Help, corals browned out and algae everywhere!

[soapy]

Originally Posted by SeaHorse_Fanatic

Friends who have been snorkeling in the Caribbean for decades tell me that the changes they have seen over time have been nothing less than heartbreaking. From massive swathes of pristine reefs populated by dozens of species of corals and tens of thousands of fish, to swimming through areas that look very much like what your photograph depicts (lots of algae, a handful of hardy corals and almost no fish.

Yeah I ve seen a couple of reefs in Mexico that were totally choked with green and black slimy algae.

[gobytron]

Originally Posted by soapy

We met this guy 10 feet from highway in about a foot of water:

a wild cephalopod sighting.

That would be surreal.

[soapy]

Originally Posted by gobytron

a wild cephalopod sighting.

That would be surreal.

It chased us along the shore flashing blue until it realized we were pretty big.

[soapy]

Here is another Octopus I saw in Australia I think? I spotted it in about 30 feet of water and was free diving down to grab some pics. Lucky to get a decent shot and not blow up the cheap camera I had. Those fish were hanging around hoping for a tasty morsel to be pried loose by the octopus.

[Craigdillman]

Awe man !! I love octopus they are my fav thing to see diving

[soapy]

Originally Posted by soapy

The picture is of an inshore reef so it is likely has a higher 'bioload' plus I don't recall seeing a lot of large herbivores, maybe it was a bit fished out around there.

On the bright side my tank now looks just like a real reef!

Actually I was just flipping back through my photos and there were lots of big tangs there. It wasn't too bad for algae really.

[toytech]

Checked today and the reefs off maui look pretty good , tons of tangs , huge morish idols but not too many yellow tangs around mostly convics , koles , and lavenders .

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Hawaii's reefs are at least protected by strong conservation laws and we're hoping to see them in person in 2016.

[soapy]

Sounds good, I would love to go to Hawaii.

Put Australia on your bucket list if you haven't been, it is fantastic. I snorkelled overtop this white tipped reef shark at a place called Heron island. It didn't know I was there so I got to follow it for a few seconds.

[Myka]

Originally Posted by SeaHorse_Fanatic

Hawaii's reefs are at least protected by strong conservation laws and we're hoping to see them in person in 2016.

If you want "less touched" go to Kauai.