Smmcdonald
Costa Rica
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Nº89
Date: 2016-09-12 - 12:51
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Max Depth: 19m Duration: 53mins
Dive Location
- Surface interval:55 mins
- Temp: Surf 28°C Bottom 28°C
- Dive type : Recreational
- Visibility: Good Water: Salt
Specific gear used
- Weights: 4.5 kg
Recent Divers in Playa Ocotal, Guanacaste
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Dive Profile
- 1. Nitrox 31
- 12L Aluminium 191 → 28 bar
- Average depth: 9.8m
Data provided by EOL.org
Species Identified
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Our second dive today was just a short distance from our first. Overall shallower, and better visibility. We dove in among butterfly fish, sergeant majors king angels and rainbow wrasse. One particular fish that caught my eye was resting on the bottom against a rock. It was an odd fish: big eyes that protruded slightly, and large lips. It had a body similar to a grouper, and rested on the rock like a rock hind or grasby. It was brown or olive green in color, with spots around its eyes and on its body forming vertical bands. These were lighter in color and outlined in black. The pattern continued onto the caudal fin, where the spots grew darker and more tightly clustered. This description came from a single frame from my video: as I approached closer, the fish scurried away just above the rocks and came to rest on the other side of the rubble. Very skiddish, I could not approach close enough for a good picture, as it repeated the quick short burst each time I approached. For identification, I started with the Serranidae family, but never found anything that quite fit the description. A juvinile rock hind, maybe? Not the right pattern, and this fish was as large as any adult. I'm still somewhat perplexed.
Shortly after I found a hermit crab and a couple of seahorses, much like the one we saw yesterday but more yellow-green in color to match the vegetation here. Nearby was a zebra moray eel, but only his tail was visible.
As we came around the rocky outcrop and descended, the visibility dropped slightly. Here there were cornetfish and puffers. Among the smaller fish, I found what appeared to be a small bass 1-2" in length perched on the sand next to a pile of rocks. The fish was cream in color, with yellow-orange spots that were large relative to its size. His dorsal fin was raised and I could make out small white dots at the end of each of its spines.
Nearby I came across another small moray eel. This one was chocolate-brown with two colors of spots along its entire body. The first color was light bluish-grey and were arranged in vertical bands, becoming very dense on the dorsal and ventral ends. Yellow spots were more evenly scattered along the body. Its eyes were yellow, and from there forward its head was the same blueish grey as the spots along its body. The nose was blunt and with two bright yellow protrusions sticking out from near its nostrils. Not far away I came across yet another species of moray: a large green moray resting on the bottom of a narrow sand channel between two boulders. And then another of the same size and species protruding from a crevice. This site is named "tiburones" or "shark shallows", but a more appropriate name may be "anguila" or "eel haven".
And then another first: A lone moorish idol swam right across my path! I didn't realize this fish was even present in this part of the Pacific. It was quite a surprise to me to see one here.
The clearer water gave me an opportunity to get a better shot of a round stingray, larger than the one we saw yesterday, And then another small moray eel: this one swam out and away too quick to get a good look at, but may have been another zebra, though not as brilliant in color or markings as the first. Nearby was a green moray eel, at least the third we had seen on this dive.
We started ascending by spiraling up the rock formation, swimming through a large school of chromis (scissortail damselfish).
On the surface we were met with a rain shower, but the seas were calm except the surge against the rocks less than 50 yards away. Soon we were back on the catamaran and heading back toward Playa Hermosa and our third dive of the day.