Layang Layang Pics 3

I can never forget the first time I saw a tornado - the term used to describe the way certain types of fish 'hover' together usually as a protection mechanism from their predators. There must have been close to a million jackfish in the formation just swimming round and round while a school of sharks waited nearby for their meal to be 'served'.

Corals too comes in all shapes and sizes. Like this one, of the Sinularia family. It's a soft coral (meaning it doesn't have a hard calcium shell) and often feeds on the rich soup of microorganisms within the sea, eg. phytoplankton, zooplankton, fish fry, larvae etc.

Ok, the next time you tuck into your ikan pari bakar at the local seafood restaurant, remember that the stingray once looked quite regal with its green 'cape' and was actually very hip because it sported iridescent blue tatoos all over its body.


Ok, to me, this looks like a cushion that my aunt would make for my cousin's housewarming. Hahaha. It's actually a type of starfish (Choriaster granulatus) and can grow to a maximum size of 3 feet.

This has got to be one of my favourite lucky shots of all time. I was trailing a box fish that was proving to be very elusive. As I was moving my camera from left to right trying to compose a decent shot, this little critter just burst into view on my viewfinder. Hope it hasn't ended up on somebody's dinner plate.

Forest of the sea. A collection of hard and soft corals perched on top of a rocky mound. Usually there will be lots of fish within this underwater maze but I think our presence kinda proved too distracting for them.

This is me getting bored and trying to act out my Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon pose. Hehehe. Looks more like Floating Octopus Flapping Turtle.
And yes, that's my trusty S80 that I am using in place of a stinging needle to throw at my opponent.








Everytime I look at this picture of a spotted morey eel, I can't help but think of that scene from "The Little Mermaid" where the hapless Ariel is lured by her evil aunt Ursula's two flunkey eels , Flotsam and Jetsam. It is so amazing the way the Disney animators capture the eel's facial expressions so accurately.

Awww.... don'tcha just wanna reach out and give the guy a hug? This shy little fishy is a juvenile blenny that is trying to hide from the evil clutches of Mr. Photographer. Mwahahahaha.

Just like in Sipadan, there are lots of turtles in the waters off Layang Layang. This is an adult green turtle making a meal out of some hard corals. I'll bet he's wondering why there's this wierdo staring at him chewing a mouthful of his delicious afternoon snack. Mmmmm.... looks yummy....NOT.

Ok, final picture for this instalment. You know I can't just leave without a pic of a nudibranch. Hehehe. This is a common nudibranch found all across South East Asia. It's of the chromodoris sp. and is easily identifiable because of the spiky tentacles at the top of its head which looks like it has punk leanings. :-)