Tag: raja ampat - Coralia Liveaboard Indonesia

January 28, 2021January 23, 2021News

Sea Turtles in Indonesia

Green turtle on a reef in Raja Ampat surrounded by tiny fish

Turtles in Indonesia Indonesia is a great place to see turtles! Sea turtles are really ancient. The oldest known sea turtle fossil is 120 million years old! This makes sea turtles some of the oldest creatures on the planet! There are seven species of sea turtles in the world. Six of those species live in Indonesia: Green turtle (Chelonia mydas) Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricate) Olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) Leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) Flatback sea turtle (Natator depressus) Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) For those who are curious, the seventh species is Kemp’s ridley (Lepidochelys kempii), found primarily in the Gulf of Mexico. The two most encountered sea turtles while scuba diving or snorkelling in Indonesia are the Hawksbill turtle […]

December 24, 2020December 8, 2020News

Pygmy Seahorse ‘Santa Claus’ & its Friends

Santa Claus denise pygmy seahorses in Raja Ampat with Coralia Liveaboard in Indonesia

Santa Claus Pygmy in Raja Ampat There is a very special little seahorse who lives in Raja Ampat. It is red and white and particularly popular on social media at this time of year! It is of course the Santa Claus Pygmy Seahorse! The Santa Claus pygmy seahorse is actually a special colour variation of the Denise pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus denise). When they are born pygmy seahorses are released into the water column by their father pygmy. Like all seahorses it is the male who carries the brood. The tiny baby pygmies will float around in the currents for two to three weeks. They will then settle on a gorgonian sea fan of their own. Once the little pygmy settles […]

June 11, 2020June 20, 2020News

Top 5 Big Marine Life Encounters in Indonesia

Giant manta ray with diver in Raja Ampat with Coralia Liveaboard in Indonesia

Big Marine Life in Indonesia Indonesia has so many great liveaboard scuba diving destinations to satisfy all divers. But if ‘big stuff’ is what you are looking then Indonesia can tick all those boxes too. Big marine life encounters in Indonesia can be found in many destinations. Manta rays in Komodo and Raja Ampat. Hammerhead sharks in the Forgotten Islands, Banda Sea. Whale sharks in Cenderawasih Bay. Molas, sunfish, in Alor. Whales and dolphins – everywhere! Manta Rays in Raja Ampat & Komodo The two best destinations to see manta rays are Raja Ampat and Komodo. In Komodo there are multiple dive sites that can be visited by manta rays. Coralia Liveaboard will cruise in Komodo from May to September […]

May 21, 2020June 20, 2020News

Marine Life Cleaning Stations

Coral grouper at a marine life cleaning station in Raja Ampat with Coralia Liveaboard in Indonesia

Various marine life regularly visit cleaning stations. A cleaning station is where a special type of cleaner fish or shrimp live. At these areas on the reef these cleaners offer their services! On a scuba diving liveaboard in Indonesia, such as Coralia Liveaboard, you can witness this amazing behaviour at many dive destinations. In the photo above a coral grouper has a cleaner shrimp inside its mouth. We find it amazing the trust between the cleaners and the fish. One big gulp and this shrimp could be a tasty meal for the grouper!! Coral groupers are a regular on the reefs in Raja Ampat and other places like Komodo. They are usually quite shy fish but here our Cruise Director […]

May 14, 2020June 20, 2020News

Critters in Indonesia – Weird and Wonderful Creatures

a dark red Rhinopias sitting on rubble ground

Indonesia – A Critters Paradise Indonesia is a great place to come scuba diving to see weird and wonderful critters. Some divers already know about the existence of some of these creatures and they are on their diver’s bucket list. Others have never heard, let alone seen, of these strange underwater creatures. We have put together a list of the best weird and wonderful critters in Indonesia. This list is according to Coralia’s favourites plus the ones that you are quite likely to see during a liveaboard cruise with us! Rhinopias – The Holy Grail of Fish! Our cover photo is of a paddle-flap scorpionfish or rhinopias (Rhinopias eschmeyeri). Many scuba divers consider this elusive fish the holy grail of […]

April 16, 2020June 20, 2020News

Wobbegong Shark Raja Ampat

an adult-size wobbegong shark resting between corals in Raja Ampat

In Raja Ampat, Indonesia it is fairly common to see the wonderful tasselled wobbegong shark while scuba diving. Raja Ampat is right in the centre of the coral triangle and has the highest biodiversity of fish and corals in the world! Coralia Liveaboard can take you on a diving cruise to look for wobbegong sharks! Origin of the Name Experts think the name wobbegong could come from the Australian Aborginal language, meaning ‘shaggy beard’. Its scientific name Eucrossorhinus dasypogon also refers to the growths around the mouth of this amazing shark. Discovery A Dutch ichthyologist first described the tasselled wobbegong shark in 1867. The name dasypogon comes from the Greek ‘dasys’ meaning hairy and ‘pogon’ meaning beard. In 1908 a […]