The weather was forecast light easterly which is ideal for Ricketts Point. So we swam from about 9AM for a couple of hours. My intention was to try to photograph Ricketts Point clingfish … and I succeeded. Though I think all the photos (below) are of the same species: Smallfin Clingfish. There is another (Seagrass Clingfish) that occurs commonly and while I am fairly sure I saw one, it swam into the seagrass quickly. The trick to finding them is to go really slow and watch for movement in the seagrass or between kelp fronds. They are usually very small fish (about 1cm) and will keep an eye on you, often moving onto the leeward side of vegetation to avoid your stare.
Other highlights were a couple of nudibranchs. The curly ones are Phyllodesmium and often occur just underneath the shallow reef overhangs. There are quite a few around at the moment and they feed on Hydroids. These are relatives of jellyfish and contain stinging cells that make the seaslugs poisonous. Less common were the Carminodoris which have the bubbly skin and feed on sponges. Though neither of the ones I saw were on sponges, they were wandering around on top of kelp and red algae.
There were also quite a few baby fish about today, including Tasmanian Blennies and Common three-fins. There are a lot of Tasmanian Blennies on eggs right now too. If you hang around nearby they can be quite inqusitive.
A big Flathead Goby was fun to see too, under one of the overhangs. Plus, a precocious school of young zebra fish and the usual array of snapper and bream flying about over the seagrass.
