The morning started with heavy rains, after the rain calmed down we took the van to the boat because of the choppy water outside the resort. Our first dive was at a site called Big Dipper, on one side of the reef is a sandy floor and the other, a wall, that goes deeper than 100 ft. When swimming over the reef I saw many four-eyed butterflyfish, we were able to identify them from the black circle on the back of the body near the tail. The four-eyed butterfly fish eats shrimp and clam, because of its small size butterfly fish hide in crevices in the coral, trying to escape the danger of predators. The butterfly fish could have been searching for shrimp hiding within the coral or they could have been hiding from predators. Another fish we saw that caught my eye was a large grey angelfish swimming through the gasps in the coral and feeding on the algae. They are identified by their grey body, white mouth and the yellow on the tips of their fins. Grey angelfish mainly feed on sponges, algae and sea grasses and can grow up to 24 inches in length. They are prey for many large animals including octopus and giant groupers. Shortly after seeing the large grey angelfish and swimming over the sandy bottoms we rose to the surface and boarded the boat ready for our next dive.
After arriving at Chain reef, which is named from the large anchor and chair that wraps around the coral, we gathered our gear and excitedly jump into the water, ready for another adventure. After descending to the sandy floor and swimming over to the coral reef their were many banded butterfly fish separately swimming through pieces of coral. The banded butterfly fish can be identified by the white body with vertical black striped running throughout the body. Similar to the four-eyed butterfly fish the banded butterfly fish eat shrimp and clam, and use the coral as a place to hide from predators. Near the middle of a large group of coral I saw a large Nassau grouper, we were able to identify them by there brown and white vertical stripes with a brown tail. Nassau grouper prey on small fish or even lobster by swallowing them whole and are important predators in keeping the reefs ecosystem healthy. After seeing the Nassau grouper and swimming around on the sand bottom floor looking at garden eels we rose to the surface and drove back to the resort for lunch.
After lunch we went to the Cayman Turtle Centre and we able to see large turtles and smaller turtles which we were able to hold. At the centre there we also saw nurse sharks, barracudas and tarpon which were in a larger exhibit. After leaving the turtle centre we came back to the resort for dinner. Following dinner we went on a night snorkel with flashlights, on this snorkel we saw a spiny lobster, tarpon, squid and a barracuda. The lobster and squid were in shallow waters, most likely searching for food. While in the deeper waters we saw a large tarpon and barracuda, who were also likely searching for smaller prey in the darkness of the night. Tomorrow, I look forward to another two tank dive and hopefully we will be able to go to Stingray City if the weather remains good.
