Had a nice little dive this morning in a new location that is rumored to be teeming with nudibranchs (which are essentially small exotic ocean worms). Saw three which I had never seen before, here they are:

(Gear is as follows; Canon 5DII in Ikelite Water Housing for 5Dii, with 2 Ikelite 161 Underwater Strobe / Movie Lights . Shot on Av mode, most of the shots were at 7.1, Im coming to the conclusion it isn’t nearly enough.

This first one was about 4-5 inches long, my Dive Instructor Zac said it is a “Kangaroo Nudibranch” it was beautiful!This next guy was about a half inch long, really a baby. Hiding under sea moss that would shift with the waves. Super cute. Not sure on the name. The place was literally crawling with these next white ones, also not sure on the name. I will figure it out. We also saw a few clusters of them fighting/mating. While I am not sure it is the same for all nudibranchs, but most are hermaphrodites and their mating fight ends when one inseminates the other (they cannot inseminate themselves). The reason they do not want to be inseminated is because it takes a tremendous amount of time and energy to have offspring, and nudibranchs which are “pregnant” are at a temporary physiological disadvantage. So they usually fight, with the loser getting pregnant. Interesting stuff.