Angelfish – Species of the Reef

This is another of the vibrant and colourful fish found commonly seen our our trips to the Great Barrier Reef. There are over 80 different species of Angelfish. Most of which are about 30 cm (12″) long. Most of the different species exhibit a friendly and curious personality and often come over to investigate what the divers are doing on their turf. Smaller species such as the bi-coloured angel are very popular with home aquariums. Angel fish are found at all levels of the bommie fields, from the surface to swimming around the base of the reef formations and seabed.
The angel fish changes colours as it reaches maturity, and can also change sex if the male in the group disappears. If this happens the dominate female in the group will then become the male. The angel fish releases it’s eggs to float with the plankton until hatched.

Cuttlefish – Species of the Reef

This is one of the coolest fish on the reef or one of my favourites anyway. He just hangs out relaxed taking everything in his stride. They can often be seen hanging on the back edges of the reef and the juveniles often hang out by our mooring lines. The cuttlefish is related the squid, octopus and nautilus. The cuttle fish can also change colour (as the photo below demonstrates) and uses ink to defend itself.
The bone inside the cuttlefish is used for birds in the home and is often washed up on the beach or seen drifting on the ocean.
A couple of interesting facts about the cuttlefish are that they have amongst the best eyesight in the world although they do not differentiate colour the same as we do. The other fact is they have three hearts and green-blue blood instead of the usual red. Maybe this is why they act so cool, they have similar characteristics to the Vulcans from Star Trek.

Customer Satisfaction Surveys for April 2009

The latest independent customer satisfaction results have come back for April 2009, thanks to the diligent team at James Cook University.
Well done to the crew and every one involved again for a great job.

Received Value for Money: 96.5% said yes
Would Recommend the Trip: 100% said yes
Trip Met Expectations: 75% said very much
Average Satisfaction Score: 8.79