Sand Divers

The sanddivers are among the most interesting fishes to watch in Dauin/Philippines, where I am based now. These are small elongate fishes which thrive on sandy habitats. They are intriguing since they behave in a few different modes. Sometimes, they hover over the sand in groups of 10s or 100s, and the larger males spread their fins to impress.

Then, sometimes they also sit on the sand and rest. They support themselves with their pectoral fins like a sand perch or a goby.

But when they get disturbed, they dive under the sand and only stick out their eyes. They can disappear under the sand veeery quickly!

Today I got a few shots of sanddivers hiding between the sand grains to avoid detection by big fish and divers: