• Photo by Rantje Allen

  • Photo by William Tan

  • Photo by Rantje Allen

  • Photo by William Tan

  • Photo by Rantje Allen

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Tag Archives: Diving Sulawesi

Sargassum frogfish delights divers

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Sargassum frogfish float on surface currents to dive sites in Gorontalo. Our diligent diver masters know how to find them, to the delight of guests.

Floating Refuge

As their common name implies, Sargassum frogfish hide among sargassum weeds. Although these weeds initially grow along shallow ocean bottoms, storms will rip them up. Then, these weeds will float on the surface. They have air-filled bladders that look like berries, which helps the weeds float.

Over eighty species of fish use floating mats of Sargassum weed for part of their life cycle. Juvenile fish can hide there from predators. But predators also lurk unseen among the weeds.

Camouflaged Predator

sargassum frogfish
Sargassum frogfish hides among weeds

One such predator is the Sargassum frogfish. Like other frogfish

, this one has a small lure between its eyes and mouth. When the fish is hungry, it will wiggle its lure to tempt prey to approach too closely. With a sudden, giant gulp, the frogfish will ingest the small fish, crab or shrimp. Unhappily, baby frogfish may also be devoured.

This frogfish’s scientific name is Histrio histrio. It is the only species of this genus and no other fish looks quite like it. Its appearance is unmistakable, although finding it is difficult. Its coloration mimics that of Sargassum weed. Also, it has fleshy appendages that look like its weedy host. Although it can swim, this frogfish usually remains motionless. Instead, it grabs onto weeds with its pectoral fins and tail. When necessary, it can alter its color from lighter to darker, or vice versa.

Techniques for Finding Sargassum frogfish

frogfish
Floating on surface weeds

Our dive masters are skilled in finding these shy and delightful critters. During surface intervals between dives, they will search floating weeds near the dive boat. If they find one, they will scoop it into a small bucket along with the weed on which the frogfish clings. That way guests on the dive boat can see it up close. Although this frogfish can survive quite a while above water, we always return it safely to the ocean.

For your chance to see a Sargassum frogfish Gorontalo, please make your dive reservations directly with Miguel’s Diving.  

MIDE 2023 marks Miguel’s Diving return to Malaysia

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MIDE 2023, the Malaysia International Dive Expo, welcomed Miguel’s Diving back. This is our first reappearance at a regional dive expo since the pandemic.

Malaysia International Dive Expo MIDE 2023

The Malaysia International Dive Expo took place May 26 to 28, 2023. It is also called MIDE 2023. In the past, the event venue was Putra World Trade Centre or PWTC. However, the year the dive expo moved to Malaysia International Trade & Exhibition Centre (MITEC). The exact location was Level 2 Hall 6. The exhibition opened daily to the public at 10 a.m. It closed nightly at 7 p.m.

Miguel’s Diving @ Booth B1

MIDE 2023 marks the sixth appearance of Miguel’s Diving at this dive expo. Our booth was B1 and located at a strategic corner. The fascia board name was Miguel’s Diving Gorontalo. Our booth had a dramatic “Gorontalo: Hidden Paradise” layout. Our professional backdrops were designed by Ms. Galuh Riyadi of Jakarta. They featured underwater photo art by divers of Miguel’s Diving. These photographers come from Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.

Since the world took a break from diving during the pandemic, the dive community longs for making contact again. What great fun is was to look for old dive buddies! We met ones from Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. Miguel’s Diving staff had a great time catching up with old friends and making many new ones.

MIDE 2023
Reuniting with dive buddies

Our promotion team included Mrs. Tan Peck Sim and her son Li Hung from Scuba Symphony. They are the owners of the largest underwater camera store in Malaysia. Peck Sim herself has dived many times in Gorontalo. Thanks to their help, we were able to distribute about 900 flyers.

Gorontalo for Malaysian Divers

Gorontalo is an excellent destination for Malaysian divers. Pristine dive destinations are often difficult to reach. Not so Gorontalo! Batik Air and Air Asia offers flights to Gorontalo via Jakarta. Also

, an option from KUL may be via Makassar (UPG). The connecting flight to Gorontalo lasts about one hour ten minutes. GTO is the airport code to reach Gorontalo. The drive from our airport to accommodation is about 50 minutes.

Gorontalo diving season is the opposite of most peninsular Malaysian destinations. Our season runs mid October to mid May. Officially it is November to April. No reason to cry during monsoon-lah. Come dive in Gorontalo! For many Malaysians food can be an issue. Food in Gorontalo is halal.

To arrange your dive trip to Gorontalo, please make your dive reservations directly with Miguel’s Diving. 

Yellow lace coral lives deep down

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Yellow lace coral thrives below thirty meters in Gorontalo. Its bold honey-lemon hue adds distinctive color to deep reefs where ambient light is low.

Not a Reef Building Coral

Although they have some similarities, lace corals are not fire corals. Millepora fire coral species have symbiotic algae living inside their tissues. These algae contribute nutrients and color to fire corals, as well as reef building corals.

yellow lace coral
Deep water Yellow lace coral

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, lace corals are hydrocorals. Their skeleton is made of calcium and can easily break. Its tiny polyp pores are minute with diameters less than one millimeter. Lace corals have two genus, Stylaster and Distichopora. They lack symbiotic algae. This means that the distinctive colors of lace corals are part of their skeletons. Whereas other coral skeletons turn white when the colony dies, lace corals retain their coloration even after death.

Yellow Lace Coral & Deep Reefs

Divers in Gorontalo who venture down to thirty meters can easily spot Yellow lace corals on certain dive sites. These corals look like yellow fans. Sometimes, a colony has more than one fan from the single base. The branches are stout and rounded. Gorontalo’s Yellow lace corals have tips of white. They are found on vertical surfaces and tucked into small holes or crevasses.

The Yellow lace coral could be Distichopora violacea, despite not being purple. There are 34 named species of Distichopora, but many remain unnamed. They are only found in Pacific oceans, including Tomini Bay where we dive.

Tiny, Stinging Hairs

Distichopora stinging cells
Stinging hairs of Yellow lace coral

Like other Distichopora species but unlike reef building corals, our Yellow lace coral has different types of polyps. All connect via canals inside the yellow skeleton where they are imbedded. These microscopic polyps have different functions. Two types protrude from the skeleton. They are gastropores and dactylopores.

The dactylopores have fine hairs that possess stinging cells called nematocysts. They can leave stings on divers who touch or brush against them. The function of these cells is to sting plankton. The stunned plankton are then eaten by gastropores, which contain the feeding polyps.  

Complex Reproduction of Lace Corals

Distichopora cf violacea
Multiple Yellow lace coral colonies

Although reproduction among reef building corals is relatively straightforward, that of lace corals is not. Lace coral polyps release medusae, which look like microscopic jellyfish. These medusae possess both male and female reproductive organs. These in turn release eggs and sperm into the ocean. A fertilized egg will develop into a larvae that swims until it reaches a hard surface. There is will attach and form a new lace coral colony.

Lace corals can also reproduce by fragmentation. For your chance to see Gorontalo’s deep water Yellow lace coral, please make your dive reservations directly with Miguel’s Diving.  

Leopard sea cucumber self-mutilates

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Leopard sea cucumber is a beautiful creature of the ocean floor. However, divers should avoid touching its sensitive body.

Spotted Beauty

The Leopard sea cucumber lives in the eastern Indian and the western Pacific oceans. In the areas we dive in Gorontalo, it can only be found dependably at a single dive site. This sea cucumber lives in sandy areas, flanked by coral reef. Researchers say that it lives from three to almost forty meters deep. We usually find it between 15 and 18 meters here.

Leopard spots
Close-up of spots

Although research claims it can grow to 60 centimeters, those in Gorontalo measure only half of that length. Divers can easily identify the Leopard cucumber. Its spotted pattern is distinctive and unmistakable. The tubular body is grey but sprinkled with random rows spots. These spots are orange and edged in brown.

Avoid Touching

Leopard sea cucumber is highly sensitive. It considers touching, grabbing, or lifting to be a threat. When threatened, it will eject white strings. These elongate in sea water. They also become sticky. Scientists consider this behavior to be defensive.

These white strings are called Cuverian tubes after the French zoologist who first studied them. They are naturally attached to the sea cucumber’s interior respiratory system. When the Leopard cucumber feels threatened, it will contract its body muscles. This contraction is so great that it tears the cucumber’s interior. The contraction forces Cuverian tubes out of its anus. In this way, it self-mutilates.

Leopard sea cucumber
A Leopard sea cucumber sits undisturbed

The Leopard sea cucumber can regrow its tubes. However, this takes several weeks. So, divers should avoid touching this sea cucumber. The tubes contain toxins, which can cause skin irritation in humans. Interestingly enough, researchers are using toxins from the Leopard sea cucumber in cancer research.

Leopard Sea Cucumber in Ecology

This sea cucumber has several rows of tubular feet on its underside. It moves slowly across the sandy bottom. While doing so, it ingests sand and anything the sand contains. In this way, all sea cucumbers clean the ocean floor of detritus and other waste materials.

Moreover, its own waste is beneficial to coral growth. After internal digestion, it excretes calcium carbonate and ammonia along with clean sand.

Home for a Fish

Pearl fish live inside of some Leopard sea cucumbers. The fish’s scientific name is Carapus mourlani. It enters and exits the cucumber via the anus, usually tail first. A scientific study in Indonesia of Bohadschia argus, the official name for the Leopard sea cucumber, found fifteen pearl fish living inside a single cucumber!

Sometimes an Emperor shrimp will be living on the sea cucumber’s surface.

For your chance to see this beautiful creature in Gorontalo, please make your dive reservations directly with Miguel’s Diving.  

Arothron caeruleopunctatus pufferfish hiding in plain sight

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Arothron caeruleopunctatus is a large pufferfish that hid in plain sight until a Japanese researcher named it in 1994.

Not the Other Blue-spotted Puffer

Scientific names are always best to identify marine life. Although the name of the large puffer Arothron caeruleopunctatus means “blue-spotted,” another small pufferfish is often called the Blue-spotted puffer. That fish is a small toby named Canthigaster solandri. It has various blue spots and a colorful body. An internet search for a blue spotted puffer will produce photos for C. solandri, not A. caeruleopunctatus.

Arothron caeruleopunctatus
Arothron caeruleopunctatus along a deep wall

Arothron caeruleopunctatus can measure to 80 centimeters in length. That makes this species one of the largest pufferfishes worldwide. Divers giving it a casual glance would find it uninteresting. Its body is primarily dull with hues of gray and dark blue. Ventrally, it is often white. Dorsally, it can have a yellow, irregular blotch. The fish’s scientific name comes from the numerous blue to white spots found on its body. These are round to rice shaped. Also, concentric lines circle the fish’s eyes.

Unnoticed until 1994

Divers assumed that this oval-shaped fish was one of the other large puffers that live in Indo-Pacific waters. However, in 1994, Dr. Keiichi Matsuura published his finding of this pufferfish that had been hiding is plain sight. Dr. Matsuura is curator emeritus at the zoology department of the Museum of Nature and Science in Tsukuba, Japan.

In addition to Arothron caeruleopunctatus, he has discovered and named other pufferfishes. These include Arothron multilineatus (2016) from Ryukyu Islands, Japan, and Chelonodontops alvheimi (2018) from Myanmar. Also, he named a new Fugu puffer, Takifugu flavipterus (2017) from Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, and Far East Russia. Another pufferfish he named is Canthigaster aziz (2020) from the northern Red Sea off Saudi Arabia.

Arothron caeruleopunctatus in Gorontalo

Divers can see this Blue-spotted puffer occasionally along Gorontalo’s coral reefs and deep walls. Like other large pufferfishes

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, it is quite shy around divers. Careful approach can reward a patient diver with a clear view of the blue-spotted pattern of this fish. It lives from two meters to below safe diving limits.

blue spotted puffer
Smile for the camera!

A close look reveals that its skin lacks scales. Also, its dorsal and anal fins are small. These are located towards the back of its body and are symmetrical. Moreover, it lacks a pelvic fin. Its short snout has two pairs of nostrils. It feeds on invertebrates that live on the substrate. To feed, it uses its four strong teeth. This pufferfish is active during the day.

For your chance to see Arothron caeruleopunctatus in Gorontalo, please make your dive reservations directly with Miguel’s Diving.  

Thylacodes grandis captures plankton in its net

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Thylacodes grandis, or the Grand Worm Sail, uses mucous like a net to capture plankton. Its beautiful batik-patterned head is unmistakable.

Grand Worm Snails in the Reef

Thylacodes grandis
The batik-patterned head of Thylacodes grandis

Worm snails are a family of marine molluscs. They live in long tubes rather than the usual coiled chambers of other snails. Worm snail tubes are irregular. Grand worm snails in Gorontalo measure about seven to ten centimeters in height. A worm snail will grow its tube from a hard substrate on the reef. Sometimes, a Grand worm snail will live separated from other marine life. More often, it will grow up among various corals with only its head above. Since these worm snails are long lived, hard corals can grow on the tubes.

Grand worm snails live in all Gorontalo’s coral dive sites. However, divers can easily overlook them. Most distinctive about this species is its lack of a cap. Also known as an operculum, the cap shuts the tube from the top, thus protecting the worm snail inside. Because it lacks this cap, the Grand worm snail’s head is exposed for divers to see. It has a distinctive maze of white to golden lines over a dark background. This background can be black to deep maroon. It resembles batik. Also apparent are the creature’s fleshy horns. When a diver approaches, the Grand worm snail will duck its head down into its tube.

Fishing with Mucous

Grand worm snail
Grand worm snail fishing

Worm snails gather food by producing mucous steams. Their gills create a slight current. This current sends plankton

, that floats in the water column, into its sticky mucous. A careful diver can watch as the Grand worm snail rotates its head and draws its mucous net into its mouth.

An easy way to search for worm snails in Gorontalo is simply to look for the mucous strands floating above the reef. The most common worm snail here is Dendropoma maxima. It grows from inside massive coral heads, often in groups. Since this species has a dark cap, divers can easily distinguish it from Thylacodes grandis. Grand worm snails in Gorontalo typically live below fifteen meters.

Thylacodes grandis and other names

Some older resources give the scientific name as Serpulorbis grandis. This is not an accepted name. Vermetus grandis is another unaccepted name associated with the Grand worm snail. Taxonomic work done in 2005 and 2006 has yet to be harmonized. However, there are over forty confirmed species in the Thylocodes genus. These include two new species, one in 2017 and another in 2018. The most beautiful and photogenic worm snail in Gorontalo is indeed Thylacodes grandis.

To see a Grand worm snail in action, please make your dive reservations directly with Miguel’s Diving.

Green turtle pays a visit to Gorontalo reefs

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Green turtle is a species only occasionally seen along Gorontalo’s dense coral reefs. Adult green turtles are strictly vegetarian and so live near sea grass flats. Those seen at Gorontalo dive sites are migrating between sea grass areas in western Gorontalo to those in North Sulawesi Province. Divers will usually see Hawksbill turtles here.

Green Turtle Identification

green turtle on reef
The beautiful shell pattern of Green turtle

Both Green and Hawksbill turtles have similar appearances. However, certain features help identify both species. Green turtles have a single pair of large scales between their eyes. These are called prefrontal scales. Hawksbills have two pairs of small scales. Also, a hawksbill turtle has a distinctive hook on its beak, whereas a green turtle will have a rounded beak. Green turtles have smooth shells with smooth edges, whereas a hawksbill’s shell edges will be clearly serrated

, especially towards the tail. Lastly, an adult Green turtle has a single claw on each front flipper, whereas a Hawksbill turtle will have two. Oftentimes, the shell of a green turtle will be highly polished with visible patterning.

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, Green turtles can grow up to a meter and a half in length. Also , they can weigh up to 400 kilograms. Those found in Indonesia are usually no longer than one meter.

Although baby green turtles eat a variety of things, adults shift to a plant diet. That means they eat mainly sea grass and marine algae. The common name green turtle comes from the fact that the fat found under this turtle’s shell is distinctively green in color. Scientists suspect the color is a result of the vegetarian diet. Also, this turtle’s scientific name is Chelonia mydas.

Moreover, should a diver notice the tail of a Green turtle, that turtle will be male. Only a male’s tail is long enough to protrude from under its shell.  

Breathing in Sea Turtles

Divers know that sea turtles spend most of their lives underwater. However, they must breathe oxygen from the air. While traveling to dive sites in Gorontalo

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, guests might notice when a turtle’s head breaks the surface. One breath is enough to exhale stale air and replace it with fresh air. A green turtle will dive for about four to five minutes. Then it will surface for a couple of seconds to catch a breath. Divers should never interfere with sea turtles while trying to breathe. Sea turtles will sleep in a safe place. During sleep, respiration slows considerably.

Nesting Sea Turtles

turtle on the reef
Pausing on a Gorontalo reef

A female sea turtle will reach forty to sixty years in age before laying her first eggs. Breeding females will lay eggs every two years. They will lay these every two to three weeks. They lay 50 to 150 eggs each time.

The temperature of the sand determines the sex of the hatchlings. Research on green turtles find that higher temperatures produce males

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, whereas lower temperatures produce females. Scientists worry that rising ocean temperatures from climate change will result in too few female green turtles.

A female sea turtle will crawl onto a sandy beach at night. Then she will dig a hole to lay eggs and recover them. Scientists believe they return to the beach of their birth to lay eggs.

Baby turtles will hatch about two months of incubation. They will usually hatch about the same time. Then they crawl as quickly as possible to the sea. Many predators from birds to large fish eat baby sea turtles. The chances of surviving to adulthood are very small. Humans still collect eggs and hunt sea turtles. This is illegal in Indonesia.

Although land turtles can pull head and flippers inside the shell

, sea turtles cannot.

For your chance to see a green turtle in Gorontalo, please make your dive reservations directly with Miguel’s Diving.  

Side Gilled Sea Slugs of the Night

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Side gilled sea slugs are a delight to find during night diving in Gorontalo.

Nocturnal Sea Slugs

Grand side gilled sea slugs
A Grand side gilled sea slug crawls the sea floor looking for prey

Nudibranchs usually have their gills exposed on the top of their bodies. But side gilled sea slugs have large plume-like gills tucked between the mantle and the foot. The gills are usually on the right side. They mostly live in shallow waters on sand and rubble bottoms. That makes the perfect location for lucky divers to find them. These slugs crawl the sea floor at night looking for tunicates

, anemones and invertibrates. They have a pair of rolled rhinophores that sense chemicals and water current. They have strong jaws and wide mouths and can even eat a sleeping fish! This type of sea slug secretes sulfuric acid when disturbed.

Grand Side Gilled Sea Slugs

The most commonly seen side gilled slug is Pleurobranchus grandis. It can grow up to 21 cm, the size of a dinner plate! Its color pattern varies. However, this slug has three red bands that contrast with its other colors. See Alain Guillard’s photo taken at Sand Bowl dive site in Gorontalo.

Forskal’s Side Gilled Sea Slugs

Forskal's side gilled sea slugs
A young Forskal’s sea slug points its rhinophores forward

The beautiful Pleurobrachus forskali is named after a Finnish naturalist. Pehr Forskal was a student of Linnaeus, who recommended that King Frederick V of Denmark appoint the young Forskal to join an expedition to Arabia. While he was busy writing his book on the Flora of Egypt & Arabia, he contracted malaria. He died in 1763 in present-day Yemen. This sea slug is one of three life forms named after him.
Its color varies widely from dark plum red to peach to brown. The only consistent element of its pattern is the white semicircles that outline bumps on its mantle. Both P. grandis and P. forskali arch their mantles when moving. This forms a spout towards the rear of the slug, clearly visible in Albert Hartono’s photo of a young Forskal sea slug taken at Old Port dive site. This spout channels water and feces away from the slug as it travels.

Moon-headed Side Gilled Sea Slugs

Moon-headed side gilled sea slugs
A Moon-headed sea slug vacuums the sand at night

The most unusual Euselenops luniceps is rarely seen because it buries itself in the sand during the day. Its long mantle forms a siphon that brings sea water to the slug’s gills while it is buried. Notice the siphon towards the rear of the slug in Wisnu Purwanto’s photo from Sand Bowl dive site. Mr. Purwanto shares other Gorontalo underwater photos on his Flickr page. Its most notable feature is its large, wide oral veil that covers its mouth. The veil is fringed with many sensory hairs called papillae. The slug basically feels for prey along the sand with its mouth. Moon-headed ones are the only side gilled sea slugs that can swim for some distance. To swim, it flaps the sides of its body. It only grows to 7 cm.
Although night dives are not included in dive packages that Miguel’s Diving offers, oftentimes night diving is available. Please ask when you make a booking with us.

Sea Hare Mating in Gorontalo

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That tumbling mass is really sea hare mating! Imagine the surprise of divers looking for critters at Sand Castle, one of Gorontalo’s muck diving sites. On the sand in shallow water were masses that looked like sea weeds, rocking back and forth in the gentle surge. In fact, there were patches of algae on the sea floor. That added to the confusion. But a closer inspection revealed a rarely witnessed event, sea hare mating.

Slugs Looking Like Rabbits

Sea hares are members an opisthobranch order of sea slugs. More colorful opisthobranchs are famously called nudibranchs. Their sensing organs are called rhinophores. In sea hares, these and their oral tentacles are rolled. Many sea hare species have an internal shell, giving them a pudgy appearance. These characteristics make the slug look like a rabbit, hence the name. Sea hares can grow to enormous sizes and weigh five kilograms or more.

Lined Sea Hares

The sea slugs discovered by guests of Miguel’s Diving in the midst of sea hare mating were not of the large variety. Instead, they were Lined Sea Hares (Stylocheilus striatus).

mating sea hares in Gorontalo
Lined sea hares during mating

Notice the fine dark lines in the photo by Senior Aldo Galante of Buenos Aires. Some light spots are also visible. This color pattern makes for great camouflage. Lined Sea Hares are usually quite small, such as the ones found in Gorontalo that day. But they can grow to up to 65 mm in length. Like other sea hares, Lined ones eat blue-green algae. When disturbed, most sea hares will secret purple ink. This purple secretion actually comes from toxins found in the blue-green algae eaten by sea hares.

Sea Hare Mating Video

To witness sea hare mating is a rare event. Watch the video shot in Gorontalo that day.

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At the beginning of the video

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, there are several still photos. Can you make out the individual sea hares? Notice how the mass of sea hares resembles the clump of algae growing on a nearby rock. Do you see individual sea hares crawling from the upper left screen towards the sea hare mating frenzy? Notice the dark portion inside the body of a sea hare. This is the internal shell.
For your chance to witness a rare marine event, please make a dive booking with us at info@miguelsdiving.com

Marine Protected Areas in Tomini Bay

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Viable marine protected areas are a crucial need worldwide. At Miguel’s Diving, our business model is based on ecological sustainability and community development.

Gorontalo Marine Protected Areas

During our early years of operation, Miguel’s Diving staff conducted a series of coral awareness campaigns. These took place in local schools, village halls and government buildings. We even used the front porch of a house! Gorontalo Province Fisheries Department, the Nature Lovers club at the local university and law enforcement took part. The basic message was “no coral, no fish, your choice.” The culmination of these educational efforts was the establishment of the Olele Village Marine Park in 2007. Miguel’s Diving pays a fee directly to the village for our guests to dive in designated sites. In this marine protected area, fishing is not allowed.

Daily Patrols

A dive guide removes two Crown-of-Thorns from a pristine coral reef in Gorontalo
A dive guide removes two Crown-of-Thorns from a pristine coral reef in Gorontalo
During regular diving season, Miguel’s Diving staff are in the water almost daily. Diving season is November to April. We take time during each dive to clean up a bit of trash or fishing line. Any Crown-of-Thorns starfish are taken immediately from the dive sites. In other marine protected areas in the world, Crown-of-Thorn outbreaks severely threaten the coral reef. Divers will immediately notice the dense and healthy hard corals of Gorontalo.

Vast Tomini Bay

Miguel’s Diving offers diving along the northern shore of Tomini Bay. Other operators provide diving in the Togian Islands. They are located in southern part of Tomini Bay. Tomini Bay is one of the largest in the world. It plunges over four kilometers in depth near Gorontalo dive sites. It takes eight hours by metal ferry boat to cross from Gorontalo to the Togian Islands.

Togian Islands Marine Protected Areas

There is no dynamite fishing in the areas where Miguel’s Diving operates. This is because of environmentally-friendly local fishing practices and community education efforts. Gorontalo Fisheries Department also patrols the coastline. No so fortunate are our neighbors to the south. Although the Togian Islands is one of Indonesia’s official marine protected areas

, enforcement is lacking. In fact, there is a petition on Change.Org to urge the Indonesian government to tackle dynamite fishing and over fishing in the Togian Islands. Would you add your name to this petition? We have!

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