Thanksgiving

We had a 4-day weekend for Thanksgiving. I went to Phuket with 2 of my girlfriends from SAS. We all started at the school at the same time. What did we have in mind for this holiday? Some beach, good food and lots of time at the spa! Of course, I ran away to go diving for a day (what did you expect???) It was relaxing and just what the doctor ordered...

The "gals" on Karon Beach, Phuket.

Black spotted porcupinefish with 2 remoras. Like the puffer fish, the porcupinefish is able to inflate themselves but have additional large spines which point outwards when inflated (during stressful events). The remora usually attached itself to sharks or other large pelagics (large fish), but these guys must have been desperate to hang on to this small guy! This slender suckerfish is easily recognised by the sucking disc on the head and nape, that helps this guy to attach himself by suction to other fish, turtles and whales. Food is obtained when the host is feeding. (Source: Asia Pacific Reef Guide)

It is quite hard to spot decent sized shrimp during the day, but these hinge-beak shrimps were easy to spot. It was hard to take the picture, though, with all the sea urchins around. These guys are also known as the dancing shrimp: they move around carefully, only to stop after a few movements, as do tango dancers (Source: CRUSTACEA Guide Of The World)