Night Diving-A Fascinating Adventure

A night dive is defined by PADI as any dive that begins after the sun sets on the horizon. Beginning a night dive right at that time will ease a new diver into the fascinating adventure of night diving. There will still be plenty of light as the dive begins and once Underwater, with flashlights on, one hardly notices that it is getting darker on the surface. After the dive, the excitement from all that was seen, and the adrenaline rush, will keep anyone from being concerned that they have surfaced under the stars. This is a great opportunity to lay back, relax, watch for a shooting star, and talk about the dive.

Start the dive searching for Basket Starfish, Octopus, Lobsters, Squirrel fish, and Big Eyed Glassed Snapper. These nocturnal creatures will be surprised when your light finds them, so move the light away until you get closer to them, and then shine it on them again for a better observation. It is especially fascinating to watch the many colors an octopus will become as it skates over different background colors on the reef.

Look inside basket sponges for Brittle Starfish, and get close to Sea Anomies to find the Banded Cleaner Shrimp. Shine your light on the variety of sponges and coral to see colors you never saw during a day dive. The adventure is just beginning.

On the dive you will really enjoy seeing how the sea glows with phos- florescence, from the microscopic zooplankton. The later after sunset that the dive takes place, the more active the zooplankton will be. To really enjoy the Underwater natural light show, have divers descend to fifty feet and form a circle on the sandy bottom. Then on signal, have everyone turn off their dive lights. As the eyes adjust, in just one to two minutes, everyone will witness the reflection on the sand, from the moonlight above. Then wave your arms, side to side, or in circles and watch the water movement glow. As divers move, or swim the whole body will glow with sparkles like fireflies, and the amazing sight will forever capture in the mind, a lasting image, of the fascinating spectacle. After you've enjoyed the fun of seeing the light show, turn the flashlights back on and continue the dive.

To witness an even more fascinating light show, schedule the night dive for the ninth day after a full moon, when the breeding of deep sea jellyfish takes place. The jellyfish, exhausted from breeding, will drift up from the depths, forming long chains of glowing flickering lights. To best see this fascinating feature of sea life, plan the dive about three to four hours after sunset, and when currents are moving the least. To gain this information reference local tide information.

Look closely at fish seemingly motionless, or asleep, to possibly observe a cleaner shrimp in the process of cleaning the gills. (This picture shows the whispy antenae of a cleaner shrimp preparing to clean the Nasua Grouper's gills.)

Also, look for the Yellow Spotted Southern Skates which are seen usually only at night. (Note that the tail has a fin on the end, opposed to it's cousin the Stingray which does not, and that they are much smaller as well.)

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Web site first created 14 March, 1996