Tales from the Logbook--Green Eels and Anenome Fish

 

When I started diving I wanted to explore, covering a lot of territory during the dive.  In an alien environment, everything is new and exciting and I wanted to see it all.  Years passed before I learned the art of picking a spot, hovering over it, and watching what transpired below.  I puffed through a lot of air before I came to appreciate the advantages of staying in one place and judicious observation.

By the time I went to Fiji in 2017, I had pretty much perfected my technique for doing so.  My divelog for Thursday, October 19, recorded my impressions of the three sites in the Vuya Passage:

Location	Depth (ft)	Time (min)	Impression
Humann Nature	55	58	This reef in named for Paul Humann who did a great deal of work at this location for his Fish Identification books.  These are widely regarded as one of the best publications of it type.  This location is loaded with all kinds of fish.  The three minute safety stop at the 15 foot depth is like swimming in an aquarium.
Cat’s Meow	66	42	This site is a small pinnacle.  I swam around its perimeter three times in one dive.  It has a few swim through spots which I did not do because it would have been a tight fit with my tank and I might have damaged the reef.  I did have a chance to see pygmy seahorses and spent time watching Fiji anemone fish in a red anemone at the top of the pinnacle.
Unde Naiable Pinnacle	68	53	Started deep at the outer edge of the pinnacle and moved shallower.  Green eel (video below), swim through, and anemone fish (video below) highlight this spot.  Rough waves on the surface made getting on the skiff and transferring to the boat a bit challenging.

 

Eels have always fascinated me.  While often portrayed in pulp media as a species that will attack humans without provocation, nothing could be further from the truth.  They do look foreboding with their maws agape and their seemingly lifeless eyes.  But, as the Diver Alert Network’s Handbook “diving First Aid for Professional Diver’s notes, “if an animal acts aggressively, it is likely a defensive reaction from a perceived threat.  Examples include putting your hand into a lobster hole only to find that it is also home to a moray eel.”

That is exactly how I came to be bit by a moray eel at Anacapa Island in 2001.  I was on a dive collecting specimens for the Channel Islands National Park underwater video presentation. I spied a lobster’s antennae sticking out under a ledge I swam over.  I thrust my hand under the ledge to grab the lobster when I felt the bite.  Immediately I knew it was a moray eel.  I waited a few seconds until the eel released my finger.  My right index finger had four scalple-like punctures wound through my neoprene glove, two on the top two one the bottom.  I felt pretty dumb because for years I had cautioned students to always look behind the lobster to see if there was an eel behind it.  I thoroughly washed the wound.  While the eels are not venomous, their bite can introduce bacteria. 

In recording video of the green eel, distance, good buoyancy control, and slow movements are key to preventing an encounter.  The same holds true for videos of anemone fish.

I do believe that I could be entertained for hours watching the antics of clownfish and other anemone fish as the swim in and out of the anemone’s tentacles, immune to the effects of its stinging cells.  The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation website describes the partnership as “mutualism because it provides benefits to both animals. Clownfish receive a safe place to live and even prey to eat, and in return clownfish provide food to the anemone, help rid it of harmful parasites, and chase away fish like butterflyfish that feed on anemones. Since clownfish receive such great protection from anemones, they rarely stray far from them, and will even lay their eggs in close proximity to their humble anemone abodes. If a tasty morsel passes by, the clownfish may dart out of the anemone and return once they’ve made their catch. At night, clownfish say safely within the swaying arms of the anemone.”