Help, corals browned out and algae everywhere!

[soapy]

Oops sorry I got confused that is not my tank after all, that is snorkelling in Cuba…

http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/soapy_photos/brown_reef_cuba_IMGP0129_zpsnfxexz3n.jpg

[Animal-Chin]

Oops sorry I got confused that is not my tank after all, that is snorkelling in Cuba…

http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/soapy_photos/brown_reef_cuba_IMGP0129_zpsnfxexz3n.jpg

Sounds like your bi-yearly water change time! lol

I went snorkelling in cuba and it was amazing. The snorkel guide took me like a KM out and we swam through huge live rock structures full of sps. On the ocean floor was a brain coral that had to have been 3 feet wide, it made me realize that even our biggest coral are just frags in the ocean. Coral are huge in real life...lol

Also saw a black trigger fish, the thing had to have been 18 inches long! They were huge and really mean looking.

Man I want to go back now!

[soapy]

Sounds like your bi-yearly water change time! lol

I went snorkelling in cuba and it was amazing. The snorkel guide took me like a KM out and we swam through huge live rock structures full of sps. On the ocean floor was a brain coral that had to have been 3 feet wide, it made me realize that even our biggest coral are just frags in the ocean. Coral are huge in real life...lol

Also saw a black trigger fish, the thing had to have been 18 inches long! They were huge and really mean looking.

Man I want to go back now!

For sure Cuba has some really good snorkelling I also went to an amazing place on an earlier trip. I swam 2 K from the shore to a fringing reef snorkelled for an hour and then swam back. 3 hour swim in all. There was only about a foot of water on the reef when I got there but there were channels through the corals and deeper clearings so it was an very interesting time.

I know what you mean about big corals, on the Great Barrier Reef in Aus you are swimming over endless fields of coral. Brains the size of cars etc.

[gobytron]

Looks just like snorkelling in Cabo...

You can def see why the LR from Cuba is so dense.

[soapy]

The picture is of an inshore reef so it is likely has a higher 'bioload' plus I don't recall seeing a lot of large herbivores, maybe it was a bit fished out around there.

On the bright side my tank now looks just like a real reef!

[Animal-Chin]

Reefs in the wild usually have algae, we just don't like to see it in our tanks. Its totally natural though for sure.

[soapy]

That was at Cayo Santa Maria. One cool thing we did there is we walked out to a bridge on the highway that crosses the lagoon / mangrove flats and went snorkelling in there. We were swimming over thousands upon thousands of jellyfish and saw a bunch of other cool things.

http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/soapy_photos/mangrove-roots-IMGP0277_zps92r8rdbq.jpg

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

I watched a documentary about how some reefs, such as around Cuba, are getting overgrown with algae because all the big fish have been caught for human consumption and every year the fish in the marketplace are getting smaller. So overfishing is contributing to the amount of algae taking over some areas. That and I'm sure the spread of the lionfish into these non-native waters doesn't help since these voracious feeders remove a huge percentage of juvenile fish from having a chance to grow up and repopulate the reefs. Its sad really.

One of my bucket list items is to go snorkeling in a coral reef that is still relatively natural and not so altered by human activity. Better do this sooner rather than later I guess.

Friends who have been snorkeling in the Caribbean for decades tell me that the changes they have seen over time have been nothing less than heartbreaking. From massive swathes of pristine reefs populated by dozens of species of corals and tens of thousands of fish, to swimming through areas that look very much like what your photograph depicts (lots of algae, a handful of hardy corals and almost no fish.

[soapy]

I watched a documentary about how some reefs, such as around Cuba, are getting overgrown with algae because all the big fish have been caught for human consumption and every year the fish in the marketplace are getting smaller. So overfishing is contributing to the amount of algae taking over some areas. That and I'm sure the spread of the lionfish into these non-native waters doesn't help since these voracious feeders remove a huge percentage of juvenile fish from having a chance to grow up and repopulate the reefs. Its sad really.


On the flip side of that I read an article that said since they had rules about how little gas you were allowed to carry on fishing boats in Cuba, they didn't want boats making the run to Maimi, that the offshore Gardens of the Queen are in pristine condition. Going there is on live aboard dive trips.

[soapy]

We met this guy 10 feet from highway in about a foot of water:

http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/soapy_photos/octopus_DSC03741_zpspjgdntdi.jpg

http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/soapy_photos/octopus2_DSC03750_zpsipekkk5b.jpg

[soapy]

Friends who have been snorkeling in the Caribbean for decades tell me that the changes they have seen over time have been nothing less than heartbreaking. From massive swathes of pristine reefs populated by dozens of species of corals and tens of thousands of fish, to swimming through areas that look very much like what your photograph depicts (lots of algae, a handful of hardy corals and almost no fish.

Yeah I ve seen a couple of reefs in Mexico that were totally choked with green and black slimy algae.

[gobytron]

We met this guy 10 feet from highway in about a foot of water:

http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/soapy_photos/octopus_DSC03741_zpspjgdntdi.jpg

http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/soapy_photos/octopus2_DSC03750_zpsipekkk5b.jpg

a wild cephalopod sighting.

That would be surreal.

[soapy]

a wild cephalopod sighting.

That would be surreal.

It chased us along the shore flashing blue until it realized we were pretty big.

[soapy]

Here is another Octopus I saw in Australia I think? I spotted it in about 30 feet of water and was free diving down to grab some pics. Lucky to get a decent shot and not blow up the cheap camera I had. Those fish were hanging around hoping for a tasty morsel to be pried loose by the octopus.

http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/soapy_photos/octopus3_zpsr5exdafq.jpg

[Craigdillman]

Awe man !! I love octopus they are my fav thing to see diving

[soapy]

The picture is of an inshore reef so it is likely has a higher 'bioload' plus I don't recall seeing a lot of large herbivores, maybe it was a bit fished out around there.

On the bright side my tank now looks just like a real reef!

Actually I was just flipping back through my photos and there were lots of big tangs there. It wasn't too bad for algae really.

[toytech]

Checked today and the reefs off maui look pretty good , tons of tangs , huge morish idols but not too many yellow tangs around mostly convics , koles , and lavenders .

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Hawaii's reefs are at least protected by strong conservation laws and we're hoping to see them in person in 2016. :biggrin:

[soapy]

Sounds good, I would love to go to Hawaii.

Put Australia on your bucket list if you haven't been, it is fantastic. I snorkelled overtop this white tipped reef shark at a place called Heron island. It didn't know I was there so I got to follow it for a few seconds.

http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/soapy_photos/shark_heron_1_IMGP0340_zpsoqyum3z6.jpg

[Myka]

Hawaii's reefs are at least protected by strong conservation laws and we're hoping to see them in person in 2016. :biggrin:


If you want "less touched" go to Kauai. :)

[soapy]

If you want "less touched" go to Kauai. :)

Noted.

[soapy]

That shark wasn't too scary but this guy here was terrifying:
http://i.imgur.com/RA3T0wm.jpg

[toytech]

Last day went for a good snorkel in maui (saturday) , came back to the beach after getting checked out of the condo to hang out for a while. Guy on a jetski comes into the bay and clears everyone out of the water , turns out a very large tigershark has been in the area all week and was aggressive with a couple of different people and decided to bite a stand up surfers board , guy was ok luckily . Kinda unnerving to have been there all week in not too great water conditions with an aggressive tigershark .

[kien]

nice! Great pics.

[soapy]

Glad you guys are enjoying the pics. No one has mentioned it but that snail is a cone shell, not sure if it is the instant death kind or not but trust me I flipped it with a stick only… also shot at Heron island.

[soapy]

Here is another shot from that mangrove flat in Cuba.
http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/soapy_photos/anemone-cuba-IMGP0257_zpscyank7ff.jpg