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Diving Bonaire: What are these ?observed bonare, 2/8-2/13
Bonaire Talk: Diving Bonaire: Archives: Archives 2008-2009: Archives - 2008-01-01 to 2008-02-29: What are these ?observed bonare, 2/8-2/13
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By diver dave (BonaireTalker - Post #13) on Monday, February 18, 2008 - 12:02 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

I saw these the first week of Feb. at Bonaire. Not positive which site. To the scientist, they look like pools of mercury, all silvery and round like mercury on a table. They are all small, the largest being less than an inch. Are they eggs or cases for them?

They did not look completely unlike the 'bubble' I have seen parrot fish sleeping inside on night dives. These were observed on a morning dive.

Here are the links to the pics.
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh139/kcmayes1/eggs1.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh139/kcmayes1/eggs.jpg


ALSO..
what fish is this? has similarities to a blenny and a wrasse but did not see a pic that matched it that closely. I think there was some red in the color - the flash missed it - but not certain.
http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh139/kcmayes1/whatfish.jpg

And finally.. what is this? It was between cracks in coral and would flow with the current. It looked like strands of nearly clear pearls hanging.

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh139/kcmayes1/unknown.jpg

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By David Frank (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #686) on Monday, February 18, 2008 - 1:12 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

The shiny mercury-like balls are a ventricosa species, commonly called sea pearls. They are actually a single celled algae.

The fish looks like a harlequin bass.

Your anemone looks like a corkscrew anemone.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Erik L. Enger (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #8) on Monday, February 18, 2008 - 3:41 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

The anemone is definitely corkscrew.

I think the fish might actually be a vieja but I'm not positive. They do have some red to them.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Susan - www.bsdme.info (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #542) on Monday, February 18, 2008 - 5:57 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

The fish is a Harlequin Bass.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Boat Chick************** (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #4414) on Monday, February 18, 2008 - 11:18 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

diver dave, aren't the sea pearls neat? I found my first ones on a trip a couple years ago, now I see them all over:-)

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By diver dave (BonaireTalker - Post #15) on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 - 12:45 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

thanks for the info on the pics and ID.

that is one big single cell algae

Harlequin bass Pics I have did not look that much like the fish I saw the but the one I list below looked a lot like it.

http://www.deepseaimages.com/dsilibrary/showphoto.php?photo=2139&si=harlequin%20bass

But his eyes looked like more of an orange which is more like the Lantern bass.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Becky H - To Bon in March (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1646) on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 - 6:56 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Trust Susan... she knows fish!!:-)

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Gerald Huppertz (BonaireTalker - Post #51) on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 - 1:25 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

In Salt Water Aquaria we call the Sea Pearls - "Valonia" (Valonia Ventricosa) or Bubble Algae. The can be a bit of a pain. They will slowly spread and take over an aquarium as very few critter eat them. If you accidently squish one whilst trying to extract it from a rock its gooey inside sends spores everywhere and just make many, many more Bubble Algae.

But I agree they do look very pretty.

(Message edited by bcwolfen on February 19, 2008)

 


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