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the painted trumpet fish
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date: 1/9/2009
Author:Nick Brennan
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Weather: Sunny
Air Temp: 23.8șC
Wind: South East 15-20 knots
Water Temp: 22șC
Water Visibility: 20m +
Sea State: Moderate
It was a superb first day of spring out here at Lady Elliot with the sun shining and lots of active wildlife.
The glass bottom boat enjoyed the crystal clear water that was on offer and came over a school of a few thousand fusilier that were milling in the water due to the abundance of plankton. Their colours looked amazing in the sunlight and they provided a great backdrop for the rest of the marine life. In the distance guests saw a breaching humpback whale and squealed with excitement. It was very playful leaping and twisting out of the water in a colourful display of acrobatics. In the water snorkelers saw a cone shell that was creeping along through the sand. It was quite a way down but those that saw it were astounded at the speed and distance it was covering. It was actually a great opportunity to view an individual of that size as often they are semi buried in the sand waiting to ambush their unwary prey.
One of the other great animals seen today was the painted trumpet fish. This creature is elongated and the species either grey or a vivid yellow. They are not the quickest swimmers so they rely on ambushing their prey. Guests wondered why this fish would be yellow considering it needs to sneak up on its food and yellow is so inconspicuous. The guide explained that yellow is one of the first colour absorbed in the water column. This could effectively mean that the black variety is on par with yellow in terms of camouflage and thus both the yellow and black varieties probably stand a pretty even chance of survival.
The divers had great conditions as well with mild currents to aid swimming and clear water. They saw five manta rays feeding in a train which had some guests leaping for joy. They are so impressive to watch and it can sometimes be hard to remember how special your first experience with these giants was. A host of other wildlife also entertained divers including a leopard shark some stingrays and some maori wrasse.
At Island Whispers guests told staff they were snorkelling at coral gardens just on the change of tide and they saw an estimate of fifty black and white tipped reef sharks waiting to get up into the lagoon. The man said that it was like a shopping sale everything was on half price for 15 minutes putting them in a frenzy of activity. These creatures are by no means dangerous, they eat very small animals, but none the less it was a wild spectacle that they will remember forever.
In the evening guests came along to the dangerous marine creatures presentation. They had so many great questions everybody really learnt a lot. It was an enthusiastic evening that only deepened people fascination with the underwater world.
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trumpet fish - jess
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