Photo credits: www.foued.biz and Diversia Diving
Turtles
There are two types of turtles that can be seen while diving the Gili islands: hawksbill turtles and green sea turtles.
You can see the difference by looking at their nose (pointy for hawksbill, round for green sea turtles) and their shields. Baby turtles are also called hatchlings. When they come from a nest with a higher than average temperature, more females are born. Lower temperatures lead to more males.
You don't see a lot of juvenile turtles around the Gili islands because they spend their first few years in the open ocean.
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Banded sea snake
There are over 50 species of sea snakes of which our black and white striped is one. These sea snakes can grow up to 2 meters in length. Sea snakes don't have gills so they have to go to the surface to breath every hour. They are very poisonous, but not aggresive at all.
To spot the difference between a sea snake and eel with the same pattern: snakes have a paddle shaped tail and scales, eels lack scales and usually have small fins along their bodies.
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False clown fish a.k.a. nemo
False clown fish are also called clown anemone fish or - after the famous movie - nemo. Before they inhabite an anemone they perform a kind of 'mating' dance- touching the anemone with different parts of their body.
They have a layar of mucus on their body that makes them immune for the lethal sting of the -fish eating!- anemone. All clownfish are born male. They only switch sex if the biggest (dominant) female dies, to become the new dominant female of a group (and can not change back). Very convenient as they tend to live more or less in the same spot their whole lives.
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(Reef) Sharks
The sharks that you are most likely to encounter when you are diving the Gilis are white tip reef sharks. We also see black tip reef sharks and occasionally whale sharks and leopard sharks.
The white tip reef shark is the only shark from the requiem shark family (like the bull and the tiger shark) that doesn't need to stay in the current or swim in order to breath. They can let the water pass through their gills without moving and filter out the oxygen. This is why you can often find them under (table) corals or on the sand.
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Manta ray
One of the largest and most graceful creatures under water, the manta is very fascinating to most people. Manta rays can weigh more than 1000 kg and their width can span over 7,5 meters! Only sharks and whales are bigger. They can live up to 20 years.
Mantas are closely related to sharks as well as stingrays. Manta don't have a nose but do have a row of sharp teeth. They don't use them for eating, but filter their food. Manta means blanket in Spanish.
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Sea horse or hippocampus
Who doesn't like seeing a sea horse on a dive? At Sea horse bay and Teluk nare pier (both muck dives near Lombok at 20 minuts from Gili Trawangan) there is a very big chance.
Sea horses are related but no family of the pipe fish. They are unique. First because of their shape, but also because, unlike many other fish, they mate for life. And even more because unlike most animals - the male bears their unborn baby in his pouch. They are bad swimmers and use their tales to anchor themselves to sea grass or coral. There are 35 species of which some close to extinction.
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Porcupine fish
Porcupine fish can inflate their body by swallowing water or air. When they are inflated their sharp spines stick outwards. And on top of this there are also some poisonous species. The position of the eyes (more on the side) is the easiest way to see the difference with other 'blowfish' that is more commonly seen on dives around the gili's: the puffer fish. The story that they can inflate only a few times in their lives is not true as long as they inflate under water. If they inflate on the surface they might swallow air which is a lot more difficult to get rid of - and thus more dangerous.
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Bump head parrotfish
Also known as humphead parrot fish. The best chance to see them on a dive at the Gili's is around full moon. They can weigh up to 45 kg and grow up to 130 cm in length. Bumpheads are the biggest of the parrotfish. Parrotfish get their name from their teeth that look like a little bit like the beak of a parrot. They also have teeth at the back of their throat with which they grind their food.
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Devil ray or mobula
The devil ray or mobula belongs to the family of devil rays and manta rays and are sometimes mistaken for a manta because of the similar colourting and shape. They can have a wing span up to 5 meters, but some species average a little bit over 1 meter. They are called devil ray because of the 'horns' at the front.
Mobula's are known to travel in groups and can breach the surface and 'fly' up to 2 meters. Google 'flying mobula' to see some spectacular pictures.
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Ornate ghost pipefish
Ornate ghost pipefish are also called Harlequin ghost pipefish. They are closely related, but no family of the seahorse. Females can be twice as big as males, they often live in pairs. When feeding they tend to hang upside down.
Best places on Gili to see an ornate ghost pipe fish on a dive? Teluk nare pier, Sea horse bay and Hans Reef.
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Leaf pipefish
Leaf pipefish or robust ghost pipefish are related but no family of the common pipe fish and seahorses. One of the differences is that the female leaf pipe fish broods the eggs.
When they are born they float around and only when they reach adulthood they settle on a reef. They mimic a piece of seagrass to hide from predators.
Best places on Gili to see an leaf pipe fish on a dive? Teluk nare pier and Sea horse bay.
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Nudibranch
Nudibranchs are commonly called sea slugs, but they are not of the same family. There are more than 3000 described species and many undescribed as well. Most of them are bottom crawlers but there are a few exceptions that spend their life floating. Some of them are toxic and most of them scare off predators by their bright colours. Nudibranchs are hermaphroditic and have both male and female reproduction organs but can not fertilize themselves.
Best places on Gili to see a nudibranch on a dive? All dive sites, but at Bounty Wreck, Halik and Hanns Reef you can see some of the more rare ones if you are lucky.
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Frogfish
Frogfish belong to the family of angler fish and live in water with a temperature above 20 degrees Celcius. Indonesia has the highest concentration frogfish in the world.
Frogfish can swim but they prefer to sit on the sea floor. If you are lucky you can see them yawning/opening their enormous mouth.
They are masters in camouflage and can change color and even grow 'hair' to imitate stones, coral, sponges, sea urchins and more. They eat crustaceans, other fish and even each other. After mating the -normally smaller- male disappears quickly as he would be a nice 'dessert'
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AQUATIC LIFE IN THE GILIS
