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.

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​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 the cuttlefish in danger?

Cuttlefish are not currently considered to be endangered, but some species of cuttlefish may be at risk due to various factors such as overfishing, habitat destruction, and climate change.
Overfishing is a major threat to many species of cuttlefish, as they are often caught as bycatch in fishing nets or targeted for their meat and other products. Habitat destruction, including the degradation of coral reefs and coastal habitats, can also negatively impact cuttlefish populations.
Climate change is also a potential threat to cuttlefish, as rising sea temperatures and other environmental changes can alter the habitat and availability of their preferred prey, and may make it more difficult for them to survive.
It is important to carefully manage and protect cuttlefish populations to ensure that they are not threatened by these and other risks. This can include measures such as sustainable fishing practices, habitat restoration, and efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

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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.

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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.

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The most common confusion among divers concerns the Leopard Shark, very often confused with the Zebra Shark, which is frequently encountered when diving in tropical areas.

Both species have the particularity, in adulthood, of sporting a spotted coat like the African leopard.
However, the two species are biologically different and very easily differentiable.
 
On the left, the Zebra Shark is born with "zebra lines" which change into leopard-like-spots when they reach adulthood. Their Cylindrical body measure from 50cm at birth to 3.50 m when fully grown with prominent ridges along the flanks. Upped lobe of the caudal fin is very long.
 
On the right, the Leopard Shark has a unique spotted gray-dress an can measure up to 1.80m, so it is a bit smaller than its congener the Zebra Shark. It lives in the cold to temperate waters bordering the United States, from the Gulf of Mexico to Oregon. Its favorite areas of evolution are the turbid, shallow and rough areas of the seaside, the sandy bottoms and the rocky substrates of the kelp forests.
This lovely little shark is probably the reason why American divers call Stegostoma tigrinum "zebra shark" but the rest of the world (diving warmer water and hence never in touch with the triakis semifasciata) just call them "Leopard shark"...

So what does Zebra Shark (or false leopard shark) look like when they are younger?
Rarely photographed in the wild, Zebra sharks look black with white zebra marking at birth and develop their "leopard" patterns after a few weeks.

The Zebra Shark can be found in the shallow waters all around the Indian Ocean and West Pacific from South Africa to the Red Sea, from India to North Australia and from china to New Caledonia and Southern Japan. They usually hang out on sandy batches near coral reef where they can find their food.

The Zebra Shark is known for its foraging habits; it feeds and moves mostly at night, foraging for crabs, sea urchins, small fish, snails, and other invertebrates hiding in holes and crevices. They have great whisker-like organs (barbels, in front of their snout, helping them seek out their prey). They are also equipped with smallmouth and strong gill muscles to snatch up prey but are not as strong as active fish hunter as many other sharks. They prefer to rest on the ocean floor during the daytime, where they can breathe and pump water through their gills while remaining motionless. When there are strong water currents, they might seem to be surfing as they adjust their fins to stay motionless in the open water.

Stegostoma tigrinum usually live a solitary life and only seek each other during the mating seasons. During courtship, the male Zebra Shark will follow the female, bite vigorously at her pectoral fin and tails, with occasions where he holds her fins down. These usually happen at the bottom, and a long time before, the male curls its body around the female’s and joins his claspers with her cloaca. The mating usually lasts about five minutes. Females lay about four eggs at a time, but some studies show they can lay up to 46 eggs over 112 days. The egg cases are usually between brown and dark purple, with fine hairs around, helping them stay anchored or secured when developing. Eggs may hatch in between four to six months.

We hope you liked this blogpost and found the information you were looking for. Check out our Marine life section for more fun facts about Andaman Sea life! 
​What else do you know about leopard sharks? share in the comment section below!

Nautilus is a cephalopod, a nearby relative of octopuses and squids. This creature can be found in the tropical waters of Indian and Pacific seas, close to the coral reefs, near depth areas of 300 to 600 meters. Nautilus are  (like most marine species these days) affected by over-fishing and by the fact that their beautiful shells are sold as ornaments. 

This article is going to teach you how to differentiate the 3 most common species of  Scorpionfish we encounter in the Andaman sea: Bearded Scorpionfish, Devil Scorpionfish and Stonefish.

These three species are often mistaken because they are quite similar (indeed they belong to the same family), but below are some simple tips to tell them appart during your next dive trip.

Let’s start with their similarities:
- these members of the Scorpaenidae family live on to the ocean floor, often hiding among the coral reef and swim about as well as a chicken can fly...
- They have large heads with strong bony cheek and a surprisingly wide mouth which can capture large preys.
- They are not aggressive but their back spines are highly poisonous. They are not agressive but under attack, they expand their spines to protect themselves and quickly escape to a nearby hideout. 
- They are all sedentary prey-stalkers using the same passive strategy as a gecko. You will rarely see them moving something other than their eyes except when they are swallowing whole a prey that passed a bit too close...

A little infographic to help you differentiate visually the 3 species

 That’s it for today, let’s hope that you learned how to differentiate these 3 species and that you will observe them in our company on The Smiling Seahorse’s boat!