“Do you ever see “Madonna’s Bra” in Lembeh?” a guest asked at the Two Fish dinner table this week. After finally figuring out what exactly the guest was referring to, a whole conversation about hilarious critter names ensued. As it turns out, “Madonna’s Bra” is the common name for the rarely encountered Platyctene Ctenophore (pronounced…
This week’s fascination with brooding shrimp in Lembeh caused us to look a bit more closely into shrimp relationships. It all started with one simple question from a guest: are female shrimp bigger than the males? According to our Tropical Pacific Reef Creature Identification guide (Humann and Deloach), you can often times distinguish the gender…
Go on: take a guess! What type of Frogfish do you think this is? Surprisingly, it is an Antennarius striatus, or what is commonly referred to as a Hairy Frogfish. As it turns out the Hairy Frogfish comes in all hair lengths in Lembeh, including extremely short hair! Since this is a little known fact…
What does a guest who has visited Two Fish Lembeh 17 times over the past 6 years find new and fascinating on her current visit to the area? Ornate Ghost Pipefish that are carrying eggs! Her excitement, in turn, has made all the guests a bit more interested in the reproductive lives of Lembeh’s Pipefish…
Have you ever noticed that the majority of Anemonefish in Lembeh have tongue-biting isopods in their mouth? Most of the isopods are so small they are hardly noticeable. This week, however, this large, female Cheek-Spine Anemonefish put on quite the show as she gaped at divers, showing off her over-sized creepy critter.
Seventh and Ninth-time return guests to the region were excited by their first Cryptic Shrimp sighting in Lembeh this week! These cool little critters so perfectly resemble the sponge they inhabit that they are nearly impossible to differentiate from their background. The Cryptic Shrimp’s innate ability to perfectly blend in with its surroundings is a…
“Camouflage” is a fascinating behavior that many Lembeh animals partake in as they take on the characteristics of an unrelated, inanimate object, simply hoping to go unnoticed by predators. Juvenile Orbicular Batfish are a perfect example of such a critter. Lacking toxins or venomous spines, they spend their juvenile months perfectly camouflaged as fallen leaves…
Have you ever marveled at how knowledgeable your Lembeh dive guide is? How do they know the names of individual Nudibranches off the top of their head? How do they know which animals are mating and which animals are fighting? And how do they know where to look for all the camouflaged animals they find?…