That is interesting. As a confirmed land lubber I would be concerned about sharks , giant octopi, or stingrays but never would have thought about the menace of baby jellyfish or fire worms under water.
Nature's Underwater Gardens II
I have lived in and around the sea nearly all my life (except for a few years in Colorado), and my biggest fears of the water are differrent jellyfish - pretty, but they terrify me, and barracuda. Sharks pretty much leave you alone if - - (John, listen up!), you aren't trying to steal the spirit from a great white by taking his picture! No, seriously, sharks out in our lagoon aren't gonna bother anyone that isn't bothering them...stingrays are just beautiful - that accident with the Aussie guy was a total freak acccident...and giant octopi are too deep for us to worry about. The fire coral can cause immense misery - so you avoid it. Just like any other place on earth, if you learn the environment, and treat it well, you will be fine.
Ooops, forgot to post this. In response to your Tang's John: Feeding time at Troy's coralhead
I knew you never wanted to get near jellyfish even though they are beautiful. I had never heard of stinging coral though! My zone envy just went down a little.....LOL
Thank you all for the wonderful pics, I know I will probably never get to experience most of these first hand. This is better than animal planet and national geographic 'cause I can go back and look anytime I want to! :^)
Ann B.
Another MO girl on here having fun!! Whoo hoo!!!!!!! How's hubby doing?
Welcome back John!!! We all missed you. I hope your trip was uneventful and you had a good time.
Are the fire worms like underwater caterpillars? Do they morph into other things?
Shari, those fish are beautiful! Love the colors.
Janet
Janet, have you been watching Transformers? Sounds like you have. :~p :~p
new lurker here... your pics got me; hook,line sinker!
Here's a pretty one for our Missouri girls:
Love the brightness of it.
Welcome deltaqueen! So glad you are enjoying our little thread! Nice of you to say hello!
Shari, that makes me think of Lite Brite, which I'm sure you all know what I'm referring to.
Pepper, I hadn't even thought of Transformers! HAHAHAHA I was thinking that maybe they grew up to be those butterfly fish that Shari posted before. :-)
Janet
Hi Delta Queen!
Lovely to see other folks joining and enjoying the beautiful photos you are posting. We have almost all of the sea life you show in your photos here on Maui - but this way I can enjoy them without having to get wet, or having to put those d*** flippers on!
Welcome Ann B and Delta Queen, thank you John and Shari!
Jenny - have you tried the shorter fins? I'm gonna get me a pair - they are so much easier to use than the long ones!
Here's a cute little White spotted Puffer....
Welcome to our new folks that stopped by to say hi! Here you will find a bunch of great people, always willing to help if they can....many are living vicariously in the islands through our camera lenses....glad to be a part of the fabulous forum!!!
Here is a Secretary Blenny, less than an inch long...
aurabest,
john
Mornin' Janet!
A fireworm stays a fireworm as far as I know. I have seen them over 12 inches long and can devoure anything in their path.....A bristle worm with fire-eating/breathing teeth....I would love to take my tomato catepillars down under and see how tough they are against a Bearded Fire worm!!!
Trip was fairly eventful....police at the hotel we stayed.....on the night we got there and the night we left....Atlanta....nuff said....at least they weren't there on my account.....this time!!!
john
John, the tiny secretary is obviously alone at the office steno pool. But maybe not as completely alone as it seems.... what kind of "desks" are those ?
Good to know the police were not there for you. We would hate it if they locked you away from DG!
Hello my friends! Swamped all day, just wanted to drop by and see what's happening in my favorite playground! Here are some Pyramid Butterflyfish for your viewing pleasure.
See...I'm so tired,, I forgot the picture! Geesh!
They had butterfly fish in the pyramids?
There you go again Zany! LOL. It's so nice here in this forum....I was just soundly reprimanded (and rudely as well), in another forum for getting off topic. Just lets me know to stay where I am welcome.
Aw, don't let em get to ya! Staying strictly on topic is boring!
How dare they......you just let me at 'em.....
Zany, those "desks" that the blenny is hiding in are known as Corallites, collectively, they make up the much larger Great Star Coral or Large Star coral. At night, the Corallites have tiny polyps or "hairs" that extend out for feeding.
Here is a Great Star Coral during the day with the polyps all retracted, non-feeding mode...
j
Neat. What is the little (button) near the bottom?
Good Morning Christi!
That button thing near the bottom is actually a "Split-Crown" Feather Duster worm. Corals play host to a variety of other life....I can spend an entire dive on just one coral head as there is so many things to see!!
Do you finally have a day off? I gather not as you are up so early....hope the day goes your way!!
john
This is what a split crown looks like a bit closer up....
j
That is a permanent part-time job. I work the registration desks when any of the Dallas Markets are in session. As in apparel, floral and gift, furniture.
Wholesale markets for the retail buyers. This stint was only 9 days but boy does it put you through the wringer. I love people and this is a continuous exposure and it's wonderful.
Thank you again for the pictures and the information that goes with it. My favorite tv show is Discover HD Theater. You guys make me feel like I have actually been underwater.
We are expected to have sun for the next several days and I just had to get up to see a sun rise as it has rained for almost 50 consecutive days.
Our replies crossed. That is gorgeous. The colors in the background.....oh, takes my breathe away. Is the red with the holes in it part of the worm or just happened to be there. I ask again, does National Geographic know about you?
I know a bunch of folks are glad to see the sun come out....I have been reading about all the flooding and rains...I am happy that you'll have some sun now for a few days!!!
The pictured feather duster is living on a sponge rather than the star coral in the previous image. The feather duster worms are tube-dwellers, that is, when threatened, they retreat down a small tube until the threat has vanished. The tubes look like straws, about the size of one of those coffee stirring sticks....just like the Christmas Tree worms...previously posted here.....
Don't get sunburned today!!!
j
oh, and no, NGeo doesn't know about me....just you guys here at DG's....maybe someday...for now, I'll just keep shootin'
j
Somebody needs to tell them...........
I really appreciate the knowledge that you and Shari give to us land lubbers.
The sun is shind through the window onto my arm as we "speak". The neighborhood is a chorus of lawnmowers...hahahaha
Great Star Coral lookes like a sponge on first glance. What amazingly interesting creatures they are. Of course , like most land lubbers, I have seen and held little fragments of coral but it is dead, hard and spiney. I am curious. Is living coral soft and pliant like it looks? All these amazing creatures live in and around it but what does coral eat? and soes anything eat coral or just the creatures it harbors? LOL I guess I am asking a lot of questions about things I was probably taught in grade school but that was many years and years ago and I just can't remember.
Oh boy! Reef biology 101. LOL!! There are hard corals, and soft corals. Some hard corals look like soft corals when its polyps are fully extended, and vice versa. Sea Fans and Whips are generally listed as soft corals, even though they have a more rigid horny skeleton like the harder corals. It is all an amazing adventure! Corals eat planktonic food that is gathered by the tiny hairs on the polyps. Many forms of algae live in and on coral heads, which is what little "Nemos" and other fish eat when they are around the coral. The most dangerous predator for coral is the "crown of thorns" starfish. I'm sure that many people, more knowledgable than I will take exception to what I have said here - but that is just a real quick identifier. Here is a picture of a Red Whip Coral -
So the crown of thorn in the photo is feeding on the coral itself?
p.s. thanks for the reef 101 lesson ;~)
Which photo are you referring to Zany? This last post, or the one I posted a while back of the c-o-t? Yes - it feeds on live corals....one of the reasons the Great Barrier Reef in Oz is having troubles....
The C-o-T's only real predator is the Triton Trumpet. And they can't keep up with the damage....so whenever we see one, we turn it over and put rocks on it, so the fish can eat it.
I was refering to the one on the Great Star coral above. Is the Crown of Thorns large, over populated or is is just a voracious appitite that makes it so damaging? What a shame that something so pretty is causing problems.
I guess that turning them over with rocks is the only way the fish can get them? They look pretty thorny at that!
I think there is some confusion here. John's picture was of a Great Star Coral with a "Split-Crown" Feather Worm on it. Neither of those is a bad thing. The split crown is just one of many creatures that live on or near corals.
Here is a pic of the Crown of Thorns Starfish. These monsters get huge!
This one was about 3 ft. across.
Yes, I was confused...normal state of affairs these days :~)
Ok, the Crown of Thorns Starfish does look like a monster so I can see why it could be a problem. That little split crown was so cute I felt sorry for it thinking it was being stoned upside down. Keep it up teacher, This student will learn something yet....or at least have a lot of fun trying.
I don't qualify as "teacher" on this subject.....still constantly learning myself! The ocean and its many wonders do the teaching.
We are in the middle of a huge storm. My patio went sailing by my upstairs window a while ago. I'm actually surprised that we still have power...that's usually the first to go. Its really a shame too, cuz the Scuba Club is out with a big dive trip....been planning it for over a month, and then we get this storm. I sure hope the tender tummies among them took their dramamine! There is a "Small Craft Advisory" warning...the fishing boats came in.... But this was their first trip on this big Trimaran and I know that the die-hards among them will want to stay out as long as possible....bet that's what John would want in the same situation - eh photoking?