new strobe

Posted on May 2, 2022 by An Bollenessor under echinoderms, eggs, Macro, molluscs, nudibranchs

Long time no post! Due to a combination of not-so-good weather and work I have not been in the water much the last few months. I attempted some seaweed photography but most times the viz was bad; the one time the conditions were great, somehow all my photos turned out to be a bit meh and I could not be bothered to post them. (For some older shots on seaweed diversity see here, and many older posts as well.) Anyhow, my exciting news is that I finally bought a new strobe (an INON D-200 for those who are interested) because my old Sea&Sea strobes just proved to be too temperamental. Something I should have done a long time ago, but the thrifty Dutchman in me just never pulled the trigger. I have now taken it out twice this weekend and it works like a charm! Now I just need to practice, as it is actually still very hard to go from an OK photo to a truly good pic. Above a shot of a baby urchin Psammechinus miliaris. The true stars of the weekend however were nudibranchs.

A very special find (shown to me by fellow rockpool photography enthusiasts Martin and Greg) were two Goby egg-eating seaslugs Calma gobioophaga. This tiny species can only be found on the goby eggs it eats. With such a ‘niche niche’ and with very good camouflage it is no wonder that reports of this species are rare. A fun fact: its protein-rich diet means it does not have to poo and it therefore does not have an anus…The rock with the eggs and nudis was very shallow and so it was a challenge to get the port of the camera housing under water. Luckily Greg assisted with pointing out the nudi and holding my strobe in place. Freshly hatched goby fry could be seen hovering above the eggs (the fact that a predator was munching through their brothers and sisters might have triggered some of the hatching). The cerata (the fleshy lobes on the nudi’s back) seem to have two goby eyes in them to make them better blend in!

Finally, two other nudibranch species, neither very colourful. Both are predators of anemones: first the largish Grey sea slug Aeolidia papillosa and second the smaller species Aeolidiella alderi. Both adequate shots but I need to practice to make them truly good. I will probably buy a second INON strobe so I can practice wide angle shots as well when diving. I hope to go out a lot more during summer and will make sure to post here about my finds and progress!

Rockpooling in Flushing

Posted on September 28, 2019 by An Bollenessor under bryozoans, crustaceans, echinoderms, invasive species, Macro, molluscs, mzuiko60mm, non-native species, Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II, photography, rock pooling

Some pics from today at Flushing Beach. Above, a pair of Green shore crabs Carcinus maenas, below two Furrowed crabs Xantho hydrophilus. (I probably should have gone for a whole crab series, as I saw several other common species…) Instead I took loads of random photos, of things that were 150 mm to things that were only 5 mm, with varying success. For instance of a Painted Topshell Calliostoma zizyphinum on the invasive Bryozoan Watersipora subatra. Also the underside of the urchin Psammechinus miliaris, showing its mouth (Aristotle’s Lantern). Photobombing top left is the commensal worm Flabelligera affinis (which I noticed as well the last time I took a version of this picture). Bit random but it was fun practicing. It actually is more difficult to take photos abovewater compared to underwater due to the glistening and the awkward position kneeling on wet gravel/rocks. Next time I might try a tripod (ideally remote flash would be used but I do not think I am going to invest in that). Btw, if you are on instagram, I also post pics as @an_bollenessor.

random rock pool pics

Posted on March 10, 2016 by An Bollenessor under anemones, cnidarians, crustaceans, echinoderms, fish, molluscs, rock pooling, worms

The weather has been generally awful so far this year and so I have not been out much. However it is March already so at least a small blog post is in order! There are loads of Worm pipefish Nerophis lumbriciformis around, some of the males carrying eggs (see also the blog header and the ‘about’ section). I found my smallest one yet. Next up a Sea urchin Psammechinus miliaris with what is probably the parasitic (or commensal?) polychaete worm Flabelligera affinis (thanks David Fenwick). After that, a slighlty out of focus shot of the hydroid Candelabrum cocksii. A few of these small individuals were sat under the first rock I turned over; I reckoned they were some type of spoon worm but they are something very different, thanks again David Fenwick, see for his much better photographs of this weird little thing here. Next the Wrinkled rock borer Hiatella arctica with siphon extended and the pretty acorn barnacle Balanus perforatus. Finally a picture of the Strawberry anemone Actinia fragacea, quite common and pretty, but I do not think I have ever posted a picture of it on the blog before. (All pics taken at Castle Beach in Falmouth btw.) I have three in my tank and it is high time for an aquarium update as well. I hope to go out tomorrow and the weekend as the tides are very low so watch this space!

Aquarium Update 8

Posted on January 6, 2015 by An Bollenessor under anemones, aquarium update, echinoderms, fish, molluscs, seaweeds

Another long time without a post. A lot has happened to the aquarium and some of what I post here is already outdated, but here goes. My Daisy anemone has buried itself and has not resurfaced but the Red-speckled anemone is growing well. I found the Dahlia anemone I was looking for, but lately it has been pestered by a Purple top shell, which has left a scar on its column, I hope it survives. The most dramatic event was that the Snakelocks anemone managed to kill my Sea scorpion (but not eat it, it was too large). This must have happened when I removed some of the rocks, startling it and make it swim in the wrong direction:Poor thing (although it had eaten 22 of my mullet so it works both ways I guess…). The good thing was that I could try keeping some other fish again. Using my net, I caught some Two-spotted gobies as well as a Common goby Pomatoschistus microps (I think, there are some very similar species) and a Goldsinny wrasse Ctenolabrus rupestris. The total tally from netting off the Flushing quay is now eleven fish species, not bad. The Goldsinny swims around the tank a lot and does some digging; it seems to be a more interesting fish to watch than the Corkwing:

The Plumose anemones Metridium senile are strange, they can be all shrivelled up for days, be short and squat or all extended. Here three pics of the same individual:The Turban top shells Gibbula magus are very nice to watch (the Grey topshell Gibbula cinerarea gives a sense of scale). I found a Sea urchin Psammechinus miliaris and decided to try it out. It spends half its time under the gravel and pops up here and there with shells and pebbles attached to it. Let’s see what it does! Lastly a picture of the tank. I had attached a young Sugar kelp Saccharina latissima to the tunze pump with an elastic band and now it has attached itself to the plastic.

Three echinoderms

Posted on September 29, 2013 by An Bollenessor under echinoderms

I have been traveling quite a bit over summer but now I am back and hope to soon kick start my aquarium (it just has sand and some cushion stars in it at the moment). I have already gone out rock pooling again a couple of times. For the very first time I have found a sea urchin at Castle Beach in Falmouth, a little Psammechinus miliaris: