Li Li’s Pygmy Pipedragon

Li Li Tey is a big part of our team in Ambon. Her beaming smile and enthusiasm for life, both above and below the surface of Ambon Bay, has been a real breath of fresh air at the resort, earning compliments and praise from a whole array of Maluku Divers guests.

Li Li first arrived with us in 2009 and has been volunteering in Ambon on and off ever since. A skilled instructor, she has been putting this qualification to use in Ambon to encourage and educated new divers amongst the local community, in addition to several members of the Maluku Divers team. This is one way that Maluku Divers has identified to encourage a greater understanding of the importance of marine realm within the local communities. Li Li has learned Indonesian and assists the local crew with their course theoretical study as well as their underwater experiences.

On top of all this volunteering, Li Li somehow finds the time to work in the evenings on her ‘real’ job as a professional proof reader, (she was the catalyst behind the wifi system that was installed this year at the resort) and even manages to correct the terrible grammar on the Maluku Divers website. (who actually did write that?!)

Li Li’s zest for observing the marine life in Ambon has developed her guiding skills and, amongst other things, she holds the resort record for locating boxercrabs on the house reef. A great guide looks for habitat as much as an individual critter and Li Li has been researching what other creatures could be found in the unique environments of Ambon Bay. Her studies lead her to a recent spate of pygmy species that have been identified, with the belief that surely some of these new species could also be found in Ambon’s fertile waters.

So it was armed with these pygmy targets that Li Li approached the dives in Ambon, meticulously searching the habitats she knew may hide something interesting. During one particular dive in mid May at another of Maluku Divers’ recently pioneered sites at Amahusu, while guest photographers were shooting images of huge Saron shrimps, Li Li descended to check out some habitat which Ned Deloach had mentioned was sometimes home to a pygmy pipehorse.

The result? Only the first ever discovery of the Pygmy Pipedragon (kyonemichthys rumengani) in Ambon.

Li Li’s excitement at the time of discovery was clear for all to see and she happily shared her find with the other divers and guides in the water. Spending the rest of the dive with her new found dragon friend, Li Li also made sure to show the specimen to photographer Phil Hetherington so he could take the necessary identification shots. Now, the individual was not a particularly punctilious pygmy pipedragon and refused the head on images we were hoping for. However, the images were sharp and provided enough information for Pygmy Grand Master Doctor Richard Smith, former guest of Maluku Divers, to successfully identify the species.

Previously thought to only exist in the waters of Lembeh, the Pygmy Pipedragon has been seen around Wakatobi, Togeans, Onna-son, Okinawa (Japan) and Cabilao (Philippines) and now we have them in Ambon!!

After the discovery of the Maluku Frogfish in 2008, and now this Pygmy Pipedragon, it is clear that Ambon is a hotbed of critter discovery, so why not join us to see if you can also discover something unidentified.

Until recently, we thought Li Li’s talents ended at guiding, instructing, proof reading and controlling Marcel, but no, many of you will have heard her sumptuous soprano in the soundtrack of EJ’s vimeo of Ambon. http://vimeo.com/23938141

Thanks for all your hard work Li Li!

Rhinopias Fever: Phil’s Baby Weedy Scorpionfish (Rhinopias Frondosa)

Yes, we are fully aware that we have been in a state of Rhinopias rapture on Facebook and Twitter in the last few weeks. But, let us ask you, who’s ever sick of Rhinopias, let alone baby Rhinopias?

Take out your fish books, check out the pictures on internet, how often do you actually see a picture of a juvenile Rhinopias? It’s not very often, that’s for sure, which is why our dedicated guides were in a state of euphoria as they reported this week’s treat for you Rhinopias lovers. One of Maluku Divers’ senior dive guides, Soleman (we call him “Soulman” but as yet he won’t wear the huge afro wig or the large glasses) has a record of having found four (4) individual Rhinopias in Ambon bay, including a juvenile yellow Weedy Scorpionfish (Rhinopias frondosa) since he joined us five months ago. We thought this was pretty impressive and usually guides would be happy with such achievements, but not Mr Soleman, he kept on searching and now he has one more to add under his weightbelt: a juvenile Weedy Scorpionfish!

Coming all the way from the capital of Scotland, Edinburgh, Phil Hetherington is a self confessed ‘happy snapper’ underwater. Although we’ve joked about Phil bringing the rain from Scotland when he first arrived in Ambon, the assurance we give to all our guests is, come rain or shine, our dedicated staff at Maluku Divers will never let the weather stop us from providing the best dive experience possible in Ambon. Phil’s week so far (with four more days remaining) is proof of that. Owing to the excellent critter-hunting skills of our dive guides, he was rewarded by many ‘first sightings’ for his eyes and his camera (watch out for next week’s report) in the last week, including this baby Weedy Scorpionfish measuring only 4 cm in length. We think this particular specimen is so young, it has yet to develop pigmentation.

Maluku Divers welcomes photographers of all kinds at our resort: serious professionals, aspiring amateurs and happy snappers. We have a dedicated camera room with individual stations for every diver, with a plethora of charging sockets for all the equipment in the photographer’s arsenal. The walls of the camera room are decorated with images contributed by many world renown photographers, inspiring divers to try new techniques and carry on searching for the rarest critters and behaviours. At each workstation, a convenient adjustable desk light can be used to pick out the smallest speck of dust or hair-strand that might put your camera at risk (check out our underwater photography facilities). From our experience since the resort opened it’s doors in 2009, given the wide range of marine biodiversity in Ambon, it’s going to be hard for anyone to resist taking pictures during their stay here.

In Phil’s own words, “Expect the unexpected, for every dive surprises you. It’s a place for many ‘firsts’!”

So pack your camera and housing, and we look forward to welcoming you in Ambon for an amazing dive and photography experience with Maluku Divers and our dedicated team.

Andre’s Paddle-Flap Scorpionfish (Rhinopias eschmeyeri)

A farewell surprise for Dr. Andre Smith and yet another Paddle-Flap Scorpionfish (Rhinopias eschmeyeri) specimen found by Maluku Divers’ guides in Ambon Bay!

In the last ten years, muck diving has rapidly become popular in the world of diving and the photographic opportunities this division of diving presents are the mainstay for dedicated photography resorts such as Maluku Divers. This is the reason we have developed (and are always improving) a resort which can cater to not only interested ‘critter spotters’ but also an array of enthusiasts, from novice to serious and even professional photographers.

The attraction of muck diving lies in its intrigue: you never know what you might find in your next dive. And so, muck divers often request to return to dive the same site during their stay with us, happily bury their heads in the sand, poke around examining and exploring the unique habitats, until ‘viola!’ the outline of a camouflaged critter bobs up and become recognizable before their eyes.

This was exactly the experience enjoyed by Dr. Andre Smith, a dive physician from Canada, who stayed with Maluku Divers for an eleven day muck diving marathon. Before his last dive, we asked Dr Andre what he hadn’t ticked off his checklist of critters and he asked to see the Pygmy Seahorse (Hippocampus bargibanti) as a special treat. Stoner, the newest addition to Maluku Divers’ dive dream-team who has a knack for finding pygmy seahorses in Ambon Bay, gladly accepted the challenge and delivered Andre a shot of the bargibanti, but not without another, unexpected farewell gift: Not far from the pygmy, the familiar shape of this large beige-colored Paddle-Flap Scorpionfish (Rhinopias eschmeyeri) caught Stoner’s eye and Andre was beside himself with glee when he returned from his last dive:

From our observations of the multiple rhinopias we’ve seen over the years diving Ambon Bay, the Paddle-Flap seems to be more restless than its counterparts in the Rhinopias family. A month ago (see our Weekly News on 16 April, 2011), a red specimen was found at Kampung Baru, a newly discovered dive site just two minutes away from Maluku Divers resort. This rhino disappeared after three days, very different to the pair of stunning purple Weedy Scorpionfish (Rhinopias frondosa) found in early March at Air Manis (a site also just two minutes away) stayed at the same site for more than two months, much to our divers’ delight.

Nevertheless, the frequent appearance of these serenely gorgeous fish in Ambon Bay never fails to send streams of enthusiastic divers frantically heading out on several dives in one day to get their best shot, for such is the excitement of having world class muck diving right on your bungalow doorstep. 

Maluku Divers is strategically situated on the northern coast of Ambon Bay where it is only between only two and five minutes by boat from a multitude of world-class muck sites. If you are looking for the best opportunity to enjoy your first muck diving experience, or you are a seasoned muck devotee looking for the next critter haven to explore, give Maluku Divers a try. Like many divers before you, we’re sure you won’t be disappointed with what our dedicated team will show you.

Ned and Anna’s Redhead Coral Gobies

 One of the special things you can look forward to, when diving with Maluku Divers, is the rare opportunity to meet celebrities in the diving world during your stay. Being the only international resort in Ambon, Maluku Divers has welcomed more than it’s fair share of internationally renowned photographers, ichthyologists and fishbook writers, all eager to photograph, explore and write about the amazing marine life in Ambon Bay. Just see our Photo Galleries page for examples of their work.

This week, Maluku Divers had the honour of hosting Ned and Anna DeLoach at our resort, much to the delight of the lucky divers whose stay coincided with the couple. Ned DeLoach, whose reputation as a writer of several fish identification books needs no introduction, is one of the four authors of the popular Reef Fish Identification books, the 2nd edition of Tropical Pacific Fishes is already out,  this is the must-have fish identification book that serious divers never leave for a dive trip without. Ned has just finished the much-anticipated Reef Creatures (Tropical Pacific) with Paul Humann, the ‘Bible’ for Muck Divers, which will soon be available at Maluku Divers. Anna’s interests extend to fish behaviour; She worked along side her husband with the production of Reef Fish Behavior: Florida Carribean Bahamas and has been involved in several video productions on marine life for REEF, including Reef Fish Identification: A Beginning Course, Sensational Seas Two, bringing the pleasure of rare sights from under the sea to divers and non-divers alike.

Together, the husband-and-wife team influenced everyone around them with their infectious passion and enthusiasm during their five-day stay at Maluku Divers. Their eyes sparkled whenever they shared the day’s underwater encounters with other divers. So it was when they shared the story behind this picture of two cute Redhead Coralgobies (Paragobiodon echinocephalus) below taken by Ned.

Ned and Anna had shown a picture of the Redhead Coralgobies to Semuel, their private dive guide during their stay, to get his help to find them as Ned wanted a better picture for identification. Living up to his reputation as ‘The Guide who Delivers’, Semuel found one tiny redhead coralgoby and pointed it out to Ned. Ned was struggling to photograph the tiny fish hampered by the surge in the shallows, ever alert, Anna had to sprawl herself on Ned’s legs to stabilize him while he was taking a shot of the redhead scurrying about inside the hard coral. Just as Ned was making some headway to take a shot, another redhead appeared suddenly and joined his friend to pose for this awesome shot:

Well, we think only a picture of Ned and Anna locked in their sprawl underwater would match this!

Ned and Anna are itching to come back to Maluku Divers, and have plans for an extended visit next season, we can’t wait to have them back, hopefully you can join them too!

Caught in the Act: Mantis has Coleman for lunch!

Sometimes it really pays to spend a long time diving with Maluku Divers in Ambon. When you put in the hours underwater, armed with your camera and a healthy helping of patience, really interesting behaviours can be exhibited and witnessed. This week at Maluku Divers,  Axel Käfer and Bettina Hänfler were lucky enough to enjoy something really special.

Axel and Bettina came to Ambon from the second largest city of Germany, Hamburg. At our first meeting, they looked to us like relaxed divers,  a happy couple-next-door taking a two week long vacation at our resort, with Axel frequently cheerfully  referring to Bettina as “the boss!”. But as the days passed and we got to know them better. We found out that Bettina is a pharmacist whose advice to other divers about treating common ear infections using easily-available homemade chemical solutions was as good as any dive doctor’s, and Axel turned out to be a real-life Crime Scene Investigator!

Underwater, Axel and Bettina displayed an unusual curiosity and precision observing Ambon’s unique marine life. In spite of having travelled to various parts of the coral triangle for muck diving, and having seen umpteen species of critters, they investigated every rock, every bit of rubble and every reef as meticulously as our professional dive guides, in search of more.

It was due to this dedication to detail during one of their dives, that they were rewarded by something which they had never seen nor expected before and we think very few people will ever have witnessed: While Axel was shooting a pair of coleman shrimps (periclimenes colemani) on a fire urchin, a smashing mantis shrimp (possibly odontodactylus latirostris) darted into the frame, struck one of the coleman shrimps at lightning speed and had it for lunch! Being in the right place at the right time, Axel and Bettina have one great picture of the criminal caught in the act!

Bye Bye, Colemani!

Obviously this incredible observation, and subsequent action shot, lead to discussions as to whether this had been witnessed before, whether the mantis was especially brave, or whether there was something wrong with the fire urchin, meaning it couldn’t offer the expected level of protection that Mr Colemani was expecting. Let us know what you think in comments below.

This kind of observation really excites us at Maluku Divers, congratulations to Axel and Bettina, thanks for sharing. We hope this little episode brings a smile to all your faces. Join us at Maluku Divers and perhaps you’ll witness something really unique too.

Connie’s Paddle-Flap Scorpionfish (Rhinopias eschmeyeri)

Rhinopias are the all-time favourite among the critter enthusiasts who stay at Maluku Divers. It never fails to be one of the first marine creatures that guests name when our dive guides do their routine consultation “What would you like to see in your dive today?” before every dive at Maluku Divers.

This is the second stay this season at Maluku Divers for Cornelia Thieme, a physician from Germany. She already stayed for two weeks in October, and when she knew the dive liveaboard she had planned to be on would end its itinerary in Ambon, she couldn’t wait to come back for a convenient land based add on to the cruise. On Connie’s wishlist this time were skeleton shrimps, boxer crabs and rhinopias. Our dedicated dive guides found her a colony of skeleton shrimps in one dive site and two boxer crabs at our spectacular house reef (even more spectacular at night!).

Then, Maluku Divers really delivered and Connie had not one, but two different rhinopias: a velvet red Paddle-Flap Scorpionfish (Rhinopias eschmeyeri) along with a purple Weedy Scorpionfish (Rhinopias frondosa) and she also had the pleasure of seeing a pretty Ambon Scorpionfish (Pteroidichthys amboinensis) in her spiritual home in Ambon! Connie shares her picture of the velvet red Paddle-Flap Rhinopias this week:

The world class muck diving and Maluku Divers’ convenient location just a few minutes from Ambon’s domestic airport, are just two of the many reasons why guests keep returning again and again to Ambon. Pattimura airport has daily flights from Bali, Manado and Jakarta, via Makassar, as well as regular flights to Sorong, Nabire and many other locations in east Indonesia. Even if the main aspect of your trip is exploring other parts of Indonesia, Maluku Divers is a great, cost effective and convenient way to make sure you get your fix of critters during your dive trip.

Other reasons divers repeat their stays at Maluku Divers, as Connie and many of our return guests would tell you, a professional team and great service with a big smile! We look forward to seeing you in Ambon. Don’t forget to bring your wishlist!

Maluku Divers Dive Team; Semuel Bukasiang

No muck diving resort can develop the reputation Maluku Divers has, without a team of great dive guides who are able to spot the tiniest and most cryptic critters consistently, dive after dive after dive. At the helm of the Maluku Divers Dive Team Semuel Bukasiang, Senior Dive Guide is one of the best dive guides that you would have the honour of diving with.

Known more fondly as “Om ‘Muel” (Uncle Semuel) amongst the Maluku Divers Resort team, the dedicated father of three has 18 years of diving and just under 20,000 dives under his belt. Observing Semuel’s calm composure underwater even in the most challenging conditions, no one would have guessed that he had been afraid when taking his first dive in May 1994 with his dive instructor, the late Muck Diving King, Larry Smith. But, this first dive into Lembeh Straits signalled the discovery of a lifelong passion in muck diving. Under Larry’s guidance, Semuel discovered another world whose creatures cleverly camouflage and blend themselves into their unusual environment.

In the years before he joined Maluku Divers in Ambon, Semuel has had the opportunity to dive most of the well-known dive sites of north and south Sulawesi—Bunaken, Bangka, Lembeh, Sangihe, Selayar—and even participated in exploratory dive expeditions around north Maluku—Ternate, Tobelo and Halmahera—before these sites were known. The trailblazer in him saw him on a liveaboard that plied Raja Ampat and the Banda Sea, which eventually paved the way for him to come to Ambon.
 
After almost two decades of hunting for rare and unusual critters, Semuel’s passion for muck diving continues to be fuelled by the thrill of discovering yet more interesting marine life in Ambon Bay at every dive. When he first dove Ambon, Semuel was amazed by the abundance of critters he saw, which immediately convinced him to make Maluku Divers his home. In his years in Ambon, Semuel also discovered and pioneered a large number of dive sites in Ambon Bay, one of which, notably, is ‘Mimic Point’, where he found 9 mimic and 4 long-arm octopi on his first dive, so if Semuel has a hunch about a site that he hasn’t tried, it’s probably worthwhile joining the exploration!

Like his mentor, the late, great Larry Smith, Semuel aspires to blaze a trail in muck dive-guiding, passing his experience and enthusiasm to other youngsters living in Ambon, in the hope that others will develop his passion for the art of finding the unique critters in Ambon Bay.

“Emily and I certainly did enjoy our visit to Ambon.  The resort is fantastic, Marcel was great to meet, socialize and dive with and having Samuel as our dive guide was like having Larry Smith guiding me again (at least in spirit).  We really were blown away by the variety and species in Ambon.  It really makes a huge difference to go with local knowledge. The difference between going to a movie theater and watching previews, then leaving or going to the movie theater and seeing Avatar in 3D.”

Douglas Seifert; April 2010

Betty’s Juvenile Yellowmargin Moray Eel

Betty Wasicek is one of the most experienced divers we’ve had at Maluku Divers. She was one of the brave few women in the 1960s who dove into the blue — then, diving was just a tank and hose without a BCD — to discover an enchanting underwater world that has mesmerised her to this day. But after 43 years of diving and having seen every fish and critter in the books, she was in search of the extraordinary. And her first visit to Ambon Bay was well-rewarded by a rare sighting of this translucent, ribbon-like juvenile Yellowmargin Moray Eel (Gymnothorax flavimarginatus) in the lush halimeda garden of Laha.

This is the second sighting of this enchantingly surreal juvenile eel in Ambon. The first sighting was in the same month last year. While much remains unknown about the spawning behaviour and life stages of the moray eels that are found in all colors, sizes and species in Ambon Bay, what we do know is that the larval eels of the gymnothorax species, known as leptocephali, have a lengthy pelagic stage before settling down in coral reef habitats. This juvenile yellowmargin moray eel was probably in search of a home in the Ambon reefs when he was spotted by our dive guide.

In Betty’s own words “you could be diving for 43 years and never have the privilege to see this intriguing creature”. It made her dive trip and she’s already planning to return to Maluku Divers in the next season! We look forward to welcoming you with open arms, Betty! (You can bring Jerry too if you want!)

Jayne’s Freckled FrogFish

If you are infected with Frogfish fever, as many divers are, you would be glad to know that there are frogfishes aplenty in Ambon Bay. There are giant frogfishes (antennarius commersonii), warty frogfishes, painted frogfishes (antennarius maculates), and of course, the latest species that has been found only in Ambon, the Maluku Frogfish (histiophryne psychedelica). In November 2010, during one of the dives made during the Wetpixel Night Safari arranged by Tony Wu and Eric Cheng, four hairy frogfishes (antennarius striatus) made their appearance on the shores of Laha.

It was at this very dive site, also known as The Twilight Zone, that Jayne Bruner (again, one of Maluku Divers’ repeat, repeat, repeat guests) shot this image of a cryptic frogfish (antennarius coccineus) during one of her night dives this week. This colourful Freckled Frogfish was well-camouflaged in the algae-encrusted ropes and an old tyre where it made it’s home, only coming out at night, but our keen-eyed dive guides blew his cover, of course.

For those of you who have not met or heard about Bob and Jayne Bruner —and you probably would have if you are a regular visitor to Indonesia— this lovely couple have been diving Indonesian waters since the 1990′s. They first dove Ambon with late, great, Larry Smith the King of Muck Diving,  Burt Jones and  Maurine Shimlock in 1993.  It is not so well known that that Ambon was actually the birthplace of Indonesian muck diving. In fact it was not until after Larry’s exploratory dives at Ambon bay where he encountered critters he had never seen before, that he went on to pioneer the muck diving in Lembeh.

While Lembeh nowadays is a busy region with a concentration of many resorts all brimming with divers, Ambon Bay is home to only one dive operation, Maluku Divers, which is the only internationally managed resort of the two that operate on the island. So, it really is “Critters without Crowds” at The Maluku Divers Resort. We hope this is only part of the reason Bob and Jayne keep returning to dive with us!

Bruce’s Stargazer

The tsunami warnings sent out to multiple countries and islands across the south Pacific on March 11, 2011 following the devastating 8.9 magnitude earthquake in north east Japan left Maluku mostly untouched. Our hearts go out to Japan and all those affected by the tragedy. Thankfully, Ambon island, whose bay faces southeast, is sheltered by Ceram island in the north, and Maluku Divers’ guests went about diving with their usual intensity.

The highlight of the diving this week is this interesting stargazer which was found at the dive site, Air Manis, during one of our regular night dives, which can now be arranged at sites close to the resort, as well as our convenient house reef.

While the whitemargin stargazer (uranoscopus sulpheus) is regularly seen during night dives in Ambon, this particular stargazer, which has a brown base and distinct white spots all over its body, has not been seen here until this week, when two individuals were spotted by our eagle-eyed guides. We think they may be the tropical-dwelling white-spotted stargazer (uranoscopus polli), and although most of the fish identification sites we consulted have described them dwelling on sandy slopes beyond 20 metres/66 feet, these two were found at between 14–16 metres/46–53 feet. One of the first guests who came to the new Maluku Divers resort at Laha in November 2009, Bruce Shafer, shares his photo of this night-dweller, found during his second repeat visit here.  If anyone knows for certain what species this stargazer is, please let us know.

Bruce is, by the way, in the process of publishing his photos of underwater creatures in a coffee table book. We want a copy!