Photos of Thailand Reefs (high bandwidth!)
- Thread starter vol_reefer
- Start date
Jeff~ I have no doubt that the color in your pics is spot on!!! 
I'm simply surprised at the contrast in color to a lot of the other pics I've seen (mostly drab browns or death of the Carribean)... I didn't even realize you'd done any correcting... I don't think Hawaii has that much color either...
Reguardless, those are some spectacular pics... How many dives in how many different areas did you two go on???
I'm simply surprised at the contrast in color to a lot of the other pics I've seen (mostly drab browns or death of the Carribean)... I didn't even realize you'd done any correcting... I don't think Hawaii has that much color either...Reguardless, those are some spectacular pics... How many dives in how many different areas did you two go on???
EvilMel
is a serious goby fanatic
That bubble coral is awesome!!! Grew long instead of round...neat.
About Garden Eels...I know a little about them because I used to want them really badly. Aquatic Specialists had them for a bit and the Georgia Aquarium had them when I was there (when they first opened but I'm not sure about now). The issue with them is somewhat two-fold.
a) you need a substrate that's like over a foot deep because they bury most of their bodies.
b) often in aquariums they get infections in their tails, causing them to be unable to burrow, then they end up dying usually.
So...IMO it's best to leave them where they belong...in the wild...but if you were to really really research it and work very hard, you could probably keep a nearly species-specific (or at least extremely peaceful-oriented) tank of them.
It's one of the only times where I'd say over a 30" tank would be great (especially if it was extra long too).
About Garden Eels...I know a little about them because I used to want them really badly. Aquatic Specialists had them for a bit and the Georgia Aquarium had them when I was there (when they first opened but I'm not sure about now). The issue with them is somewhat two-fold.
a) you need a substrate that's like over a foot deep because they bury most of their bodies.
b) often in aquariums they get infections in their tails, causing them to be unable to burrow, then they end up dying usually.
So...IMO it's best to leave them where they belong...in the wild...but if you were to really really research it and work very hard, you could probably keep a nearly species-specific (or at least extremely peaceful-oriented) tank of them.
It's one of the only times where I'd say over a 30" tank would be great (especially if it was extra long too).
vol_reefer
New member
Randy - we did five dives total - two at Racha Yai, one at Phi Phi, and two in the Similans, plus one snorkeling "dive." I didn't take photos at the first Racha Yai stop because it was our first dive since we got our certificates in September and I didn't want to overload myself. It was a pity not to have the camera on that dive, though, because the very first thing we saw was this cute little cuttlefish that we played with for a little while.
acrodave - Yeah, I thought the same thing about seeing the fungia nestled in the rocks like that. In fact, I saw several in similar placements, and none on the open sandbeds like I'd read they are usually found.
ez - I've read that many of the Thai reefs were relatively undamaged from the tsunami. Probably they wouldn't have taken us to sites that were badly damaged anyway. I think the damage was relatively heterogeneous, depending on how the local topography focused the waves. I did see a handful of large table corals that were definitely not level (horizontal), and wondered whether they might have been tossed by the tsunami - forgot to ask our divemaster about that during the surface interval, though. I suppose it could also explain what acrodave noticed about the fungias, too, although you'd think by now there'd be some on the open sand as well if that's where they preferred to be.
sean - Yeah, that Regal was pretty big. I also noticed that these Regals all were the orange-belly variety. I had been under the impression that the orange bellied ones were supposedly from the Red Sea and the grey-blue bellied ones were from the Indo-Pacific, but that obviously isn't the case.
Jeff (vol_reefer)
acrodave - Yeah, I thought the same thing about seeing the fungia nestled in the rocks like that. In fact, I saw several in similar placements, and none on the open sandbeds like I'd read they are usually found.
ez - I've read that many of the Thai reefs were relatively undamaged from the tsunami. Probably they wouldn't have taken us to sites that were badly damaged anyway. I think the damage was relatively heterogeneous, depending on how the local topography focused the waves. I did see a handful of large table corals that were definitely not level (horizontal), and wondered whether they might have been tossed by the tsunami - forgot to ask our divemaster about that during the surface interval, though. I suppose it could also explain what acrodave noticed about the fungias, too, although you'd think by now there'd be some on the open sand as well if that's where they preferred to be.
sean - Yeah, that Regal was pretty big. I also noticed that these Regals all were the orange-belly variety. I had been under the impression that the orange bellied ones were supposedly from the Red Sea and the grey-blue bellied ones were from the Indo-Pacific, but that obviously isn't the case.
Jeff (vol_reefer)
skatezen
Member
Great pictures. My brother and I are hoping to do the exact same trip. Our plan is to go for 9 days, no firm details yet, but definitely Phuket, Bangkok, some islands and stops in between before heading over to Angkor Wat. I'd love to see the above water shots as well.
Definitely post a link, if not would you mind PMing it to me?
Definitely post a link, if not would you mind PMing it to me?
vol_reefer
New member
I still have not gotten around to posting the above-water shots anywhere, so I have no link I can give you - sorry about that. It's on my list, but it's already been a year.
I'd definitely recommend the Similan Islands as a top-notch dive area. If you're looking for a dive shop in Phuket (which can also make your arrangements for the Similans) I highly recommend Phuket Pro Dive - it's run by a husband and wife team named Richard and Megumi. Great people and very safety-oriented.
Angkor is definitely worth 2-3 days to see the temples, and a side trip to the floating village in Tonle Sap is a real eye-opener (at least it was for us, never having been in an area quite that poor before). We also spent two nights in Bangkok, but if we had it to do over, I think we might skip that. Just seemed like a big, crowded, hot city with a lot of panhandlers. We spent one night in a national park in the mountains on the mainland just north of Phuket. They have floating bamboo raft houses you sleep in there (very primitive, but cool) and you go paddling around the lake at dawn with a guide to see all the wildlife in the jungle around the shores - lots of monkeys.
Almost hurts to go back and look at all those dive photos... we have a 2-month old now, and he's often in the "inconsolable crying" mode... Not the same life we used to have! But everyone says it'll get better as he gets older. Then we'll have a new dive buddy.
Jeff
Runner
Active member
Ouch. It gets better when they sleep through the night. My first like yours until he was 4 months old, then he slept through the night for the first time and life became like new again. Crying related to no apparent reason went away about that time, too. Hang in there. It does get better.
As for Thailand, I was thinking of your pictures the entire time I was over there last month and wishing I could just find a half-day free somewhere to go jump in the water. I never had the chance, though.
As for Thailand, I was thinking of your pictures the entire time I was over there last month and wishing I could just find a half-day free somewhere to go jump in the water. I never had the chance, though.
gflat65
New member
I just had to look through them again... Great shots, Jeff. Do you mind if I link this to the Alabama underwater links thread? I'd like to have a good palce for people to go to see the wonders of life underwater. Everyone should get the opportunity to dive, and some just need that extra push.
.rocketlily
New member
Amazing photos. Thank you for sharing.
