HD Macro in Lembeh

Thanks Paul and seok...

Cricket results too bad to live in Oz Paul?

This week's video is of one of the most photographed critters in Lembeh, when we can find them, the Boxing, or Pom Pom, Crab.

These great little crabs grab onto little white anemones and hold them in a set of pincers. They then wave them around for protection and to capture food. They have a lovely colour and are fun to watch. They are, of course, quite small, with a big one perhaps 4cm across, measuring from leg tip to leg tip.

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liquidguru, would be great if you provide a direct link to the vimeo page with each new video you embed. embedded vimeo videos usually don't load for me over here (especially when there are a lot on one thread), so i just see a white rectangle. cheers

liquidguru, would be great if you provide a direct link to the vimeo page with each new video you embed. embedded vimeo videos usually don't load for me over here (especially when there are a lot on one thread), so i just see a white rectangle. cheers

Hi Nick,

No probs, I'll add a direct link from now on.

The direct link to my vimeo account where all the videos are is vimeo.com/liquidguru/videos

I found I was sometimes having problems with internet sites here in Indonesia, as sometimes it's seems the government blocks sites like Vimeo. I have now set my DNS server on my computer to use Google's free DNS server and now I have no problems accessing any site that was blocked before. Google's DNS server is very easy to remember, as it's 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 Solved a lot of my internet problems here...

cheers

Kaj

This week's clip is not of a 'pretty critter', but of a fish that epitomises diving in Lembeh, the Lembeh Velvetfish.

This particular velvetfish is only found in Lembeh and seems to enjoy all that the Lembeh conditions offer; shallow water, low vis, a little surge and lots of muck. It really doesn't move very much, just sways in the surge and is about 20cm long.

Now I find beauty in practically all underwater creatures, but even I find it hard to to say that the Lembeh Velvetfish is a looker...but it is unique and rare, even here, so it's worthy of a view.

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Kaj - Why does it appear to "swim" in a weird way? It seems to be rocking and having trouble. Is that what is usually does?

Diverpam

Hi Pam,

The velvetfish, like scorpionfish, stonefish and frogfish, do not have swim bladders. This means that they pretty much lie on the bottom and have to 'walk' around.

The rocking motion is caused by the surge that we were experiencing, as I was only in 3m of water when filming. The velvetfish do not have particularly big pectoral fins, and so are not very good at steadying themselves.

So yes, this is what they usually do

Kaj

Quick little clip this week of a nice bit of action. I was following a Polyclad Flatworm crawling along the sand when suddenly it took off!! It seemed to like my housing, or maybe it's reflection.

It was nice to see the whole process of take-off, flight and safe landing...

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Catfish swarming!!

We see these little critters quite a bit here. Usually you see them in a small school with there faces buried in the sand searching for food. They be be difficult to approach as they are continuously moving in their hunt for more sustenance.

I was lucky to find a group of them together, hanging out in a little hole in a rock. Rather than feeding they were just staying put in the same spot, which made them an interesting subject to film...

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Nice one Kaj. They look 3D when they come towards you.

Dive safe,

Jo

Finally got back online after a laptop scare and a trip to Moscow....

This week's clip is of a Snapping Crinoid Shrimp. A fairly unusual shrimp that I don't see that often. But what made this really stand out is that when I was viewing the clip I noticed that right behind it's eyes is what looks to be it's brain.....and it's moving!!! If someone has another explanation for what the globular mass moving around is, I would love to know...

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Gosh it's good to be back in the tropics...Moscow was sunny but -20C!!!

-20? silly mister, silly..

-20? silly mister, silly..

Yeah, it was a bit....remind me to show you some video I took in the Dive Show that helped keep me warm Saw your boss there too

Sometimes you have to dive for macro in a current. It's tricky to film, but sometimes it's worth it..

I found this lovely little Sea Pen on a dive and was delighted to see that there were two small Painted Porcelain Crabs on it. When we usually see these rare small crabs they are usally trying to hide...

..but due to the nice current I was in, they were feeding, extending their adapted feeder legs with the fan-like appendages, to catch the passing particles in the water.

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What made these two crabs even more special to see was that they were mirror-symetrical twins. Porcelain Crabs are name 'Porcelain' as they are very brittle and will drop legs if attacked...both of these crabs had lost a pincer... one the left and one the right..together they made a complete crab...

This week's video is of a very tricky fish to film, the Threadfin Sand Diver. These fish live in and above the sand in the shallows, usually between 3m to 7m. They spend their time floating above the sand, feeding on particles in the water. They live in groups, with a male lording over his harem of females. The males, when another male gets near, flick up their beautiful fan-like dorsal fin and extend their pectoral fins.

The problem with filming them is that as soon as you get close, they all disappear into the sand. But with a little patience you can get some nice shots. The clip finishes with a closeup of a male's eye, when it's half buried in the sand. They have the most wonderful white eyelashes.

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Wow, I can't believe it's taken me this long to find this thread. Fantastic videos! You've definitely captured the weird and the wonderful. Thanks for sharing these marvels of nature with us. I love the way you write as well, because your interest and excitement are evident. I'd say you are a great ambassador for the underwater world and your videos do it justice! Please keep sharing!

Thanks sasdasdaf. I'm very lucky to live in Lembeh and have access to daily diving and the opportunity to film so many unusual critters.

This week's clip is one of the prettiest Decorators Crabs I've seen. It is covered in, what I presume are, tiny white anemones. The time and effort that must go into finding, selecting, then placing on it's body is amazing.

You can see it grooming itself, running it's pincers over the anemones to clean the particles floating in the water off it.

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It never ceases to amaze me how many different critters there are here, in such a small area, all finding their own niche in life and giving us so much pleasure in observing the direction evolution has taken them in.

Another week, another clip...

This week's is of a very lovely Spindle Rose Cowrie. These little cowries live on sea fan and camouflage themselves with their mantles that mimic the surface of the fans. They move very slowly...

I was lucky to get this one as it was approaching the end of a branch, which gave me the chance to video it's eyes and mouth.

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The Risbecia tryoni is a well known nudi, as it is often found 'tailgating' in pairs, with one very closely following the other.

These ones I found this week were very unusual as I found them eating. It seems that they can extend or fold out their stomachs, as can be seen from the big purple thing that is extending out of it's mouth.

We haven't seen this before. It is fascinating to watch the strange undulations of the extended stomach and, at the end, you can see the waves from the stomach passing through the head of the nudi too...

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Pygmy Seahorses are one of the critters that put Lembeh on the map. You can come here and be guaranteed sightings...

..but Pygmy Seahorses are very frustrating critters to photograph or video. First off they are, of course, tiny!! And they are hidden in their seafans making them difficult to get a clear shot of...and they like nothing more than to turn their heads away from you...

On top of all that, I love trying to get as close a shot as I can with my macro lens and that means stability for video. So I have to find a seafan that is low enough to the sand or bottom to get my short tripod's legs (or leg) onto and try to get everything steady and in focus...

So I film a lot of pygmyies, usually very badly...

Occasionally I get a nice surprise though. This clip starts off with a Pygmy showing me it's back..but then it popped out of the side of the seafan and let me get some nice shots from head on..you can see the progression..

And, very luckily, right at the end of the short clip, it does something incredibly cute...it yawns!! The clip is all filmed in real time, no slow motion..when the Pygmy yawns it almost seems as if the whole world pauses and slows down, just to appreciate the moment....it's definitely worth watching this full-screen...

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Ahhhhh, very cute Kaj!!