AlanWald
Contributor
Bunaken Island, Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia 2005 in Nine Parts
September 5, 2005- October 6, 2005
Dive Operator Two Fish Divers http://twofishdivers.com/
Part One of Nine
Details Dive Sites
Around Bunaken Island and nearby islands.
The usual suspects were there in great quantity and variety, red tooth trigger fish (the little blue ones), other trigger fish, banner fish, butterfly fish, pipefish, trumpet fish, angel fish, anemone fish, cleaner wrasses, huge Napoleon wrasses, oysters, coral clams, five huge (a meter across) giant clams in a row, peacock flounders, parrot fish, batfish, ornate ghost pipe fish, all kinds of lion fish, leaf scorpion and other scorpion fish. stone fish, mantis shrimp, spiny lobsters, all kinds of crabs, cleaner shrimp, a big sponge crab the size of basketball (but flattened out) on a night dive, pygmy seahorses (the classic pink knobby ones as well as the recently described yellow/orange ones), little yellow and blue scrawled file fish, sea turtles, white tip and black tip reef sharks, blue spotted rays, garden eels. Saw a baby eagle ray, stone fish, trevally (Caranx species, in USA known as Jack) , big schools of bump head parrot fish near the surface. On the wall of Siladen Island near the pier saw the blue ringed octopus in the daytime.
We saw Dolphins underwater while using scuba. Quite rare. Also often saw Pilot whales and dolphins at the surface. Small school of Tuna circling near the surface. Another group saw a dugong (relative of the manatee) underwater far away from shore but we missed it. There is a species of coelacanth (you won’t see one as they live at 100 meter (330 feet) in volcanic caves at the base of Manado Tua, the volcanic island clearly seen just before landing at Manado airport). Lots of hard corals and sea fans. Mating Mandarin fish (seen during the dusk dive), nudibranchs, Unicorn fish. Sea cucumbers, sea starts. Barracuda. Black and white banded sea snake (krait) and the similar looking eel and the snake eel. Hawkfish. Lizardfish. Often saw the shrimp goby and its companion shrimp. We often saw the juvenile sweetlips nicknamed the “Cha Cha Cha” fish because of its dancing movement.
In 2004 I did not see the elusive nocturnal Comet fish (Calloplesiops species) but I saw it in 2005. It tends to stay hidden inside caves and crevices in the daytime. Carry a small underwater flashlight (torch) to discover this interesting and attractive fish.
North of Manado City just off the mainland
Plentiful Blue ribbon eels, .frogfish, demon stingers as well as many other members of the scorpion fish family such as Lionfish (also known as Turkey fish, Zebra Fish, Pterois species). Friendly cuttlefish. Good place for mantis shrimp. Crocodile fish. Stargazers.
Tanjung Pisok dive site, just off the mainland, a bit north of Manado city not far from Black Rock there is a huge forest of large green tree corals. Most looked healthy and strong about 6 feet (nearly 2 meters) in height. Even in the daytime in a mild current most of the corals were feeding.
Near Black Rock dive site is a very intact Dutch wreck, almost sixty years old, just off shore a few minutes north of Manado City.
continued in part 2
September 5, 2005- October 6, 2005
Dive Operator Two Fish Divers http://twofishdivers.com/
Part One of Nine
Details Dive Sites
Around Bunaken Island and nearby islands.
The usual suspects were there in great quantity and variety, red tooth trigger fish (the little blue ones), other trigger fish, banner fish, butterfly fish, pipefish, trumpet fish, angel fish, anemone fish, cleaner wrasses, huge Napoleon wrasses, oysters, coral clams, five huge (a meter across) giant clams in a row, peacock flounders, parrot fish, batfish, ornate ghost pipe fish, all kinds of lion fish, leaf scorpion and other scorpion fish. stone fish, mantis shrimp, spiny lobsters, all kinds of crabs, cleaner shrimp, a big sponge crab the size of basketball (but flattened out) on a night dive, pygmy seahorses (the classic pink knobby ones as well as the recently described yellow/orange ones), little yellow and blue scrawled file fish, sea turtles, white tip and black tip reef sharks, blue spotted rays, garden eels. Saw a baby eagle ray, stone fish, trevally (Caranx species, in USA known as Jack) , big schools of bump head parrot fish near the surface. On the wall of Siladen Island near the pier saw the blue ringed octopus in the daytime.
We saw Dolphins underwater while using scuba. Quite rare. Also often saw Pilot whales and dolphins at the surface. Small school of Tuna circling near the surface. Another group saw a dugong (relative of the manatee) underwater far away from shore but we missed it. There is a species of coelacanth (you won’t see one as they live at 100 meter (330 feet) in volcanic caves at the base of Manado Tua, the volcanic island clearly seen just before landing at Manado airport). Lots of hard corals and sea fans. Mating Mandarin fish (seen during the dusk dive), nudibranchs, Unicorn fish. Sea cucumbers, sea starts. Barracuda. Black and white banded sea snake (krait) and the similar looking eel and the snake eel. Hawkfish. Lizardfish. Often saw the shrimp goby and its companion shrimp. We often saw the juvenile sweetlips nicknamed the “Cha Cha Cha” fish because of its dancing movement.
In 2004 I did not see the elusive nocturnal Comet fish (Calloplesiops species) but I saw it in 2005. It tends to stay hidden inside caves and crevices in the daytime. Carry a small underwater flashlight (torch) to discover this interesting and attractive fish.
North of Manado City just off the mainland
Plentiful Blue ribbon eels, .frogfish, demon stingers as well as many other members of the scorpion fish family such as Lionfish (also known as Turkey fish, Zebra Fish, Pterois species). Friendly cuttlefish. Good place for mantis shrimp. Crocodile fish. Stargazers.
Tanjung Pisok dive site, just off the mainland, a bit north of Manado city not far from Black Rock there is a huge forest of large green tree corals. Most looked healthy and strong about 6 feet (nearly 2 meters) in height. Even in the daytime in a mild current most of the corals were feeding.
Near Black Rock dive site is a very intact Dutch wreck, almost sixty years old, just off shore a few minutes north of Manado City.
continued in part 2