Stoney Coral reefs (real world not tank)

[afboundguy]

Don't know if this belongs in this thread but it is "reef related" Kim and I just got back from the Bahamas and we did some snorkeling. We've also gone to Jamaica and done some snorkeling (I did a few 30' scuba dives) and we both loved it. Jamaica had better reefs but the Bahamas had better fish. I was a little disappointed because they seemed like mainly softy reefs with gorg's, seafans and brains.

So I've already started looking for the next vacation that won't be for a very long time (don't worry Kim ) and I was wondering where the closest SPS dominated reef's are? Are there even any in the Caribbean? I've heard through the travel agent when we booked the honeymoon in Jamaica that Curacao had some of the best reefs in the Caribbean and Negril Jamaica (where we went) had the second best but was cheaper.

I obv know about the great barrier reef but it's ungodly expensive just to fly there (not to mention it takes like 20+ hours and Kim and I are sooooooo nice to each other after traveling I think we'd kill each other after 20+ hours of traveling in a plane )

So does anyone have any input on this? Thanks a bunch...

 

[Casino]

You can try the Dominican Republic or Puerto Rico. I have never dived but my friends over there do and they enjoy it.

 

[afboundguy]

You can try the Dominican Republic or Puerto Rico. I have never dived but my friends over there do and they enjoy it.

Do you know if it's more SPS than softies? As I said the Bahamas and Jamaica were pretty much the same...

 

[Casino]

They have mostly softies and fish on one side of the Dominican Republic. But at the other side (8.5 hour drive) theres mostly sps's. In Puerto Rico their mixed. I also forgot about Bonaire, Aruba and Curacao. These are beautiful islands and they are all together. I think by boat rides. They also have mixed reefs and many types of fish. Do a search and you can find many diver pics for each island.

 

[Greg Hiller]

>where the closest SPS dominated reef's are? <

Fiji.

If you glance at a copy of Veron's Corals of the World, in that book there is a particularly informative topographic map of the number of genera of coral and where the pinacle of coral diversity is. Pretty much what you will see is that the maximum number of genera is about 90, and that is centered in Indonesia, the Philippines, and north of Australia. The farther you get away from that, the less diverse, and, for a hobbyist into stony corals, the less interesting the diving becomes. I forget the exact numbers, but there's still some reasonable diversity out to Fiji, but it drops way off by the time you get to Hawaii. This is because from Fiji out to Hawaii there are very few islands for corals to live on....so it's kind of like a vast desert that coral polyps have to travel across, and few make it. I found the diving in Hawaii to be pretty dull with respect to corals, but the isolated nature of the islands makes the fish evolve quickly and so they are pretty interesting in Hawaii.

By the time you get to the Caribbean, the coral diversity is very low, I think about 10 genera...so pretty dull. There are some interesting large sponges in some locations though. Of the few dive sites I've been to in the Caribbean (Florida Keys, Belize, Cozumel, and Roatan, Houduras), I found Roatan to be the best, in really good condition, but that was almost 10 years ago. What's nice too is that you can drive right off the beach and get into some pretty cool stuff quickly.

So, IMO/IME, if you want really interesting diving to see colorful and interesting SPS (and there are a huge number of soft coral species there as well) the closest spot is Fiji. Good news is it's not all that hard to get there (compared with the Solomons, Papua New Guinea, or Australia), and it's not all that expensive when you get there. There are direct flights out of LA, but they certainly run into some money fast. Fiji was hit by some pretty bad bleaching in 2000 I believe, but it recovered pretty fast I believe.

 

[NHreefer]

I've done alot of diving in florida and about 100 in the bahama's. I believe it was off florida we saw a huge area of staghorn corals. One area was so large it collasped in on itself during a bad storm, it looked like a bomb blew it all apart. I have alot of video I took of corals there, alot of the sps seems to be encrusting corals. I'll have to look over some vids, it's been a while.

 

[afboundguy]

Fiji.

If you glance at a copy of Veron's Corals of the World, in that book there is a particularly informative topographic map of the number of genera of coral and where the pinacle of coral diversity is. Pretty much what you will see is that the maximum number of genera is about 90, and that is centered in Indonesia, the Philippines, and north of Australia. The farther you get away from that, the less diverse, and, for a hobbyist into stony corals, the less interesting the diving becomes. I forget the exact numbers, but there's still some reasonable diversity out to Fiji, but it drops way off by the time you get to Hawaii. This is because from Fiji out to Hawaii there are very few islands for corals to live on....so it's kind of like a vast desert that coral polyps have to travel across, and few make it. I found the diving in Hawaii to be pretty dull with respect to corals, but the isolated nature of the islands makes the fish evolve quickly and so they are pretty interesting in Hawaii.

Thanks Greg, that was exactly what I was looking for.

By the time you get to the Caribbean, the coral diversity is very low, I think about 10 genera...so pretty dull.

I def thought they were a little drab but still awesome because of the fish...

So, IMO/IME, if you want really interesting diving to see colorful and interesting SPS (and there are a huge number of soft coral species there as well) the closest spot is Fiji. Good news is it's not all that hard to get there (compared with the Solomons, Papua New Guinea, or Australia), and it's not all that expensive when you get there. There are direct flights out of LA, but they certainly run into some money fast. Fiji was hit by some pretty bad bleaching in 2000 I believe, but it recovered pretty fast I believe.

Awesome I'll def have to look into it. I'm not a huge SPS buff but I was def a little disappointed not to see any SPS in the Caribbean I also would think I'd never leave Australia if I went and I'd want to frag all the insane looking acans which would get me in trouble

 

[Greg Hiller]

In the FWIW category, there are only three species of Acropora in the Caribbean (I think over 150 in the Pacifica hot spot), and it turns out one of them was recently determined to be a hybrid of the other two. The Elkhorn (A. palmata) certainly can have some pretty cool formations, unfortunately, they dying off pretty fast.

 

[afboundguy]

I've done alot of diving in florida and about 100 in the bahama's. I believe it was off florida we saw a huge area of staghorn corals. One area was so large it collasped in on itself during a bad storm, it looked like a bomb blew it all apart. I have alot of video I took of corals there, alot of the sps seems to be encrusting corals. I'll have to look over some vids, it's been a while.

Sweet when you look at those video's let me know. A trip to FL would def be much cheaper than anything else

 

[Greg Hiller]

From Wikipedia:

Elkhorn coral was once one of the most abundant species of coral in the Caribbean and the Florida Keys. Since 1980 it has been estimated that 90-95% of elkhorn coral has been lost. Threats to elkhorn coral include disease, coral bleaching, predation, climate change, storm damage, and human activity

 

[afboundguy]

From Wikipedia:

..it has been estimated that 90-95% of elkhorn coral has been lost.

I agree with that statement 100% I never saw it in Jamaica or the Bahamas... So sad... I remember seeing an article somewhere that showed the decline or a huge brain coral over the span of 15-20 years. I saw this article after Jamaica and didn't notice a thing but in the Bahamas I saw much more receding of corals prob because I was more aware of it... It's just so sad