We are returning to Bonaire in a couple of weeks, and I would love to find an octopus somewhere. We did several night dives at Buddy Dive on our last trip, but did not see one. Any hints on finding an octopus?

Edward

Look for a pile of shells on the sea floor, this often marks the octopus's home. Other than that do plenty of twilight (5pm) dives. Good luck.

They've got some nice ones at www.scubatoys.com and good prices too.

Interesting. How do the 5:00 P.M. dives factor into finding an Octopus Brian? How does this increase the odds?

What has always worked best for us is not to bother. Also, don't bring a camera. Our best octopus sitings have been when we are camera less and almost out of air.

The good news here is that where an Octopus has been, he or she will probably still be. So, you can go back.

I really believe that cameras can be a real hinderance to observation. Really looking a site over without the camera, looking for good oportunities can yield some good results.

Here is an Octo that I took during my trip last week off the beach at Harbour Village. There where 3 of them hanging out in various places within 5 feet of water. My daughter found one while snorkeling off the beach as well. I guess we got lucky!

I took this picture around 4pm and my daughter found another one snorkeling around 2pm.

Marcus, they are crepuscular crustaceanivores.
I always wanted to say that, and I never knew until now. Anyway, octopus feed in the evening, and hole up during the day, as a rule. As Adam says, they seem to be mostly in the shallows rather than deeper.

We were fortunate enough to find a pair of octo's in about 10' of water on our swim back in from the Salt Pier. They were there in the afternoon at the end of the dive (out of film, dammit), and were in the same place on the night dive (problems with the camera again). They spook easily, but we were able to hang around them for about 10 minutes during the daylight. Very cool if you can find them.

So, I reiterate what has been stated earlier. Ditch the camera, check the shallows, and check back on the same location if you find one... it will probably still be there.

Michael

My last trip in March I found quite a few Octopus. When we did a guided snorkel with Renee we had a count of 13 in one snorkel!!! We also saw three out swimming in the open and got some great pictures. I usually see them in very shallow water and during my morning snorkeling time.

Here is an example of a resting octopus in daytime. This was taken at Salt Pier at about 25'

(sigh) one more try, same octopus. You can see the shells from last nights meal around the front of the octo.

Thanks for all of the replies. I didn't realize they would be in shallow water. We'll try around shallowest part of the reef at Buddy Dive.

These photos were taken at the Salt Pier. We have had frequent octopus sightings there regardless of the time of day.

I was at Buddy's a couple of years ago. I saw an Octo on the last dive of the afternoon on Jerry's Reef. I think we were in about 20-30ft of water. I'm not sure if the Divemaster Alex is still there, but he is the one who showed it to me. Perhaps it still lives there...

Britt

Ed.
It is rare not to see octopi homes and animals snorkeling in the shallows behind Sorobon Reef on the inside or bay side. Even a few feet of water (tide-dependent) the shell and debris piles that Brian describes are a live giveaway. Patience and space are helpful. Floating on the surface you can spend hours eye2eye with the curious mollusks.
Park at the White Hole yellow stone and walk across the flats to the reef towards the ocean. Enter carefully through the urchins swim out and the exploring starts right away. Good opps for pics too.
Bud

We've seen several during the day at different sites. Look for motion.