities, academic institutions, instructor trainers, dive educators, divers, snorkelers and other watersports enthusiasts.

We recognize that our strength and competitive advantage is in performing outstanding service and developing excellent programs. We pride ourselves in listening to the need of our markets and exceeding their expectations.

The instructors and team that make up Sea Dragon Malaysia have amassed a wealth of experience and skills from teaching and servicing a diverse clientele range over these past 10 years. We are proud to offer the same limitless dedication and commitment to you.

We also offer diving or snorkelling Equipment to buy and rent, dive trips and can even sort you out with accommodation with a wide range of resorts throughout Malaysia.

Scuba Diving Malaysia Gallery :

Scuba Diving Malaysia Responsibilites

In all that we do, we will demonstrate our steadfast commitment to being a world-class leader in every aspect of our business – in the training of scuba divers and instructors, in the support and service we provide, in diving safety and education, in aquatic environmental education and preservation, in the way we design and develop our products. We honor our commitments, take personal responsibility for our actions and practice the highest ethical standards.

For further info please visite our Website http://www.scuba-divingmalaysia.com Or by Email web [at] scuba-divingmalaysia.com . Scuba Diving Malaysia – Bali Diving

Scuba Malaysia – Scuba Diving Malaysia – Sea Dragon Malaysia

If you’re checking to see if it’s legal, and how you plan to punish me, please allow me to explain. I’m a PADI Master Instructor of Scuba Diving, and I spend my working days teaching scuba in Thailand. One of the most rewarding experiences for my diving students’ is shooting great photographs of aquatic marine life.

Making underwater photographs in Thailand has many advantages for divers searching for that ‘perfect shot’;

Clear blue water

Warm water averaging 28 degrees centigrade

Pristine Coral Reef formations

Established Diving Centers and Scuba Equipment Shops

 

The most popular tourist areas for scuba diving in Thailand are Pattaya, Phuket and Koh Samui. These resorts offer great fun and excitement for beginners and certified divers. Whether it’s vibrant fish life, colourful corals or sunken ship wrecks, the camera won’t stop clicking while you’re scuba diving in Thailand. I’ve captured pictures of Seahorses and giant Gorgonian Sea Fans in Phuket, Black tip reef Sharks in Koh Samui, and World War 11 ship wrecks in Pattaya.

Todays modern camera equipment has changed the way that scuba divers ‘shoot’ fish underwater. The traditional film camera is still used by many diving professionals, but digital underwater cameras have made underwater photography both accessible and affordable to the majority of scuba divers. Learning to Scuba Dive is not difficult for most people who are comfortable in the water, but snapping great photos under water takes novices some time to learn. One of the most important attributes is good buoyancy control. Apart from all the obvious advantages that neutral, relaxed buoyancy has for scuba diving, if you’re trying to compose that image of the tiny yellow blob, commonly known as a Frogfish, being able to hover almost motionless just centimetres away from your subject is what sets you apart from the norm. Also, as recreational scuba divers descend, water absorbs colour. Starting with Red, Orange and then Yellow, and as you dive deeper, you’ll lose Green and Blue. Strobe lights help to restore some of the colour that’s lost, which is how the professionals obtain fantastic vibrant colours from their images.

I fully appreciate that not every diver has a passion for taking pictures of the new world that they’ve discovered. Many divers are more fascinated by ship wrecks, perhaps diving deep or making dives using nitrox (an increased amount of oxygen) but most of my scuba buddies have admitted that they are very keen to share the wonders on the underwater world by shooting pictures of fish and other marine life. With modern technology as a friend, it’s now possible to store and share underwater images with your family, friends and even the general public via social sites and the internet. The dive may have been the most amazing experience that you’ve had, but it’s so much more powerful to share the adventures with those for whom it may not be possibly to try scuba diving. PADI scuba courses teach student divers how to capture and share underwater photographs, and the Digital Underwater Photography course is now available to all scuba divers from the age of ten.

Private scuba lessons are becoming more popular now, especially in Thailand. Taking a dive course with you own private scuba instructor offers exclusivity, the personal touch, and usually more flexibility. So to enrol in the shooting fish course, otherwise known as the PADI DUP (digital underwater photography) course, you do need to be a certified diver of at least ten years old. But be prepared for some underwater fun that diving in Pattaya has to offer. The coral reefs are shallower here than other dive sites in Thailand, and the other advantage is that scuba diving in Pattaya is available year round because the Gulf of Thailand tends to be sheltered from the southwest monsoons that arrive in Phuket from June until October. Pattaya is not a famous diving destination, but beginners and experienced divers will be rewarded with some of the best wreck diving in Thailand. So, clean up the lens, replace the batteries and make sure that you have a watertight seal, because when you dive in Pattaya the camera never lies. You really can see Turtles, Seahorses and Sharks, and the wreck dives will leave you breathless (pardon the pun) as you drift along US Landing Crafts from the Second World War that were intentionally sunk by the Thai Navy for the local Thai divers and tourists on a scuba diving holiday in Pattaya.

Learn how to Shoot Fish in Thailand the passive and harmless way with a private scuba photography course from a Master Instructor at www.private-scuba.com

Now that the chicks are out of the nest I’m nurturing a new side effect–fearlessness. Okay not exactly fearlessness, but I’m finding that I’m more drawn to crazy antics than I used to be. Perhaps this effect is common in empty nesters–or at least with the baby boomer ones. Were we not the VW bus driving, world-changing, stickin’ it to the man, try-anything generation? There must be some latent drive lurking beneath my ex-helicopter mommy exterior–and dammit–it’s getting my attention. So I crammed my not-so-perky butt into a wet suit, strapped 16 pounds of weight around my waist (apparently I’m very buoyant) and jumped in. And immediately FREAKED OUT.

There I was in the ocean, treading water like a madwomen, embarrassed and humbled. What happened? I aced the pre-ocean part of the lesson. In the swimming pool I was amazing–a scuba diving machine if there ever was one. I was practically one of those Discovery Channel shark chasers. My mind frantically tried to grasp where things went terribly awry…

On the boat I was excited. I even had built-in inspiration. A couple in their freaking 70s taking on a 100 foot dive with three generations of their family. My new heroes — maybe I could be one of their kids for the day. I was in awe.

We dropped anchor and the septuagenarians headed down (with their REAL children — the heartless brats) leaving us newbies behind. The strapping on of the paraphernalia got underway. Before long, I stood there with an air tank on my back (air is WAY heavier than one would think), a weight belt and an extremely binding vest with fifty bazillion tubes hanging off of it. Overwhelmed, the meaning of the tubes started to escape me. Led to the edge of the boat in flippers with little peripheral vision because of the mask I was wearing, I began to unravel. This was not cool.

I switched on my panic mantra (people do this everyday and do not die, people do this everyday and do not die…) and jumped in. Needless to say, after making it down about a whopping five feet, I gave the distress signal (the only thing I remembered from the swimming pool) and was hoisted back onto the boat like a defeated whale. Not my finest moment.

The kindly boat captain and I became fast friends as we sat alone for 45 minutes while everyone else was having the time of their lives. I was angry, jealous and resolute. Luckily, this was a two-tank drive. I had another chance and I wasn’t going to blow it.

The elderly couple (who I now hated with every fiber of my being) climbed out of the sea like Jacques Cousteau and started talking (with my husband, no less) about all the fabulous creatures they saw. Now I was REALLY angry, jealous and resolute. Apparently, this is the very mindset I needed to be in.

I jumped in again and down I went along the safety rope. My instructor, the very patient Shelly, stayed right in my face. I was petrified, but I was determined (people do this everyday and do not die…) terror would not win this time. Reaching the end, I clung to the bottom of the rope like it was my job. At this critical point I realized that my main fear was that I was sinking when I normally would be floating. Being a control freak, this wasn’t sitting well with me at all. My brain was telling me that if I let go of the rope I would continue to descend slowly until I was stuck forever on the ocean floor. I had forgotten that I had fins, strong legs and a capable instructor. I let go.

Shelly took my hand and lead me to a sting ray hiding in the sand. Kneeling close by this strange and beautiful creature, my Darth Vader breathing noise transcended to a calming yoga-like hum. The ray, deciding it wanted nothing more to do with us, got up and “flew” away. I gave chase. I hadn’t even realized that my fear was gone. I was one with the ocean.

Next step–certification. And, just maybe, I’ll have my own Discovery Channel shark chasing show–all I have to do is punch the mean ones in their noses, right?

Veronica, GypsyNester.com

lose chest fat

Donsol in the Philippines, referred to by the locals as the ‘Whale Shark capital of the world’ is a small rural community that have changed their way of life from hunters to tourist guides!The whole town thrives on the money the tourists bring in, and hence they all strive to make everyone’s stay an enjoyable experience.They offer and actively promote whale shark interactions; the operations are managed by the local Tourism Board/local government and are supported by the World Wildlife Fund.

 

 The whale sharks come to the Donsol area from January to May due to the large amounts on plankton and also to mate.The snorkeling trips organized are limited by local law to a maximum of 20 boats at any one time and no more that 3 hours per trip (even the charter rate is controlled by law to avoid overcharging!).

 

 I had arranged 2 sessions of snorkeling with the whale sharks, and 2 days of diving.I was a little unsure of what to expect as we set out on the first day at about 10.30am.We had a group of 6, plus one guide and 3 spotters on our boat (a traditional Philippine outrigger style).For what seemed hours the boat just cruised around with all the staff just looking out to sea.Then suddenly one pointed and shouted “Bundanting!”(The local name for whale sharks), everyone quickly put on their fins/mask/snorkel and the guide told us to jump in…A few seconds later I was face to face with my first whale shark, about 10 meters long with its mouth open sucking up the plankton.It gently swam along only a few meters from the surface, and the whole group was able to swim beside it for a few minutes.Over the following few hours we had a total of 5 encounters with Buntunding; the best of which was one animal that tolerated our presence while it fed for more than 15 minutes!At times it came to less than 1 meter from the surface, and we had to actually avoid it!

 

 After an exhausting session, (whale sharks swim a lot faster that it seems!) we headed back to shore; all with big grins on our faces!

 

 My second day of whale shark interactions started early at 7am, again with the same number of people/crew on the boat; but the experience was much different (or maybe my attitude was!).We spotted our first whale shark within minutes of reaching the area.Over the next 3 hours we had 9 sightings/swims (some with the same animal).But the most memorable moment of all, was halfway through the trip when we saw a 12 meter + Buntanding which actually surfaced towards us, swimming along less than half a meter below the surface it was tolerant of me swimming next to it; close enough to touch!This gave me a fantastic opportunity to take some very close up photographs.

 

 Photographs by James Costello, Dolphin Dive Adventures & Services