The fear of "whats in the water"

[c r0ck 1]

There is nothing to Fear, but Fear its self!

A healthy respect for marine life is good. Fear, not so much. If you are like most divers once you are enjoying your first view of an awesome reef, or swim through a bait ball, or hang out with a Jewfish, you will realize that there is very little to fear UW from the marine life.

There are a couple of exceptions. First is things that don't look harmful, but are. Fire Coral is a good example. Don't touch stuff especially if you don't know what it is, but that's a good rule to follow period. Learn about what is dangerous UW, like Scorpion Fish, and other marine life with built-in protection.

The second are Bull Sharks. Respect them, and study their behavior so that if you do come into contact with them you can recognize aggression. They generally don't attack divers, but there are exceptions. I'm not aware of divers in FL getting attacked, but divers have been killed by Bull Sharks in S. Africa, and they are the #1 human attacking shark based on what I've read.

Another thing you need to be aware of is if this fear grows once you are UW. Your biggest fear should be of yourself. Panicked divers can die. Take your OW class seriously, get your basic skills down as best you can, and enjoy your new hobby.

WARNING, diving is addictive, and can lead to a serious condition known as DD (Diving Disorder). DD can lead to massive gear spending, entire weekends spent UW, and in severe cases waking up in the bathtub with your regulator in your mouth!

HAHAHA.. yea i got a piece fo fire coral in my reef tank at home. its a small little red like tree looking piece of coral.. when i put it in my tank the guy who set it up for me said "do not touch this" and i never did.. lol

 

[c r0ck 1]

They will bite you.

seriously post a pic of this... so called trigger fish.

I know that there are some fish that are poisoness.. like at home i have a reef setup and i was gonna buy lion fish and the guy was like once you buy these do not stick your hand in the tank or get it next to them cause they sting.. Now i can only imagine how big they get in the wild.. so i stuck to clown fish and tangs instead.

 

[RonFrank]

well im glad to hear all the stories, it makes me feel at ease!... thanks for all the responces!... and btw.. i hear everyone saying to watch out for trigger fish.. whats the big deal with them?

Trigger fish can be very territorial, and all SaltWater fish have Teeth! Trigger fish are also good sized unlike another aggressive fish, the Damselfish. Triggerfish are responsible for more bites on divers than any other fish in the world I believe. Damselfish may be responsible for more bites (boy those tiny fish have Moxy!), but their bites don't generally break the skin, and go unreported. I've been nipped by many a Damselfish.

Aggressive behavior and attacks generally occur when they are spawning. I think the rest of the year they are quite approachable, and I have a ton of photo's of them close up in Coz, and less so from FL. I'm not sure when they spawn, but I think maybe Aug time frame in this part of the world.

seriously post a pic of this... so called trigger fish.

I don't seem to have any Triggerfish shots in my Galleries (which are woefully outdated), but HERE is a site of Howard Hall who is an IMAX photographer, and was attacked by the Triggerfish shown.

 

[c r0ck 1]

Trigger fish can be very territorial, and all SaltWater fish have Teeth! Trigger fish are also good sized unlike another aggressive fish, the Damselfish. Triggerfish are responsible for more bites on divers than any other fish in the world I believe.

Aggressive behavior and attacks generally occur when they are spawning. I think the rest of the year they are quite approachable, and I have a ton of photo's of them close up in Coz, and less so from FL. I'm not sure when they spawn, but I think maybe Aug time frame in this part of the world.

yea the teeth thing is true.. i cought a sheeps head off the pier and the teeth were like that of a pirana!

 

[Tim Greaves]

Well im new to scuba and as some of you know i have signed up for my cert class starting on nov 17th.

I only really have 1 fear. (well its not really a fear)

I call it the fear of "whats in the water". I mean i cant really explain it but i know live in florida and know that all i gotta really worry about is probably sharks. But i just sometimes stand at the pier that everyone fishes at and think "what the hells under this pier?" Then again i get scared to think about just jumping into that water with scuba gear on and looking. (not to say i would actually be doing scuba there) just a thought.

I know thereis probably tons of rods and reels down there and tons of stuff down there..

BUt i feel like scared of whats in the water.. Maybee cause its the bay and it seems dark and merkey? I have no idea.. Can someone enlighten me on their view of this.

Thanks ahead.. C rock

Ahhh.. Its no big deal.. You more likely to get hurt on the way to your dive site than the actual dive itself..

Have fun on your open water class.. I remember when I took mine we went from all the pool sessions to a murkey quarry.. Going from unlimited viz,80 degrees, shirt and shorts pool to about 5 feet of vis, 45 degrees, 7mm wetsuit, gloves, boots, hood, ect is much different..

 

[Parysa]

I wouldn't even swim in a lake before I started diving for that same reason, but I have no problems with diving in the lake, lol. I think it's b/c you can see what's around you (for the most part), whereas when you're swimming, you can't.

 

[EvvScuba]

The only time I've experienced any "fear of the unknown" was when my wife and I dove in the Bahamas for the first time.

We were down around 75' doing a wall dive when it hit me. I'm looking down into this dark abyss and the fear of what might be looking up at me hit me. Totally irrational, but for a moment or two my anxiety level rose. I focused on the wall to my right again and quickly forgot about what was beneath me. I think the fact that the captain had told us how deep it was also got to me (I don't remember the number now, but it was deep).

Jason

 

[leslieinpv]

I use to be afraid of whats in the water too, bigtime. Once I realized what was actually in the water, then the fear left.
Now when I dive I look forward to seeing something different. Some days I'm lucky and see new things and some days I see what I always see and its still amazing.
good luck.

 

[nereas]

I use to be afraid of whats in the water too, bigtime. Once I realized what was actually in the water, then the fear left.
Now when I dive I look forward to seeing something different. Some days I'm lucky and see new things and some days I see what I always see and its still amazing.
good luck.

Exactly!

 

[Comp.Air.Junkie]

I used to feel the same way. On my first two boat dives I would step to the edge and tremble (thinking of getting eaten by a shark) until a wave would make me lose my balance and then I would giant stride out. Once I was in the water concentrating on my diving I would forget all about it. I would come back from the dive and just be so pumped to do the next dive I would never think about it anymore. You would be suprised how much is around you that you never notice. You'll be fine.