We will be going to Bonaire for the fifth time next month and every trip we desperately search for the elusive seahorse.
Any suggestions as to where they are hiding out?

Richard,

Do you shore dive or boat dives?

Kay, Thanks for your reply. We do both shore and boat.

Richard where are you staying?? We usually stay at Capt. Dons and dive the house reef.. There are a couple of seahorses and at least two frog fish on that dive.. What you could do is ask the divemasters and they will usually oblige you. Of course it might cost you a Bright or two..when they are off duty!

While diving on the boats just let the DM know and if there is one at the divesite they can usually find it.

I'm curious about this too. We're going in March, first time!

From what I have read, Richard, they congregate in sea weed or other sea foliage, so you'de probably have to stop and float and look very carefully. When I saw an exhibit of sea horses at the National Aquarium a few years ago I had to stare at some of the exhibits for a minute or two before I could actually see them.

Has anyone ever seen sea dragons around Bonaire?

Thanks. We're bringing an extra set of eyes (our friend), so maybe we will get lucky this trip. We take three snorkeling trips a year and have visited many Caribbean islands and a few islands off Honduras and Belize. We've spotted a sea horse at Cayos Cochinos, off Honduras and in Cozumel many years ago. Good luck on your first trip to Bonaire. There are some great places to snorkel. Where are you staying?
I'm not sure what you mean by "sea dragons"

Mermaid, actually they don't hang out on the sea grass on Bonaire...(I don't remember ever seeing see grass on Bonaire now that I think about it). Anyway, they usually hang on the long finger like coral (I don't know my corals as well as I should) and will be wrapped around it, if it's a black one, it will be on the darker coral, orange, on the lighter corals. We did see one this last summer off of Klein tucked into a crevace along the wall. All the times I've seen them, they have been in water 10 meters or more...

Richard, I think they are referring to the green leafy sea dragon that hangs in Austrailia...looks like a sea horse with leaves all over it. We have a couple at the Long Beach Aquarium, they are magnificent, but are not found in Bonaire waters...

Only found one by ourselves. I found the best way to find the "critters" is ask the divemasters. They"live" on the reef and know the habitat of the creatures.The staff on the Divi boats are usually glad to show you something special.

A DM told us that often once a seahorse had been spotted and therefore given a lot of attention by a boat load of divers and UW photographers the seahorse will move. So they are often not at the same place after they have been discovered. I was in Bonaire in Sept 03 and Jan 04, saw seahorses both trips but they were always shown to me by the DM.

That is strange. We usually have the exact opposite experience. A seahorse hangs around for a couple months at a time. While not in the same exact spot, they are within an easily searchable area. The DMs show divers their location but the DMs are very protective and keep a close watch over them while the divers are there.

All this has gotten me thinking, have any seahorses been seen by snorkelers? The times we have seen them, they have been too deep. We did find one on our own once, at Oil Slick, but we had to look for a LONG time!

I saw a black one! Of course, Renee showed me where it was and it was in about five feet of water!

I think the difference in behaviour (moving or not) lies in the key words 'given a lot of attention'.

Sometimes in the past (and maybe sometimes still) they have been handled by divers (and DMs!), even handed all around a group of divers-- that sort of thing can cause them immense stress, and to move.

Another animal to watch and not touch!

Darlene, that is very cool!

Glen, you are right about that...