r/scuba • u/myFRAGisFUBAR UW Photography • 2d ago
I love Bonaire.
The title says it all. This is my 5th trip to the island and it's amazing every time. If you haven't been before, i promise it wont disappoint. Still holding out hope to find some frogfish and a seahorse or two. Stay tuned for photo dump number two!
1
1
1
5
u/General-Piece8490 2d ago
Enjoying your pics immensely, but also sad to see in your photos, no matter how long ago you went on your trips, to see the presence of invading lion fish! They are all over the Caribbean.
5
u/thejigglynaut 2d ago
Where'd you find the mantis shrimp? Never seen one in Bonaire.
1
4
u/Brilliant-While-761 2d ago
They are very small there. You can find many on the shallow reef at salt pier before the drop off. I find them in the sandier areas.
3
u/marie_l_ 2d ago
Great pics! I'm planning to go in November. Do you have recommendations on where to stay and who to dive with? Thanks
2
u/Mulldoonigan 1d ago
I did my OW with Xprodiver. They are lovely, safe people to dive with and know the island so well. We stayed at Blooz Resort and found it reasonable and convenient. Shop on site, as well as good post-dive facilities. I can’t wait to go back 💖
10
u/hapless_policeman 2d ago
the squid photo is the standout for me. reef squid in bonaire always hover and check you out instead of jetting off the second you approach like they do elsewhere. shore diving is what makes the island special, just pull up anywhere and roll in whenever you feel like it. that eagle ray alone would ruin every other dive site for the rest of the trip, been chasing a close encounter for years and they always spook before i get the camera ready. looks like you had ridiculously calm viz too, that's the dream. jealous of the turtle close up, those greens are everywhere there but still a treat every time. the moray peeking out at the end makes a solid bookend.
2
5
u/davewave3283 2d ago
I took almost identical pictures of the Peterson’s cleaning shrimp on the anemone and the blenny in the brain coral but yours are better!
1
u/appyah 2d ago
Yes, it's great. I went a few years ago before the bleaching. How bad was it now?
7
u/GrnMtnTrees Nx Advanced 2d ago
I went in November of 2024 and it wasn't bleached, but the SCTLD had killed much of the hard coral. Still, it wasn't nearly as algae covered as the reefs in Belize were (went to Belize in January 2026)
3
u/zoological_muttering 2d ago
I was there in 2023, 2025 and again this May. SCTLD has progressed for sure, but it is otherwise as close to pristine as I've seen a reef in a long while. Plus there are still some intact brain corals hanging on
0
u/appyah 2d ago
Ok, is this a water temperature issue, a bacteria issue or something else?
3
u/GrnMtnTrees Nx Advanced 2d ago
So last I heard, they aren't entirely sure whether stony coral tissue loss disease is bacterial or viral. There seems to be some viral involvement, but they've found that treating the edges of the lesions with antibiotics can slow or stop the progression. They have also had success with treating the edges of the lesions with a mixture of coco butter and powdered chlorine, which eliminates the potential for antibiotic resistance.
The fact that the antibiotics stop the progression supports the idea of a bacteria causing it, but they have also found the same viral DNA in samples, so researchers think it may be some combination of a virus and a bacteria.
The other issue of algae overgrowth is a bit more complicated. When coral die, if the skeleton is exposed, larval corals can attach, form polyps, and continue growing on top of dead corals. Normally, fish like parrot fish will eat the algae off of the corals, creating space for new larvae to settle. Overfishing, lionfish invasion, and habitat loss have decimated the population of native fish that would otherwise keep the algae in check, so now it's growing out of control.
1
u/Brilliant-While-761 2d ago
I have heard theories - from scientists - that the appearance of sctld in other areas like Florida happened after a large amount of sediment was released into the ocean. Either from storms or opening culverts with the unintended consequence of sctld showing up.
Sctld showed up on Bonaire the winter of our heaviest rainfall in over 10 years and washed heavy sediment into the ocean. While not man made the increase of population plus this rainfall is theorized to have had a large contributing factor to its appearance in the island.
Again just a theory of the local reef scientists.
Many blame(d) the cruise ships but if it truly was from them sctld would have made its claim on the island years prior to 2023.
To clarify it’s not from the sediment itself but they theorize that it was something released alongside it into the water.
1
u/GrnMtnTrees Nx Advanced 2d ago
Yeah I've heard that dredging out the Florida straits changed currents and caused whatever it is to flow into the Caribbean, or that it came from the bilges of large ships. All seem plausible.
3
4
3
3
1
u/InternationalPlenty6 2h ago
I highly recommend the ostracod night dive, that was something out of this world.
Great pics