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Night Secrets SL043177
Night Secrets SL043177
Diving the outer Great Barrier Reef below around thirty metres at night can be spectacular. As the water temperature drops and darkness turns to black, tension mounts. This is a special kind of adrenalin rush. This is another world apart from the shallow reefs during daylight. Using a hand torch and electronic flash, eye-popping forms and colours flash before your eye. Macro photography in this space is like none other.
Here, fingers of soft coral become a hunting ground for night-active Pajama cardinalfish, set out to feed on small fishes and mobile crustaceans. Like many other schooling fish, pyjama cardinalfish form a strict hierarchy. The members of this family have a unique way of mating. Females take the initiative to choose their male partner and establish and defend their territory. Once the female lays up to 75 eggs, the male takes over by holding and protecting the eggs in a special pouch in its mouth. The eggs typically hatch in about 20 days and are kept in the male's mouth for another 10 days until they are released.
Here, fingers of soft coral become a hunting ground for night-active Pajama cardinalfish, set out to feed on small fishes and mobile crustaceans. Like many other schooling fish, pyjama cardinalfish form a strict hierarchy. The members of this family have a unique way of mating. Females take the initiative to choose their male partner and establish and defend their territory. Once the female lays up to 75 eggs, the male takes over by holding and protecting the eggs in a special pouch in its mouth. The eggs typically hatch in about 20 days and are kept in the male's mouth for another 10 days until they are released.
