No matter how many dives you do in Lembeh, it seems like there's always something new.
Today, I saw a velvet waspfish (Paraploactis sp.) for the first time.
When Nonsix pointed it out to me, I mistook it for a floating turd. The photo below isn't the best image I have of this strange fish, but take a quick look and imagine that you're about 15 metres down in typical Lembeh visibility. In those conditions, it definitely looks like someone took a dump off a boat.
Other than the obvious physical resemblance, the fish rolls from side to side with the swells and current, just like a piece of sh*t would do.
Apparently, velvet waspfish lack swim bladders, which makes them negatively buoyant in the water, so they can't actually swim. In other words...they look and behave like cr*p.
And...on a later dive, I found a second one all by myself. This one was lighter in colour, prompting one of my co-divers to remark: "Must be vegetarian sh*t".
Isn't the ocean amazing?
