Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad you all enjoyed them.
such great looking fish! how deep were some of these pictures taken? how big was the biggest allardi you saw? any other particularly interesting things you noticed or saw in regards to the clownfish/anemones?
The largest allardi females were approximately 6 inches. They were quite bold, venturing pretty far from the anemones, sometimes even attacking my camera housing. All the anemones I encountered were on the top of flat reef crests. I encountered them on every dive. Some dives maxed out at 150 feet, other dives averaged 30 feet. I didn't get a chance to explore any lagoons, so I cannot say what kind of anemones I'd find there. I know haddoni's are pretty common in seagrass beds in other places I've been. But this part of Mozambique is pretty choppy with lots of current. Not exactly a place with grasses and mangroves.
Another thing that these dives reinforced in me was the FLOW! I think every reef keeper should at least snorkel or dive once. It's a real eye opener. I've done a lot of dives in many places, and I always come back thinking I need more flow in my tank.
Do you get the sense that the various species of anemones you photographed are in any way endangered? Curious how deep those H. magnficas were under the surface. Also, how many inches in diameter would you estimate those mags to be?
The one large anemone colony with the red base(magnifica?) was 5 feet in diameter. I'm guessing it was several grouped together.
Mozambique was isolated from the rest of the world for decades due to revolution and civil war. The war ended in 1992, but it took many years after before things stabilized. Because of this, there has been no large-scale fishing, collecting, or diving. Their dive industry is still in it's infancy. You will not find any large resorts or cattle-herd dive boats. In fact, I slept in a tent.
Therefore, these anemones have never been under threats of collection. It's really a beautiful, pristine, place right now. But there was construction everywhere. The tourism minister is a very young(20's) man, and he definitely sees the potential for dive tourism to bring in money. So long as the government stays stable, this country will see a lot more tourism in years to come, particularly from South Africa. Hopefully, they build it up in a eco-friendly manner. The people there are very poor, but very creative in finding work, and very friendly. The beer is good too!
Anyways, I've read a lot of articles in regards to aquarium collections impacting anemone populations. And it concerns me, for sure. But at least in Mozambique, for now, they are not threatened. The only aquatic environment I witnessed under human threat were the tide pools. There were women and children prying everything edible off the rocks. Like I said, it's a poor country, recovering from war. They get pretty creative with food sources.
If you are a diver, and looking for a trip that's a little different, I highly recommend Mozambique. It's a trip you can easily combine with some time in South Africa. Throw in some cage diving with Great Whites in Cape Town, then off to Durban to dive with the Tiger Sharks in Aliwal Shoals, and finish it up with a weekend diving the southern most tropical reefs in the world in Mozambique. Can't beat that for a dive experience.
I'll try to upload some more pics and videos this weekend.
Gosh, I'd DIE for those two BTA's *drooling*. Thank you for sharing such awesome pictures.
To be exact, Sodwana Bay, just south of the Moz border in South Africa was termed to me as the southern most tropical, but it's all connected anyway.
