The wrasse lives mainly in the Indo-Pacific region, where it lives in the waters of 48 countries between 0 and 100 meters deep. This wrasse has an exceptional life expectancy: 25-30 years, and some individuals studied have even lived for fifty years!

The humpback wrasse diet: defender of the coral reef...
Napoleon plays an important role in the ecosystem of coral species. Indeed, giant wrasses are one of the few animals that can feed on the purple acanthaster or Christ's crown (Acanthaster planci), an invasive starfish species whose diet consists almost exclusively of coral. It also feeds on mollusks, crustaceans and other poisonous species such as box fish or sea hares.

However, the napoleon is in danger.
Now protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (1973), its population is estimated to have halved over the past 30 years. Its fishing is prohibited in many countries, but it is not always controllable, and this animal is still abundantly fished in the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand.
In addition to their pretty colors, giant wrasses have the misfortune of being very tasty and are considered a luxury treat in Hong Kong where some businessmen are willing to pay 2000 USD to wow the gallery by eating a pair of lips!

Please don't feed napoleons!
No more than other species for that matter ... Tourism poses a certain risk for the Napoleon wrasse population. At some tourist hot-spots, animals are baited by food thrown by boats, in other places, dive guides feed them hard-boiled eggs to amuse tourists.
The fish become dependent on these baits and no longer distrust boats or humans.

The ribbon Eel is the only member of its genus. Scientists thought for a long time that there were 3 types of ribbon eel, the black, the blue, and the yellow species. But now we know they form a unique species changing sex and colour during its lifespan!

Every individual is born as male.
Juveniles and sub-adults are black with a yellow dorsal fin. When they reach adulthood, they keep the yellow fin but the body turns blue and starts developing female reproductive organs.
​When they reach their full size, they turn into female and change their color to complete yellow.
They will then find a mate, lay their eggs, and die within a month.

Do you know garden eels? They are strange tropical fishes with serpentiform bodies and puffy faces with big eyes making them, overall … super cute.
They live in large colonies oscillating like whip coral in the currents and disappear like a mirage when you approach.
We will try in this blogpost to answer the question we most often get about these fish, in the form of a garden eel FAQ...

Garden eels, together with congers make up the congridae family. The wonderful garden eel is a medium-sized fish, up to a maximum length of 40 cm. Its body has a circular shape with a diameter of about 10 mm. They dig a burrow with their tail, which they coat with mucus to avoid collapse. 

These small eels live in burrows on the sea floor and get their name from their practice of putting their heads off their burrows while most of their bodies remain hidden. As they tend to live in groups of up to a few hundred individuals, the many eel heads "growing" from the bottom of the sea resembles a plant garden.

Most eels live in the warm parts of the tropical oceans including the Andaman Sea. They can be observed from afar pocking out of "eel pits" in colonies on the sandy plains and slopes that border the coral reefs. They prefer areas swept by currents which bring them more nutrients. They burrow themselves in the sand, mud (or more rarely among the rocks). Unlike most eel species who are nocturnal, garden eels feed during the day and will retreat in their burrow at night.

Although garden eels can swim freely, they prefer to bury themselves in the sand... once they are big enough to dig a hole and settle down they never leave home. The exception is during the mating season when they might come out to dig a new burrow closer to their partner...

Feeding on zooplankton, garden eels catch their food drifting in the ocean current, they don't need to go far but just like plants growing higher to get more sunlight, they need to protrude from the floor to get more preys. And they do this all day! All garden eels in the colony facing the current ready for the next meal. 

No, Garden eels are not dangerous. Their mouth is too small to bite you, they only eat zooplankton, remember? They have no venom, no spines, and very small tooth.
In fact, these little creatures are very shy and disappear underground when divers approach. 

Because they are so shy, it is very tricky to take photos of Garden eels. Some photographers had successful shots by holding their breath long enough… other use a remote control to get the close-up shots.
The photo below is from Pete Atkinson. When asked how he did it he answered: Habituation, patience and breath-holding: I lay on the sand and inched my way closer over about 30 mins. I would hold my breath whenever they appeared so I didn't scare them. Eventually they were so familiar with me being there they came out far enough for a few pictures. I was using a 105mm micro lens on a Nikon F4, with flash. When I breathed out they disappeared into their holes. You might be able to do this more easily with a rebreather…

The Clown fish is an Anemone fish, a specialized type of damselfish. 
​The first magic trick that the clownfish is able to perform is its venom immunity:  they have a special symbiosis relationship with their host anemone. Together, they realize, for your greatest pleasure, what is called a “symbiosis relationship”. Since the eggs are laid directly under its skirt, anemone fishes are immune to anemone's stingy tentacles from day 1. It is a mutually beneficial relationship in which the anemone can feed from the fish dejection while the fish gets shelter from lurking predators.

But the highlight of the show is probably its "transgender ability". All clownfish are born male with one female surrounded by a harem of smaller males. When the female leaves the group or dies, the larger male fish will become a female. Spoiler for the next episode: Nemo will never be able to have a little sister.

False clown fish are actually the most common and well known clownfish and believe it or not but Nemo, the pixar animation's star, is not the real deal, he is a false Clownfish!
​It is actually very difficult to differentiate the true from the  False Clownfish, both are bright orange with white bands separated by black lines (which are slightly thinner in the false clownfish). 
Both species can be found in the Andaman Sea of Thailand.

Tomato clown fishes have an orange-red color and A. frenatus have a white vertical stripe behind the eye when they are young. The band disappears when they age and only black specks remain when they turn to females.​ There are several types of Tomato clownfish. Amphiprion ephippium, commonly known as Saddle anemonefish, is a medium-sized (5-10cm) anemonefish from the Tomato complex more common whendiving Myanmar.

Clarks anemonefish are very distinct in look to the other anemonefish. They are a lot darker in colour with two white lines contrasted by an orange face, tail and fins.
I love clarks because they usually hover quite high over their anemone which make them easy to spot and also because they often live with anemone crabs.

Habitat :Clownfish are found in the Pacific and the Andaman Sea. Different clownfish favour different anemone types. Tomato clownfish like the pretty orange bubble tip anemone while it is more common to find the clark anemonefish in the shorter carpet like anemone.

Clownfish are omnivorous. They feed mainly on filamentous algae, planktonic copepods and benthic crustaceans.

Reproduction 
When a female is ready to mate, the male will perform a courtship and the female will deposit 400 to 1,000 eggs on the rock next or under their anemone host. The male will immediately pass over the patch to fertilize the eggs and the couple will then protect them until they hatch, in about 6 to 11 days. Babies clownfish will then drift with the current until they are big enough to swim and find an anemone to settle in.

Did you like this article ? Share It !
​And fee free to read some more fun facts about the Andaman Sea inhabitants on our blog !

​The cuttlefish is actually not a fish at all! Together with the Octopus, Squids or Nautilus, they are invertebrate animals belonging to the Cephalopod family. Not to be confused with the Squid, which lives in the open water, the cuttlefish is a resident on a coral reef.

Are cuttlefish dangerous ? 

Cuttlefish are totally harmless to Humans and usually quite inquisitive and friendly. Not common in Thailand, the Flamboyant cuttlefish (Metasepia Pfefferi), is the only poisonous cuttlefish. But they do not sting or bite so you would have to eat it to endanger yourself...
​When they hunt or seek to attract a breeding partner, they live up to their name and their skin takes on the colours of a flame testifying of their toxicity.

​The most common cuttlefish we encounter when diving in the Andaman sea are Pharaoh cuttlefish (Sepia pharaonis) an inquisitive dive buddy!

Did you like this article ? Share it !
And fee free to read some more fun facts about the Andaman Sea inhabitants on our blog !

Nowadays, there are more than 3000 species of nudibranchs. The diversity of possible color combinations and patterns is impressive. They are all unique in their own way and are the delight of underwater photographers who are always delighted to find these mysterious and beautiful species.

Nudibranchs should make the most of their short lives. Indeed, while most nudibranchs live only a few weeks, the luckiest species rarely live up to over a year.

Did you like these fun facts about the cutest underwater sea slugs? Leave us a comment below and share this post with your buddies!

Green turtles and Hawksbill turtles are the most commonly encountered in the Andaman Sea.
​The green turtle is one of the largest sea turtles and weight on average 80 to 130 kg. Its carapace, made of fused ribs, measures on average 115 cm, but the largest ones can reach a weight of 300 kg for a carapace length of 1,5 m.
Sea turtles are cold blooded animals, belonging to the classification of reptiles, just like snakes, crocodiles or dinausaures!

       - recognize their carapace - 

Babies hatch after a 6 to 7 weeks incubation and have the fend for themselves without ever meeting their parents. Only one in a thousand will reach adulthood.​

3 Green turtles Fun facts for the road!
1- the sex of the turtle comes from the temperature of the nest. Warmer nest will give more female hatchlings, colder nest will deliver more males! 
2- Scientists have demonstrated in lab generated magnetic fields that sea turtles have the ability to detect the Earth's magnetic field and use it as an orientation cue.
3- Green Turtles can cry! Crying doesn't happen when they are sad but help them to clear their eyes from salt build-ups.

Did you like this article? Share it!
​Read more fun facts about our Ocean's inhabitants!