Author Archive for: Claire Bear

Coral reefs are like the big cities that never sleep. Every creature is part of a delicate balance where adaptation is the key of survival. Every day, fish must defend themselves from a wide range of predators and therefore have developed incredible strategies. Some camouflage, others use sharp spines, or have poisonous skin and some species even mimic others. Here, the fight for life never stops. Understanding the defence mechanisms of marine life is important, because it has implications for how we interact, or don’t, with those organisms. Some creatures are poisonous and others are venomous, but what exactly does…

Yes, many fish species can swim backwards. Particularly fish with an electric sense swim backwards to scan their surroundings. Moray eels, triggerfish, pufferfish, butterfly fish, angel fish, fusiliers, barracuda, parrot fish, clown fish, trumpet fish are just a few. Moray eels utilize a flexible body and fin movement to swim backwards. Others like trigger fish use their dorsal and anal fins to swim in either direction. Trumpet fish have small transparent dorsal and anal fins that enable them to swim both backward and forward. They use these fins to hover virtually motionless near corals and rocky ledges, waiting for the…

Would you like to play a game that does not involve a phone, iPad or computer. Would you like your children to play a game that just requires pen & paper? How about the A B C of fish. Did you ever play: City – Country – River – Name – Animal – Job – Plant Everyone gets a piece of paper and a pencil. Divide the paper into 3 columns or more if you want to include more categories. Chose a letter, now you have 2 minutes to write down as many cities, countries and rivers as possible starting…

Despite seeing them on just about every dive, we have not yet written a single article on clownfish. That is terrible and we are going to put that right straight away. There are many kinds of clownfish and they live in warmer waters only. There are none in the Atlantic. Here in the Maldives, we have 2 different kinds, the black footed clownfish which is endemic to the Maldives and the Clark’s Anemone fish. Anemone & Clownfish They live in a symbiotic, mutualistic relationship with an anemone. Big words I know but it just means that they both benefit from…

Batfish are turtle finders. In the Maldives we have two species of batfish, the Circular Batfish and the Longfin Batfish. Both are omnivorous, which means they eat both algae and small invertebrates. They will also pick at jellyfish. With their flat shape and wide eyes that make them look a little tipsy, they are very recognisable. Batfish are very curious and typically inquisitive with divers. They even will follow divers around and play in their bubbles. We often see them in small schools, but adults are sometimes solitary. 80% of the time the solitary ones are indicators of turtles in…