Media - Dive Hot

Best underwater videos – Diving in Bali (720p)

10/11/2019 32 Comments 7863108

Scuba diving in Bali. This DVD is available at Diving in Bali is a document of an extraordinary expedition I made to Indonesia’s magical island of Bali in 2006 with Aquamarine Diving, From Tulamben’s awesome USAT Liberty wreck, to the reef manta rays of Nusa Penida, via the fascinating macro marine life of Tulamben and Seraya Secrets, the footage covers the breadth of Bali’s fascinating underwater world. The video features 158 species of marine life, and their common and scientific names are available by turning on the captions with the CC button under the video. Viewers can now contribute subtitles for the marine life names in this video in many languages. Find out more at From Tulamben there is footage of the wreck of the USAT Liberty in both day…

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Best underwater videos – How Many Fish?

07/11/2019 29 Comments 13291

A quick puzzle. How many fish are in this video? 720p HD helps! Please post your answer in the comments, or thumbs up someone else’s reply. If you think you know the species (common name or scientific name), please add that too. The music is Duet Musette by Kevin MacCleod of Spot-the-fish video featuring camouflaged fish shot while muck diving at Retak Larry in the Lembeh Strait, north Sulawesi, Indonesia with Two Fish Divers, [UPDATE: I’ve posted the answer in an annotated photo on my Facebook and Google Plus pages. See the top 2 links below. Find me at:

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Best underwater videos – Mucky Secrets – Prologue – The Marine Creatures of the Lembeh Strait

04/11/2019 41 Comments 925960

Watch the full 90-minute documentary at This is a prologue to my documentary “Mucky Secrets”, about the weird and wonderful marine life of the Lembeh Strait between North Sulawesi and Lembeh Island in Indonesia, one of my favorite scuba diving destinations. At the heart of the Coral Triangle, the Lembeh Strait is known for it’s fascinating muck diving and the huge diversity of marine life. An astonishing array of weird and wonderful creatures can be encountered on every dive. Many of the animals have strong personalities, which I have tried to convey in this video. Mating mandarinfish take a starring role, as do mantis shrimps, sea slugs, snake eels, boxfish, scorpionfish, frogfish and other tropical fish and invertebrates. In the full 90-minute documentary I reveal the secrets behind the Lembeh…

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Best underwater videos – Mucky Secrets – Part 1 – Coral Triangle, Lembeh Strait & Sessile Animals

04/11/2019 37 Comments 59937

Part 1 of my documentary, “Mucky Secrets”, about the fascinating marine life of the Lembeh Strait in Indonesia. Watch the full 90-minute documentary at In this video I introduce the Lembeh Strait’s location off North Sulawesi, in Indonesia, at the heart of the Coral Triangle. The Coral Triangle has been designated on account of its extraordinary marine biodiversity, and the Lembeh Strait hosts a huge variety of marine critters on its seabed of dark, volcanic sand and silt. The type of exploration it offers has become known as “muck diving”. The conditions and cryptic critters of the Lembeh Strait contrast with the clear blue water and coral reefs of dive locations such as the nearby Bunaken National Park. I introduce some of the sessile animals that live in the Lembeh…

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Best underwater videos – Mucky Secrets – Part 2 – Anemonefish, Shrimps & Mantis Shrimps – Lembeh Strait

04/11/2019 26 Comments 71208

Anemonefish, shrimps and mantis shrimps. Part 2 of my documentary, “Mucky Secrets”, about the marine life of the Lembeh Strait in Indonesia. Watch the full 90-minute documentary at In this video we take a look at the mutually symbiotic relationship between saddleback clownfish, a type of anemonefish, and the sea anemones found in the Lembeh Strait. The anemone’s stinging tentacles provide protection for the clownfish, which are immune to the sting. The clownfish chase sway polyp-eating predators, and their feces provide food for the anemone. We then see how partner shrimps (commensal shrimps) also benefit from a commensal relationship with sea anemones. The shrimps use the anemone’s tentacles for protection, but the anemone doesn’t appear to benefit in any way. We then take a look at emperor shrimps and sexy…

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Best underwater videos – Mucky Secrets – Part 3 – Squat Lobsters, Hermit Crabs, True Crabs & Sea Urchins – Lembeh Strait

04/11/2019 22 Comments 59185

Squat lobsters, hermit crabs, true crabs and sea urchins. Part 3 of my documentary, “Mucky Secrets”, about the fascinating marine creatures of the Lembeh Strait in Indonesia. Watch the full 90-minute documentary at In this video we first look at more marine crustaceans. First we meet squat lobsters. The elegant squat lobster, Allogalathea elegans, lives commensally on the arms of crinoid feather stars. It feeds on plankton collected by its host, and its colour often matches the crinoid for camouflage. Next we encounter squat lobsters of the Galathea genus fighting for territory on branching sponges at TK 2. Hermit crabs don’t have a hard carapace like other crabs, so they recycle an empty gastropod shell to protect their soft abdomen. They carry their adopted home around with them, and long…

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Best underwater videos – Mucky Secrets – Part 4 – Stingrays & Sharks – Lembeh Strait

04/11/2019 21 Comments 583386

Stingrays & sharks. Part 4 of my documentary, “Mucky Secrets”, about the fascinating marine creatures of the Lembeh Strait in Indonesia. Watch the full 90-minute documentary at In this video we look at the two most common stingrays in the Lembeh Strait. The bluespotted stingray (Neotrygon kuhlii) and bluespotted ribbontail ray (Taeniura lymma), also known as the blue-spotted stingray, are both occasionally found. They both like to camouflage themselves by burying themselves in the sand, but the latter species prefers to seek the shelter of outcrops, and has a more circular shape and vivid coloration. Stingrays breathe through their spiracle, a hole just behind the eye. Pelagic sharks; sharks that must keep moving to breathe, are not at all common in the Lembeh Strait. But the benthic (bottom-dwelling) brownbanded bamboo…

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Best underwater videos – Mucky Secrets – Part 5 – Snake Eels & Moray Eels – Lembeh Strait

04/11/2019 17 Comments 128444

Snake eels and Moray eels. Part 5 of my documentary, “Mucky Secrets”, about the fascinating marine life of the Lembeh Strait in Indonesia. Watch the full 90-minute documentary at In this video I look at different types of eel in the Lembeh Strait. Snake eels are common here. A convict snake eel, Leiuranus versicolor, swims in the open and bears a coloration similar to some sea snakes, which may deter predators. Snake eels burrow tail-first into the sand, with just the head exposed. They are ambush predators. We encounter a stargazer snake eel, Brachysomophis cirrocheilos, and a highfin snake eel, Ophichthus altipennis, being cleaned of parasites and dead skin by magnificent shrimps, Ancylomenes magnificus. Moray eels are also common. We encounter a free-swimming snowflake moray, Echidna nebulosa, and a whitemouth…

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Best underwater videos – Mucky Secrets – Part 6 – Cardinalfishes & Trumpetfish – Lembeh Strait

04/11/2019 19 Comments 94881

Cardinalfishes & trumpetfish. Part 6 of my documentary, “Mucky Secrets”, about the fascinating marine creatures of the Lembeh Strait in Indonesia. Watch the full 90-minute documentary at In this video I first take a look at the Banggai cardinalfish, Pterapogon kauderni. This is an invasive species which was introduced to the Lembeh Strait in the year 2000, and now competes with anemonefish for territory. Although it appears to be thriving in the Lembeh Strait and a few other locations, the Banggai cardinalfish is nonetheless still an endangered species because of its popularity in the ornamental fish trade. We then encounter other species of cardinalfish (Apogonidae) in the area, Moluccan cardinalfish, Ostorhinchus moluccensis, the orbiculate cardinalfish, Sphaeramia orbicularis, and the frostfin cardinalfish, Ostorhinchus hoevenii, sheltering in the spines of sea urchins….

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Best underwater videos – Mucky Secrets – Part 7 – Seahorses, Pipefishes, Ghost Pipefishes & Shrimpfish – Lembeh Strait

04/11/2019 18 Comments 57850

Seahorses, pipefishes, ghost pipefishes and shrimpfish. Part 7 of my documentary, “Mucky Secrets”, about the fascinating marine creatures of the Lembeh Strait in Indonesia. Watch the full documentary at In this video I take a look at members of the order Syngnathiformes, ray-finned fishes with long tubular snouts and elongate bodies. The spotted seahorse, Hippocampus kuda, also known as the common seahorse, adapts its skin color to blend in to its environment. It has small hairs which gather algae and other matter to increase the camouflage. It feeds on small crustaceans, and its eyes can move independently to maximize its field of vision. It anchors itself to the seabed using its prehensile tail. The male seahorse incubates eggs then fetuses in a brood pouch on its belly until they are…