Negros, Philippines

These pictures were made during 25 dives on the southeast coast of the Philippine island Negros and the neighbouring Apo and Siquijor Island. We stayed 13 days at the El Dorado Beach Resort, listened to the all-day sound of neighbour's fighting cock and dived with Sea Explorers. The dive sites were very interesting and included walls, coral gardens, sand, seagrass meadows and wrecks. I used a Nikon Coolpix 990 digital camera in a UK Germany case and a Subtronic Gamma strobe. See also the pictures made by my dive buddy Roli Barmettler.

Scorpionfish — Fig. 1: A nice colourful scorpionfish lying on the ground, well covered with its many fringes — Nikon Coolpix 990, f=19mm, 1/125s, f/7, Negros/Philippines, 13 January 2004

Phyllodesmium Kabiranum — Fig. 2: A nudibranch of type Phyllodesmium Kabiranum — Nikon Coolpix 990, f=19mm, 1/125s, f/7, Negros/Philippines, 13 January 2004

Coral Polyps — Fig. 3: Polyps of a coral — Nikon Coolpix 990, f=19.6mm, 1/125s, f/10.1, Negros/Philippines, 13 January 2004

Decorator Crab — Fig. 4: A little decorator crab in a soft coral — Nikon Coolpix 990, f=21.3mm, 1/125s, f/10.6, Negros/Philippines, 13 January 2004

Hermit Crab — Fig. 5: A little coral hermit crab with big antennas peeping out of a hole in a coral. — Nikon Coolpix 990, f=21.3mm, 1/125s, f/10.6, Negros/Philippines, 13 January 2004

Nembrotha Lineolata — Fig. 6: Two nodibranches of type Nembrotha Lineolata with a pretty smiling face — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Pufferfish — Fig. 7: In the resort where we stayed there was a fat japanese guy with small round eyeglasses. He looked like this pufferfish. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Christmas tree worm — Fig. 8: A white christmas tree or tube worm sticking out is trail of his tube. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Ribbon Eel — Fig. 9: A female ribbon eel. Males are black and old females are yellow — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004 — EXIF: E990; Δt=1/125 s; f=21.3 mm; f/6.7; ISO 100; 2004-01-13 14:34:07

Dwarf Lion Fish — Fig. 10: A dwarf lion fish — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Sea Cucumber — Fig. 11: A sea cucumber (Neothyonidium magnum) licking its tentacles — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Brain Coral — Fig. 12: Surface of a brain coral — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Ghost Pipefish — Fig. 13: A ghost pipefish imitating a coral twig — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Pteraeolidia ianthina — Fig. 14: A nudibranch (Pteraeolidia ianthina) — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Pseudoceros Scintillatus — Fig. 15: Two flatworms of type Pseudoceros Scintillatus — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Barrel — Fig. 16: Underwater scene with a barrel and two sea urchins in seagrass near the beach of Eldorado Beach Resort — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Clownfishes — Fig. 17: A photo of Marlin, Nemo (on the right side in the background) and two clownfish aunts — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Sea Cucumber — Fig. 18: A sea cucumber eating dirt with its tentacles — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Gorgony — Fig. 19: A gorgony in blue water. I wish I had a fisheye lens and an underwater model — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Sea Snake — Fig. 20: A yellow-lipped sea snake seizing its prey — Nikon Coolpix 990, Apo Island/Philippines, January 2004

Black Frog Fish — Fig. 21: A black frog fish trying to imitate a sponge on a coral — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Green Pufferfish — Fig. 22: A green pufferfish on a sea grass field — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Seagrass Pipefish — Fig. 23: A seagrass pipefish hidden in seagrass — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Tube Sponges — Fig. 24: Underwater reef scene with white tube sponges — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Feather Stars — Fig. 25: Underwater reef scene with feather stars — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Scorpionfish — Fig. 26: A scorpionfish waiting for its prey — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Sea Turtle — Fig. 27: A giant sea turtle with a remora on its back. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Coral Biotop — Fig. 28: Underwater reef scene with a lonely coral on the sand — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Coral Fishes — Fig. 29: A swarm fish hiding in protective coral twigs — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Flounder — Fig. 30: The skew face of a flounder — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Flounder — Fig. 31: A flounder with a surface like the underground sand — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Seahorse — Fig. 32: Seahorses are very slow moving and were perfect photo targets if they wouldn't always turn their back towards the camera ... — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Flatworm — Fig. 33: A flatworm — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Sea Squirt — Fig. 34: A sea squirt — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Moray Eel — Fig. 35: A white-eyed moray eel — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Christmas Tree Worm 1 — Fig. 36: A christmas tree spiral worm in a stone coral. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Skunk Anemonefish — Fig. 37: A skunk anemone fish. Luckily I was wearing my dive mask and did not smell him :-) — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Murder Shell — Fig. 38: A giant murder shell — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Puffer Fish — Fig. 39: A pufferfish. Their face always reminds me on the famous french oldtimer Citroën 2CV. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Commensal Shrimp — Fig. 40: A transparent Commensal Shrimp with a bunch of eggs inside. Clown fishes were attacking me and bit me in my hand while I was taking this picture. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Coral Surface — Fig. 41: Surface of a coral — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Shell in Coral — Fig. 42: A shell in a stone coral. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Christmas Tree Worms 2 — Fig. 43: The spiral ends of christmas tree worms. They exist in many beautiful colours. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Christmas Tree Worm 3 — Fig. 44: The two spiral ends of a christmas tree worm. They exist in many beautiful colours. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Dusky Anemone Fish — Fig. 45: A dusky anemone fish — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Lizardfish — Fig. 46: A lizardfish lying on a coral — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Batfish — Fig. 47: A batfish. In the background one of the bow nets used by the native people for catching fish — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Snail Shell — Fig. 48: A shiny snail-shell with the reflection of my underwater strobe — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Damselfishes — Fig. 49: Four blue damsel fishes and a coral — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Clownfish — Fig. 50: A clownfish peeping out of its home anemone. Don't get too close! Some of these cute little fish may bite. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Lionfish — Fig. 51: A lionfish — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Multibar Pipefish — Fig. 52: A multibar pipefish — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

White-eyed Moray Eel — Fig. 53: A white-eyed moray eel — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Shrimp — Fig. 54: A shrimp which looks definitely better without cocktail dip sauce. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Dragonet — Fig. 55: An orange spotted dragonet (lyra fish) — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Banded Cleaning Shrimp — Fig. 56: A banded cleaning shrimp — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Sand Diver — Fig. 57: A "Jar Jar Binks" fish or more commonly know as Blue Spotted Sand Diver (Trichonotus setiger). — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Tongue Fish — Fig. 58: A Roli Tongue Fish — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Sea Feather — Fig. 59: A sea feather on sand — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Eel Catfish — Fig. 60: A pack of small striped eel catfish. It's fun to observe them rolling over the sand searching for food. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Eye Imitation — Fig. 61: A small fish with a imitated eye on its rear end — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Pufferfish — Fig. 62: A pufferfish — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Peacock Grouper — Fig. 63: A peacock grouper with a cleaning wrasse escaping from a diver with a camera. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Siquijor Island/Philippines, January 2004

Pufferfish — Fig. 64: A blue pufferfish — Nikon Coolpix 990, Siquijor Island/Philippines, January 2004

Phyllidia Varicosa — Fig. 65: A nudibranch of type Phyllidia Varicosa — Nikon Coolpix 990, Siquijor Island/Philippines, January 2004

Blue-fin travelly — Fig. 66: A blue-fin travelly — Nikon Coolpix 990, Siquijor Island/Philippines, January 2004

Bigeye Travellies — Fig. 67: A group of bigeye travellies — Nikon Coolpix 990, Siquijor Island/Philippines, January 2004

Coral Twig — Fig. 68: A little twig crowded with corals, sponges and sea squirts — Nikon Coolpix 990, Siquijor Island/Philippines, January 2004

Royal Angelfish — Fig. 69: A royal angelfish — Nikon Coolpix 990, Siquijor Island/Philippines, January 2004

Moorish Idol Fish — Fig. 70: Two Moorish Idol Fish eating from a coral — Nikon Coolpix 990, Siquijor Island/Philippines, January 2004

Nembrotha Milleri — Fig. 71: A nudibranch. Looks like a Nembrotha Milleri. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Siquijor Island/Philippines, January 2004

Lionfish — Fig. 72: A lion fish — Nikon Coolpix 990, Siquijor Island/Philippines, January 2004

Sponges — Fig. 73: Reef scene with an orange and a blue sponge. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Siquijor Island/Philippines, January 2004

Sea Turtle — Fig. 74: A sea turtle awaken by a nosy photographer — Nikon Coolpix 990, Siquijor Island/Philippines, January 2004

Sea Turtle — Fig. 75: A sea turtle soaring through the water against the current. I had to speed up very quick to get it from the front and not as usual from behind. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Siquijor Island/Philippines, January 2004

Sea Turtle — Fig. 76: The turtle is keeping up. A diver in the background already went out of air and is breathing from his buddy's tank. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Siquijor Island/Philippines, January 2004

Fish over Tentacles — Fig. 77: A fish over the tentacles of a coral. The tentacles open and close always like a hand, grabbing plancton out of the water. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Siquijor Island/Philippines, January 2004

Nembrotha Kubaryana — Fig. 78: A nudibranch of type Nembrotha Kubaryana — Nikon Coolpix 990, Siquijor Island/Philippines, January 2004

Ghost Crab — Fig. 79: A ghost crab within some corals — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Hawkfish — Fig. 80: A hawkfish — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Lionfish — Fig. 81: A lion fish — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Moray Eel — Fig. 82: Two white-eyed moray eels — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Thecacera Picta — Fig. 83: A nudibranch of type Thecacera Picta — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Melibe Mirifica — Fig. 84: Melibe Mirifica, of the Thetydae family. This nudibranch is hunting like a vacuum cleaner for little crabs on the sand — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Baby Lionfish — Fig. 85: A baby lion fish — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Green Fish — Fig. 86: A fish in a seagrass field — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Fish — Fig. 87: A fish in a seagrass field — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Green Seahorse — Fig. 88: A cute green seahorse. I photographed it in a shallow seagrass meadow with an unusual method because my air tank was almost empty and I had not enough lead. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Seahorse — Fig. 89: Another cute seahorse — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Partner Goby and Shrimp — Fig. 90: A pinkbar partner goby with their blind shrimp which is digging a hole while the goby is watching out for enemies. If an enemy gets too close, the fish gives a signal to the shrimp and both disappear in the hole. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Chromodoris reticultata — Fig. 91: A nudibranch. Possibly a Magnificent Slug (Chromodoris reticultata). — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Commensal Shrimp — Fig. 92: A Commensal Shrimp on a anemone. This time my dive buddy played with the aggressive clown fishes so that I could take pictures without being bitten. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Banded boxer shrimps — Fig. 93: Two banded boxer shrimps — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Sweepers — Fig. 94: A group of sweepers — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Black Anglerfish — Fig. 95: A black anglerfish hiding under a rock. Unfortunately it didn't want to sit on the top, posing for a good photograpy — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Fimbriated Moray — Fig. 96: A fimbriated moray with a banded boxer shrimp. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Sand Dunes — Fig. 97: Sand dunes under water — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Jackfish — Fig. 98: A swarm of jackfish — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Unicorn Fish — Fig. 99: A bignose unicorn fish — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Bluespotted Stingray — Fig. 100: A bluespotted stingray tries to cover itself in the sand. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Bluespotted Stingray — Fig. 101: A bluespotted stingray — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Goatfish — Fig. 102: A goatfish searching with his tentacles for food in the sand. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Yellow Ribbon Sweetlipfish — Fig. 103: A yellow ribbon sweetlip fish. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Fish Swarm — Fig. 104: A swarm fish — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Sepia — Fig. 105: A green-coloured sepia with raised tentacles — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Fish — Fig. 106: A black-yellow striped fish is hiding between algae on sand. I haven't found what species it is. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Hairy Frogfish — Fig. 107: Isn't he cute? A yellow little hairy frogfish, looking like an indian chief in the wind — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Hairy Frogfish — Fig. 108: Another hairy frogfish, hidden in a bunch of algae. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Hairy Frogfish — Fig. 109: A hairy frogfish, hidden in a bunch of algae. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Snail — Fig. 110: A snail plowing through the sand. On its house there are polyps, probably a kind of an anemone or a coral. Note the smears of water coming out of its trunk. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Lyre Fish — Fig. 111: A lyre fish — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Baby Sepia — Fig. 112: A cute little white sepia hiding under a leaf — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Sand diver — Fig. 113: This funny looking fish is a gold-bar sand-diver (lat. trichonotus halstead). From time to time they are spreading their big yellow pectoral fins and three long dorsal fin extension. Probably for showing off for the females in the background. They reminded me a bit on Jar Jar Binks from Star Wars. Unfortunately the image quality is very poor. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Nudibranch — Fig. 114: A little green nudibranch — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Sand diver — Fig. 115: This funny looking fish is a gold-bar sand-diver (lat. trichonotus halstead). From time to time they are spreading their big pectoral fins and three long dorsal fin extension. This one has black pectoral fins, other ones have yellow. Probably for showing off for the females in the background. They reminded me a bit on Jar Jar Binks from Star Wars. Unfortunately the image quality is very poor. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Cockatoo waspfish — Fig. 116: I was first thinking that this is a tiny scorpion leaffish, but it is a juvenile cockatoo waspfish. Thanks to Thomas Ehrensperger for pointing this out. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Nudibranches — Fig. 117: Two nudibranches — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Ship Wreck — Fig. 118: Diving into the lion fish ship wreck. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Decorator Crab — Fig. 119: A little decorator crab on a soft coral — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Ship Wreck — Fig. 120: A ship wreck — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Ship Wreck — Fig. 121: A ship wreck with lion fish and diver. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Sea Urchins — Fig. 122: A group of three sea urchins — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Fish — Fig. 123: A fish in a seagrass meadow — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Filefish — Fig. 124: A green filefish — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Anemone Family Portrait — Fig. 125: A family portrait of a anemone, two types of clown fishes and a porcelain crab — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Porcelain Crab — Fig. 126: Close-up of the porcelain crab which was trying to hide under an anemone. This picture was taken in shallow water (about 3-5m) and swell was moving me forth and back and the crab was covered and uncovered. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Coral reef — Fig. 127: Underwater reef scene — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Snappers — Fig. 128: A group of yellow fin snappers — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Red Snapper — Fig. 129: A big red snapper. Hope this one didn't end o a plate. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Harlequin Sweetlip — Fig. 130: A harlequin sweetlip. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Reef — Fig. 131: Underwater reef scene — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Garden Eels — Fig. 132: Two splendid garden eel peeping out of the sand. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Scorpionfish — Fig. 133: A pretty scorpionfish — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Spiral coral — Fig. 134: A spiral coral — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Aspidontus taeniatus — Fig. 135: A false cleanerfish (Aspidontus taeniatus) is peeping out of a pipe. This fish looks like the common cleaner fish and imitates its behaviour. But instead of cleaning the client it bites off a bit of the client. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Lionfish — Fig. 136: A lionfish — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Two Gobys — Fig. 137: Two gobys on the sand — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Underwater reef scene — Fig. 138: Underwater reef scene in shallow water — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Chromodoris quadricolor — Fig. 139: Two nudibranches of type Chromodoris Quadricolor, nickname: pyjama nudibranch — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004

Anemone — Fig. 140: A white anemone on black sand. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004 — EXIF: E990; Δt=1/125 s; f=8.2 mm; f/7.0; ISO 100; 2004-01-15 7:27:39

Decorator Crab — Fig. 141: A decorator crab on the sand — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004 — EXIF: E990; Δt=1/125 s; f=12.1 mm; f/6.4; ISO 100; 2004-01-15 7:41:17

Sand Diver — Fig. 142: A "Jar Jar Binks" fish or more commonly know as Blue Spotted Sand Diver (Trichonotus setiger). — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004 — EXIF: E990; Δt=1/91 s; f=21.3 mm; f/4.2; ISO 100; 2004-01-19 4:06:34

Razor Wrasse — Fig. 143: Looks like a razor wrasse peeping out of the sand. — Nikon Coolpix 990, Negros/Philippines, January 2004 — EXIF: E990; Δt=1/125 s; f=19 mm; f/4.4; ISO 100; 2004-01-25 7:54:06

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