Look what one of our Padi Course Directors at Oceans 5 dive resort has got from Padi! Camille Lemmens is awarded with a Certificate of Recognition of Excellence Award. One of his last students at Oceans 5 dive resort was so happy with him as Course Director during the Padi Instructor Development Course (IDC) , that he, John, wrote an email to Padi.

Well John, Thank you, enjoy diving around the Gili Island, Indonesia. Happy Bubbles!

Scientists have discovered a fish living in forest swamps on the Indonesian island of Sumatra that is only 7.9mm long.

The species of fish belongs to the carp family and is called Paedocypris progenetica . It is the world’s smallest vertebrate or backboned animal.

Living in acid

The tiny, see-through Paedocypris fish have the appearance of larvae and have a reduced head skeleton, which leaves the brain unprotected by bone.

They live in dark tea-coloured waters with an acidity of pH3, which is at least 100 times more acidic than rainwater.

‘This is one of the strangest fish that I’ve seen in my whole career’, said Ralf Britz, zoologist at the Natural History Museum.

‘It’s tiny, it lives in acid and it has these bizarre grasping fins. I hope we’ll have time to find out more about them before their habitat disappears completely.’

Threatened swamps

The swamps were once thought to harbour very few animals, but recent research has revealed that they are highly diverse and home to many species that occur nowhere else.

In 1997 the peat swamps were damaged by large forest fires and they are still threatened by logging, urbanisation and agriculture. Several populations of Paedocypris have already been lost.

Fish discovery

The new fish was discovered by fish experts Maurice Kottelat (from Switzerland) and Tan Heok Hui from the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research in Singapore. They were working with their colleagues from Indonesia and with Kai-Erik Witte from the Max Planck Institute in Germany. Ralf Britz, at the Natural History Museum , helped analyse its skeleton and the complex structure of the pelvic fin.

Previous smallest

The previous record for smallest vertebrate was held by an 8mm species of Indo Pacific goby. The UK’s smallest fish is the marine Guillet’s goby, Lebetus guilleti , reaching 24mm in length.

The gentle giants of our oceans and seas has got to be whale sharks.

The biggest ever whale shark reached an enormous 13 meters in length, and these amazing creatures are not only the biggest sharks we have in the whole world, they are biggest fish of any kind.

The reputed maximum length of the fearsome great white shark only reached 7 meters, a dwarf in comparison.

Not unlike humans, whale sharks have a lifespan of 70 years on average, and they spend their days gently swimming about in the warm and tropical oceans of the world, mouth open to filter feed from the plankton and microscopic organisms that float in our ocean’s waters.

Whale sharks are unperturbed by human activity, and even allow divers to hitch a ride.

Their teeth are the size of match heads, and while no doubt their jaws could be powerful, they have never shown any aggression towards humans. Their teeth play no role in eating, as plankton does not need to be chewed.

Scientists are still learning about this amazing creature.

In 1996, a pregnant whale shark that was caught was found to be carrying 300 pups (the correct terminology for shark babies), and newly born pups measure up to 0.5 meters long.

Not much is known yet about gestation length, but it is believed that female whale sharks do not reach sexual maturity until they are 30 years old. This is the age they have to be before they can mate and reproduce.

Originating 60 million years ago, the whale shark has evolved little in that time. They, or their ancestors, must have been compatriots of the feared megalodon shark.

Whale sharks are to be found in numbers in the warmer oceans of the world and they are largely pelagic, meaning they are ocean going and prefer the deep waters of the open oceans. They tend to travel alone.

Several times a year they congregate together in certain spots (known as aggregating) where plankton is plentiful.

Those areas where whale shark aggregation occurs are all within a 30° north or south latitude from the equator.

So great a loss in numbers have they suffered, that whale sharks are now listed as vulnerable in the IUCN red list of endangered species.

Measures have been started to be put in place by some countries, to protect the whale shark from annihilation.

The Philippines, India and Taiwan have all banned the fishing, selling, importing and exporting of whale sharks for commercial purposes.

However, the law does not seem to be effective because the hunting and killing of whale sharks still goes on today, especially in Taiwan and the Philippines.

The Vandellia Fish

The number one fish on the list of top ten creepiest fish in the world is the vandellia fish! Do not let his appearance fool you! The vandellia is one of the most feared fish in the world, and you are about to find out why! You are probably already sitting, but I am going to suggest that you cross your legs at this time. Ready for the horrific details? Here they are!

Native to the Amazon River basins in South America, the vandellia lives in freshwater streams. Also known as the toothpick fish, this small slender nightmare is only about 2.5 cm long and 3.5 mm wide. Scaleless and translucent, it is nearly impossible to see in the water. vandella gill covers are covered with short, sharp spines. Why, you ask?

Normally a parasite of other fish, the vandellia will taste surrounding water then follow any stream of nitrogenous waste excreted from gills of fish. Once the host is located, the vandellia swims up and under the gill, expands the spines on its own gills to hold it in place, and begins sucking the blood of the host gill, gnawing a hole to the blood vessels which usually proves fatal to its victim.

The vandellia is feared among natives because it is attracted to blood and urine, and if a bather is nude it will swim into an orifice; the anus, vagina, or even the penis and deeper in the urethra! It then erects its spines and feeds on the blood and body tissue as it would the gills of a fish! The vandellia is then almost impossible to remove except through an operation, usually involving the amputation of the area!

A more expensive option is the use of two plants, the Xagua and the Buitach apple which are inserted into the affected area. The combination of these two plants will kill and dissolve the vandellia. Generally, the pain causes shock and death in the victim before the vandellia can be removed.

Angler Fish

Yikes! There little mystery to how this monstrosity took runner up as the creepiest fish in the world! Falling a hair short of number one, the top ten list was made effortlessly! Angler fish are named for their characteristic mode of hunting prey, wherein a fleshy growth (esca) from the fish’s head is used as a lure, which is similar to angling.

Typically, angler fish have three long filaments sprouting from the center of their head. The longest usually being the first protruding above the fish’s eyes, and is movable in all directions and can be wiggled so as to resemble a prey animal to other predators. Once close enough, the angler fish can devour these predators whole with jaws that are triggered automatically by contact with its tentacle.

Occurring worldwide, angler fish can be found in open water, deep sea, bottom dwelling, and on the continental shelf. Some of the deep sea anglers can emit light from their esca. Both jaws that extend around the circumference of the head are armed with bands of long pointed teeth, inclining inward, which can be depressed in a way that won’t prevent an object from gliding toward its stomach, but will prevent it’s escape from the mouth. Angler fish are also able to stretch their jaws and stomachs to an enormous size, allowing it to swallow prey up to twice the size of it’s entire body.

Bottom dwelling anglers have arm-like pectoral and ventural fins preforming as feet, enabling the fish to walk along the ocean floor where it generally hides in the sand or amongst seaweed for camouflage in areas abundant with prey. Typically about a foot long, angler fish can reach over 3 ft and weigh in at up to 110 lbs! That’s the size of most Rottweilers!

The 8th of June was a beautiful day. It started as a normal day, between 7 and 8 oclock in the morning people were waiting for their boat going to Gili Trawangan, or Lombok.

But around 9 more and more children came to the harbor, all the children of the village of Gili Air came to the meeting point to join the World Ocean Day games organized by the local community and Wild Life Society.

During the day there were competition in drawing, swimming, kayaking, collecting rubbish, tug ‘o’ war and beach and reef clean ups.

Hunderds of people were joining the day. Most of them were local. It is a great initiative, and the local population of the Island starts realizing how the important the oceans is for them and for the world.

Hopefully there will be a great event like this next year

With dental issues assuring the goblin shark made the top ten creepiest fish list, we are now to the top three! Goblin sharks are the sole living species in the mitsukurinidae family. Unique characteristics such as the long snout, being pink in color and having a retractable jaw distinguish the goblin shark from any other shark species. Though most common in Japan, this enigma of nature can be found all over the world at depths far below the reach of sunlight, up to 10,000 feet.

Squid, crab and deep sea fishes are among the favorite dining choices of the goblin shark. Though human encounters with them have been rare, there does not seem to be a threat to their populations. There is a demand by some collectors for the skeletal jaws of the goblin shark, which sell at a rate of $1,400 – $4000 US. On average, the illusive creatures measure up to 13 feet long and weigh in at 660 pounds.

Whoa! How would you like to see number four on the top ten creepiest fish list come barreling at you? These African fish are found in many lakes and rivers on the continent. A relative of the piranha, tiger fish are savage predators with distinctive protruding teeth. Eating anything that will fit in its jaws, the tiger fish hides bank side to surprise its prey, up to its own size, with a fatal blow. While smaller fish are often bitten in half, larger targets will continue to be attacked until dead. An anticoagulant slime covers the teeth of tiger fish, preventing wounds inflicted from healing.

Generally growing to be 30 inches long, tiger fish weigh in at around 15 pounds. The largest ever caught was in Kariba in 1962, measuring 32 inches and weighing 34 pounds. For predators, tiger fish have a fairly low tolerance for poor water conditions. Spotting one is a good indication of clean water. Not much of a pro to that con in my book!

Coming in at number five on the top ten creepiest fish list is the grenadier fish. There will be no kiss and release with this guy! As luck would have it, grenadier fish are usually found just above the ocean floor. With huge heads, large eyes, and long tapering tails; grenadiers swim slowly over the sea bed, in search of prey or carcasses to eat. Usually about 2 ft long and weighing close to 10 lbs, this native of the atlantic can reach 4.9 ft and up to 60 lbs. On top of being one of the uglier fish in the ocean, grenadiers also have a very high level of TMAO giving them a powerful ‘fishy’ smell!

Number six on the top ten creepiest fish list is this eco-nightmare! Snakehead fish have the unique ability to survive in and out of water for long periods of time! Native to China, Russia, and Korea the snakehead fish found their way to the United States. Several of these predators were found in a pond in Crofton, Maryland leading to major media coverage. Considered to be highly invasive, the snakehead fish immediately become top of the food chain in US Lakes and ponds, and are illegal to own.

After inhabiting a pond or lake, they eat every living creature in it. Without discrimination, a snakehead will eat everything from plankton and insects, to carp and mollusks. Once the food sources have been depleted, they jump out of the water and travel to new nearby bodies of water eating frogs, mice, rats, and small birds along the way! Most snakeheads grow to be 2 or 3 ft and weigh more than 15 pounds. Without natural predators in their new environment, these invaders can degrade ecosystems, drive native fish to extinction, and cost billions of dollars every year for eradication.

Scarier still, is the reproduction rate of snakehead fish. Reaching sexual maturity between the ages of 2 and 3, each female can release up to 15,000 eggs at once and can mate up to five times a year! In just two years, each spawning-age female can release up to 150,000 eggs. I hope they taste good!

For more information: http://www.oceans5dive.com