Five Caves Magic in Makena, Maui

Red Spotted Nudibranch

Dwarf Moray Eel

What a dive! In a place where people go for big things like sea turtles and white tip reef sharks, we found a treasure trove of the small and overlooked creatures of the reef. Carefully picking our way over the reef provided a rare opportunity to see creatures like nudibranchs, dwarf morays, and cleaner shrimp.

Mating Tom Smith Nudibranchs!

The tiniest frogfish

 One of the most fascinating events we witnessed on this dive was mating nudibranchs. Two Tom Smith nudibranchs were very close to each other, head to tail on their right side, with the reproductive gland extended and touching. It was easy to miss but Heidi's sharp eye and constant research into the behavior of nudibranchs allowed her to know exactly what was going on. I could hear her thru the water yelling, "They're mating, they're mating!"

Grumpy little frogfish

Wire coral goby

 As I slowly set pictures up from different angles and settings, Heidi would glide ahead and snap her tank banger to let me know she had found something else picture worthy. I had no idea what she was pointing to when I came up to this tiny, neon yellow, frogfish. It was so tiny yet still had the typical grumpy look of a fully grown frogfish.

Gold Lace Nudibranch

White Spotted Nudibranch

  I couldn't believe how many nudibranchs we ended up finding. It must have been close to twenty. A couple of gold lace nudibranchs and a rare white spotted nudibranch were perfectly perched on little rock outcroppings, almost as if posing for the camera. This coral banded cleaner shrimp below was out walking around a boulder inside one of the many caves here at Five Caves and I managed to catch him just as he jumped over to another rock. Another wild dive off the coast of Maui.

Coral Banded Cleaner Shrimp