Clownfish
During April we saw four spawnings from our breeding pairs of Maldivian Clownfish (Amphiprion nigripes), and along with our young Clark’s Clownfish (Amphiprion clarkii) we now have a total of over 2000 juveniles here at the Fish Lab!
Phytoplankton production
We are currently growing three species of phytoplankton (Nannochloropsis, Tetraselmis and Isochrysis) and our experiments to vary the levels of saltwater concentrations are continuing. Rotifer production is also ongoing, providing an excellent food source for all of our juvenile Clownfish.
Clownfish with Anemone in our Fish Lab[archive]
Sharks
Sharks have a reputation of being mindless eating machines, but the reality is that most reef sharks are very timid. Having clear visibility allows snorkellers to observe sharks from a distance, giving a longer viewing experience, whereas during poor visibility there is a temptation for us to swim too close which often causes the sharks to disperse.
This month at Kuda Huraa we conducted nine Shark Safari snorkelling trips with a total of 152 guests, and successfully spotted sharks on each trip. We saw a maximum of ten Blacktip Reef Sharks on a single trip, with juveniles and adults cruising around at depths of between one and ten metres. This month, the Blacktips were by far the most commonly seen species of shark on our snorkelling trips, with 122 sightings.
The Maldives was granted official “Shark Sanctuary” status on 01 March 2010, making it illegal to conduct any practice which results in the killing, capturing or extraction of sharks. ‘Shark Watch’ is a voluntary initiative, started by the Maldivian Government with the aim of creating awareness on the importance of conservation, and thereby promoting the Maldives as a shark-friendly marine eco-destination. We currently collect ‘Shark Watch’ data during snorkelling and diving activities, a simple method of recording “incidental sightings” whenever an animal is spotted. The species is entered into a sightings log along with general information such as location and date.
Marine Life Photos
Update : We may have an ID on our mystery jellyfish, as per the JellyBiologist’s blog – it could be a member of the Thysanostoma species.
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- Zebra Shark at Coral Gardens
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- Jellyfish closeup (edited for detail)
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- Landaa House Reef – large starfish
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- Pilot whale swimming alongside our boat (guest photo)
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- Spotfin Lionfish (Pterois antennata) on Night Snorkel
Hello, I track sightings of the unidentified jellyfish in your photos above. Do you have the date and location of those sightings? Are they photos of the same indiviudual? Thank you,
Wyatt
Hi there, Wyatt. Thank you for your message, and your interest in our mystery jellyfish !
Yes, I can confirm that the 2 photos are of the same individual.
The photos were taken on 9th May 2014 (~15:00h), in the lagoon of the island of Landaa Giraavaru, Maldives. Here is a Google Maps link to the island : http://goo.gl/maps/w67F0 – Is this accurate enough, or would you like a specific location in the lagoon ?
Thanks & regards
Marine Savers thank you! Very interesting we had a another sighting near you in Male only 3 days later… http://jellywatch.org/node/4029 Please let me know if you guys see more cool jellies, you can post them to http://www.jellywatch.org
Hy Wyatt, here is another one from Goidhoo Atoll, a small atoll south of Baa Atoll: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPrHaC26WHs.
Wyatt Patry – thanks for sharing the link – we've now added you to our 'friends' page – https://marinesavers.com/friends-of-marine-savers/
Hi Thomas, thank you for sharing… that guy is a different species, Mastigias sp. aka the the spotted lagoon jellyfish. We'd love to have you post it on jellywatch.org though!