Things That Almost Bit You

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I-huh-hi was nibbled ... byh ... clo-huh-hown fish!!! :homealone:

---------- Post added April 8th, 2013 at 11:33 AM ----------

... But seriously:

Diving Kals dream off alor, SE nusa tenggara, which is a pinnacle in a strait that you mostly only dive at slack high tide due to *ripping* currents, I had just finished a 36 m dive on the lee side, and was working my way up, through a mounting incoming tidal down current to the one rock at 7 metres where you can hold on and do your stop as the tide slowly tries too peel the mask from your face and the reg from your mouth, bubbles getting carried away sideways and downwards.

I usually always wave my hands before holding on to anything to scare off whatever might be lounging around, but on this day, due to the current that had even the damsel fish whirling about like leaves in a storm I thought to Hell with it and reached out to grab the rock ledge. Nothing, I thought would wanna be on the other side of that bucket-size rock facing the current head-on. As I put my hand on the rock I felt something slither between my fingers. I pulled myself forward, not letting go to see, and saw the biggest, fattest scorpion fish I've ever seen slide lazily from the rock and settle with a slightly disgruntled look half a metre below.

Apparently It had been hanging on the rock face, head down as my fingers closed around the tail fin.

We quietly shared another 5 minutes of rock time, considering that.
 
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I was attempting to spear lionfish on one of the pinnacles off Saba last summer when a 40! FOOT! NURSE! SHARK! (well, maybe closer to 5 feet) became very aggressive, wanting what was on my spear. Apparently, some folks must be in the habit of feeding speared fish to the sharks. Luckily, another diver in the water was able to distract the shark, but I've never seen nurse sharks so aggressive, and during the daytime, to boot!
 
I wasn't almost bitten. I really was bitten. . . . by a barracuda. OK OK it bit down on the end of my fin and wouldn't let go. It had come in from behind me and we had quite an amusing struggle for possession of my fin. Happily, I won.
 
Things that bit me (in order of pain):
-Green turtle
-Titan triggerfish
-Fake cleaner wrasse
-Damselfish
-Clownfish

Things that stung me (in order of pain):
-Portuguese Man-of-War
-Didactylus inimicus/devil scorpionfish
-Other jellyfish

Thing I'm most afraid of being bit/stung by:
-Other divers, especially photogs
 
All this talk of people having close encounters with mantis shrimp...here's an expose by one of my favorite web-comics on the Mantis Shrimp.

"Why the mantis shrimp is my new favorite animal."
Why the mantis shrimp is my new favorite animal - The Oatmeal

LOL, good stuff.

Btw - heres an observation on mantis shrimp spotting on coral reefs that has served me really well. When they dodge and scoot back into their hole, immediately start scrutinizing the surrounding reef within a radius of about half a metre. Often you'll find them studying you from a secondary hole away from the one you might be expected to be focusing on if you were a predator.

Sly little bastards.
 
I've now been bitten 3 times by moray eels. 2 of them were warranted - I was spearfishing (freediving) and moray's are very scent oriented. One bite ruined my gloves and nicked the skin, the other shredded my hand/finger and I now have a lovely small scar after the good docs stitched it back together. No permanent damage.

The third time I was attacked in about 90' of water. I was diving a wall on scuba and it's totally different gear from my freedive/spearfishing set-up so there was no scent of anything to do with fish on me. I wasn't even close to the reef - in fact the moray swam past 2 other divers to head straight for me and I was hanging out in blue water. I shoved my fin at it at the last minute and it bit twice, shredding my fin. Yes, you can hear screaming through a reg...

I guess since I have 25 years spearfishing/scuba diving, that's not too bad. . .
Sheesh! Even for 25 years I'm impressed by 3 different assaults, esp. after the deep one swam past two others and made a beeline for you.

I think I would start using a very different perfume! :D At least on diving days...
 
I've had my mask lens pounded by a black sea bass and have been pinched by a stone crab, I thought I lost the tip of my finger. The finger tip is still there, however the crab's claw is not
 
I think I would start using a very different perfume! :D At least on diving days...

Whats wrong with "eau de poisson" all of a sudden:shocked2:? its a classic!:acclaim:
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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