Kirsty and I went down to Flinders for an early-morning dive, but the visibility there was terrible, so we decided to come back and dive at Ricketts Point instead. We had good visibility, and lots to see, including large schools of Zebrafish grazing on the seagrass. "Lenny", the resident Purple Wrasse, was hanging out with the Zebras, along with a couple of good-sized Old Wives. We also spotted a few Yellow-Striped Leather Jackets, and a very curious Rough Leatherjacket. There were lots of Snapper, a couple of Fiddler Rays, and a few mature Dusky Morwong around. There was a large school of Southern Garfish in the shallows, sharing the seagrass meadows with some Yelloweye Mullets.
The Southern Garfish occurs from southern New South Wales and around the south of the country to south-western Western Australia. They are a schooling fish found in sheltered bays, inshore coastal areas, estuaries and especially where seagrass meadows are established. They are found near the surface at night and on the bottom to midwater during the day.
The Yelloweye Mullet is the most common mullet species found in southern Australian waters. It has two short-based dorsal fins, a broad head, a short pointed snout with a small mouth, and a slightly forked tail. Yelloweye Mullet are greenish-brown above, with silvery sides, a paler underside, with a bright yellow iris and no dark spot at the pectoral-fin base. They are often seen in large surface schools.
The male Six-Spined Leatherjacket has three pairs of prominent spines on each side of the base of the tail. Females and juveniles have much smaller spines, if they are present at all. Commonly seen in seagrass beds, adults are also seen on sheltered reefs. Males are much more colourful than females.
The Victorian Scalyfin is one of the larger members of the Damselfish family. It is territorial, and will aggressively defend its cave and the patch of algae that it farms. They can vary in colour from grey to black, or yellow to orange. Large males can be almost black, with a thin blue margin.
You can often see large schools of Zebrafish around some of the rocky ledges of the Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary. Sometimes they will ignore you completely, and other times will disappear into crevices and caves as soon as possible.
The Yellow-striped Leatherjacket is generally a pale brown to an ash grey in colour, with a yellow (or orange) patch at the base of the tail. It grows to around 30 cm, and is commonly found on kelp reefs. They are often found in male/female pairs, with the male having four small spines at the base of the tail, and the yellow patch on the female extending onto the tail. The species is only found in Australian waters.
You can often see large schools of Zebrafish around some of the rocky ledges of the Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary. Sometimes they will ignore you completely, and other times will disappear into crevices and caves as soon as possible.
Purple Wrasse adults are greyish to greenish with a purple hue, and have five yellowish blotches along the back extending onto the dorsal fin, often with a yellow band at the back of the head behind the gill cover. Juveniles are reddish-brown, greenish-brown or greyish-green with greenish and orange mottling. Unlike most Wrasses, where one of the larger females will change sex when the dominant male of the harem dies, some Purple Wrasses will change sex to become males before they mature, resulting in large males and females both being present in the population, which is relatively rare in the Wrasse family.
Old Wifes can grow up to 25 cm in length. Swimming with their fins erect, these graceful fish can be found in pairs, or as part of large schools. Large adults are sometimes seen on their own. They are named after the grunting sound they make when stressed, supposedly sounding like the humphing sound a fisherman's disapproving wife might make.The dorsal spine is venomous. This is the only representative of the family, and its relationship with other families is unclear.
Old Wifes can grow up to 25 cm in length. Swimming with their fins erect, these graceful fish can be found in pairs, or as part of large schools. Large adults are sometimes seen on their own. They are named after the grunting sound they make when stressed, supposedly sounding like the humphing sound a fisherman's disapproving wife might make.The dorsal spine is venomous. This is the only representative of the family, and its relationship with other families is unclear.
The Yellow-striped Leatherjacket is generally a pale brown to an ash grey in colour, with a yellow (or orange) patch at the base of the tail. It grows to around 30 cm, and is commonly found on kelp reefs. They are often found in male/female pairs, with the male having four small spines at the base of the tail, and the yellow patch on the female extending onto the tail. The species is only found in Australian waters.
The Rough Leatherjacket is covered in small, short fleshy filaments that look a bit like spines. It is a very timid fish that is hard to observe for long periods of time. It can grow to around 30 cm.
The Rough Leatherjacket is covered in small, short fleshy filaments that look a bit like spines. It is a very timid fish that is hard to observe for long periods of time. It can grow to around 30 cm.
Dusky Worwong can grow up to 1.2 metres. Adults a blue-green colour, while juveniles have brown spots and bars in the upper body and tail. They are regularly seen in seagrass beds, often in pairs, lying in the grass, and are quite easy to approach.
Divers: Peter Batchelor and Kirsty Batchelor.
