Bali Mandarinfish question

[Pooley]

Hi everyone, 

 

In a few weeks I'll be in  Bali, doing lots of diving around the Tulamben area. I'm sorted in that area, diving with Ajax Dharma. 

 

However, we will also have 3 nights in the Permuteran / Menjangen area, where the internet informs me there are mandarinfish sites.  

 

However, when I contacted one  of the dive centres that advertises  that  specific dive  they replied that they don't do it much due to a 'low chance' of seeing the mandarins. 

 

I'm awaiting further clarification, but wondered if anyone on here  had any more experience of the area

 

thanks

 

Mike

[scubadiggy]

hey mike dive Pemuteran extensively many years  ago. Never did manage to shoot these elusive beauties. But while looking for them found some pyjama cardinal fish. In my honest opinion one of the best places to shoot these would be Ambon. Success nearly every evening.

 

Diggy

[CaolIla]

In 2019 I was in Bunaken there is also a place with Mandarin ...  Success was 100% for us... 1 dive  and we have seen Mandarin fishes 😉

[Davide DB]

Maybe @bghazzal can give you some info 😉

 

[bghazzal]

1 hour ago, Davide DB said:

Maybe @bghazzal can give you some info 😉

 

Unfortunately not for west Bali / Permuteran and Menjangan...

 

My mandarin-fish data is pretty limited...  other than Bunaken mentioned above, we did have mandarin fish for a while under staghorn coral in Siaba Besar (central Komodo) when I was working there, and more recently loads of very easy to spot mandarin fish in Palau (just outside Chandelier Cave, in 5m of water, way more than in the so-called "Mandarin Fish Lake").
Won't be much help for Bali though...

[Pooley]

Thanks  for the replies everyone. 

 

The dive centre have come back with an estimate of a  30% success rate so I  think I'll  just look at going and enjoying the area as a regular tourist!

 

cheers

 

Mike

[CaolIla]

I have a terrible experience of my diving. It's a very long time to wait for the Mandarins to appear. We quickly got cold kneeling in front of the corals without moving....  I probably never make a second Mandarin dive... 

[Sergio]

When I went to the permuteran area about 7 years ago, no luck seeing them. I did see them in Anilao. There’s a “nest” of them close to photo academy. having said that I had no photo really useful out of this dive as my camera was painfully slow to focus and wasn’t really able to do so I red light… I want to try again now when I go there in may though;-)

good luck though. You might just be lucky enough;-)

[TimG]

They used to be a regular and reliable feature on a dusk dive on the Tanjung Kuso Kuso dive site in the Lembeh Straits. I don't know though if they are still around.

[Chris Ross]

3 hours ago, TimG said:

They used to be a regular and reliable feature on a dusk dive on the Tanjung Kuso Kuso dive site in the Lembeh Straits. I don't know though if they are still around.

We found them easily at Diver's Lodge at Lembeh house reef a few years back, swam down to the spot and they very quickly started spawning.

[Grm]

Hi 

 

I have seen them and even have an odd picture on dusk dives in the bay at Pemuteran but I do think on more recent trips they are much harder to see, on the flip side ‘Shaun the sheep’ seem more common there now and I saw 6-7 on a small leaf in 2 metres last October. I always dive with BDA, Karin runs a great centre and we love Pemuteran as it is so quite and close to Menjangan too

 

 

[Pooley]

27 minutes ago, Grm said:

Hi 

 

I have seen them and even have an odd picture on dusk dives in the bay at Pemuteran but I do think on more recent trips they are much harder to see, on the flip side ‘Shaun the sheep’ seem more common there now and I saw 6-7 on a small leaf in 2 metres last October. I always dive with BDA, Karin runs a great centre and we love Pemuteran as it is so quite and close to Menjangan too

 

 

 

Cheers Grm, 

 

I'm only there  3  days and will get plenty of diving in around tulamben and its neighbouring sites,  so I'm going to give the mandarin dives a miss. Mrs P has hinted maybe I  should do a couple of dives around Menjangen instead,  and its a foolish man who disobeys his wife!

 

There is a great site about 10 minutes from Shaun that I was planning on going to again, but if they are in 2m here I could se potential for an EMWL shot - great info, thanks

 

Mike

[bghazzal]

Various types of Shaun the Sheep / Costasiellidae nudis are found in the Tulamben area as well, it's actually one of the more common nudis out here.
I'm sure Ajiex will have no problems finding them for you, and probably lots of other, rare nudis. It is seasonal, but the Shaun the Sheeps are year round 🙂

[RickMo]

We stayed at the Menjangan Resort for four or so nights after a week in Tulamben last October. I did six dives on Menjangan Island and it exceeded my expectations. First, the national park is remote and stark--they have had a serious drought for several years--but lovely. Monkeys are around, and there is good bird life, although they’ve been in drought for at least two years. As to the diving, Abyss Ocean World's good new (fast) boat picked me up on the dock at resort, from which it is a 15-20 minute ride to the island.  The boat had not so much as a rinse bucket for cameras, but the guiding was excellent, and the reefs were fertile; a good mix of fish, nudis, some turtles, and pretty much all the things, including, at 90’, the largest field of garden eels I've ever seen.  Some of the reef was terraced, nice topography, and we didn’t encounter much current.  

I talked to our guide about the mandarin fish in Pemuteran (a where their dive shop is) and he said Pemuteran diving in general is not good and the mandarin show is not great.  We did see a laugh-out-loud splendid mandarin fish colony under a trashy pier in Pasarwajo Bay on Buton, diving from a liveaboard.

[shokwaav]

On 2/28/2024 at 10:58 AM, RickMo said:

I talked to our guide about the mandarin fish in Pemuteran (a where their dive shop is) and he said Pemuteran diving in general is not good and the mandarin show is not great. 

Did you do any diving at Pemuteran then? I'm planning on going in July with Abyss as well, and they recommended us diving at Pemuteran for half the dives, but I'd rather do more of Menjangan if its much better.

[Pooley]

I didn't do any diving there in the end, we decided to treat it to a short break both me and Mrs P cold enjoy. 

 

I spoke to DiveConcepts a couple of times and I was impressed with their honesty - they gave me about a 30% chance of seeing the Mandarins, is I decided to have fun in other ways. Lovely area.

 

Mrs P doesn't dive any more but loves snorkelling, so we did a day at Menjangen, and I must say I was really impressed with the conditions of the reefs we went to - huge coral coverage, and I will be  diving them next year  when we go back. 

 

really hope if that proposed new road to Gilimanuk doesn't being in too m any day trippers because in their current state the reefs were beautiful at Menjangen. 

[Grm]

All depends what you like, I stay here every other year for a a week to chill and escape the crowds, Menjangan definitely has the better reefs and fish density but if you like Macro there is lots to keep you interested in Pemuteran from Nudi, Frogfish, Seahorses and loads of Clown fish, they have sunk a bus in the last couple of years and there are small Frogfish on it at night. I like the mix, in the bay you can get 2 hour long dives in and be back in time for lunch and chillin in the afternoon😃

I alternate days between the 2

[Edwin Westenberg]

Go to Mandarinpoint.( housereef Amertha) Just returned from that area and did 3 mandarin dives with Karang Divers and it was very nice. Another divespot i really liked for macro is Jetty. For wideangle the Napoleon reef was very nice and Menjangan.

Edited June 8 by Edwin Westenberg
Typo

[shokwaav]

8 hours ago, Edwin Westenberg said:

Go to Mandarinpoint.( housereef Amertha) Just returned from that area and did 3 mandarin dives with Karang Divers and it was very nice. Another divespot i really liked for macro is Jetty. For wideangle the Napoleon reef was very nice and Menjangan.

Did you manage to see any Mandarin fish?

[Edwin Westenberg]

1 hour ago, shokwaav said:

Did you manage to see any Mandarin fish?

Yes, all the 3 dives. 

[Pooley]

1 hour ago, Edwin Westenberg said:

Yes, all the 3 dives. 

 

Who did you dive with Edwin? I'm back there for 4 nights next year, and may consider giving up one sunset to see the Mandarins!

 

 

[Edwin Westenberg]

13 hours ago, Pooley said:

 

Who did you dive with Edwin? I'm back there for 4 nights next year, and may consider giving up one sunset to see the Mandarins!

 

 

With Karang Divers. They have a divebase in Pemuteran at Amertha, Pondok Sari and Taman Sari.