If you take your time and go low and slow, you can find a vast array of weird macro critters hiding on each dive site in the Maldives.
The foundation of macro diving in the Maldives. Hundreds of different nudibranch species have been discovered in the Maldives, ranging from just a few millimetres in size to some slugs bigger than your hand! Unlike other locations in Asia, the typical nudibranch are smaller than usual and therefore more difficult to spot. The best way to find them is to research the place that they are usually found. Each nudibranch has a specific diet and can almost exclusively be found around the food item they are interested in. The tiny Shaun the Sheep nudibranch for example is so small that if you did not know what you were looking at, you would think is was a grain of rice. These nudi’s are only found on Avrainvillea algae, often resembling a cabbage head.
A very special find for macro enthusiasts is the ghost pipefish. A lot of dive sites in the Maldives are covered in overhangs and small caves – the perfect place for these small critters to settle down in comfort away from currents and protected from predators. Look through soft corals and gorgonian sea fans for robust and ornate ghost pipefish. More common than ornates are halimeda ghost pipefish. For these you will need to look in patches of halimeda algea, mostly found in shallow areas of reef up to 20 meters deep with access to sunlight. Ghost pipefish are cryptic and difficult to spot. Once found they usually hang around the same area for a while, especially if they find a mate.
More common types of pipefish are the banded, blue stripe and redtailed pipefish, which can be found under coral bommies and deep into overhangs and reefs. Using a torch or dive light is a great way to illuminate them against the otherwise dark habitat. However, be aware that these pipefish do not like torches and will hide deeper into the reef with constant light!
There are many different shrimp species in the Maldives. Besides the common cleaner shrimp, great for a quick manicure, there are some very special ones. Harlequin shrimp are a macro photographers dream. Mostly white with blue or red patches, they feed exclusively on starfish. So if you see a starfish with missing limbs, have a look in nearby holes for the culprit!
The weirdest shrimp we have seen is the hairy shrimp. Yes, there are hairy shrimps in the Maldives! They are very difficult to find due to their camouflage and tiny size of just a maximum of 5mm. Their erratic movements make them difficult to photograph.
Some inhabitants don’t move much, take the frogfish and leaffish for example. From tiny juvenile frogfish to basketball giant frogfish (at this size, not macro anymore!) it is possible to see them during your dives in the Maldives. They are expertly camouflaged, often hiding inside sponges.
The Maldives has it all on offer. From big pelagics and an abundance of reef sharks to small critters hiding in the intricate reef systems, there is something on each dive for every diver.
A liveaboard cruise offers the best option for dive site diversity, diving only the best dive sites over a large area of the Maldives.
