After 20 years of being based only in Patong, Scuba Cat has decided to open a shop in a new area, NaiHarn.

Naiharn Shop

Two years ago was a big change for Scuba Cat with the closing on the beach road shop and the premises moving to the Kee Plaza and Soi Wattana shops.

During this time we noticed that many of our return customers just came into the Soi Wattana shop to see us again, and so we decided to close the Kee Plaza shop and move out to a new area of Phuket to offer a better service covering a larger area.

So for the first time we are now out of Patong……..

Naiharn at the south of Phuket Island is an quieter area with a what most people think is the best beach on the island.

The bay is surrounded with Palm tree’s and there is the famous sunset viewpoint of Prom Thep Cape close by. There is also the lagoon area behind the beach which is great for children to swim and paddle in all year around.In the green season it is sometimes possible to surf in the area too.

Prom Thep Cape

The area has many good restaurants and cafe’s all along the main area and there are hotels and guest houses to suit all budget and taste, but it is not a big party area, more a chill out place. There are some good bars if you want but people tend to visit just 1 or 2 in a evening rather than many as is the case in Patong.

Rawai is very close to NaiHarn, and although there is no beach there, this area also has good restaurants on the shore area. The Sea Gypsy’s have been resident in Rawai for many years and have small market area where trinkets and fresh sea food are for sale.

Rawai

Along the shore line there are many local long tail boats which offer trips to the close coral island for the morning or afternoon.

The whole area is not really know for the shopping or markets, but these can be easily visited in Phuket Town or Patong with a short taxi ride.

Our new shop is located on Sai Yuan Road opposite the popular Da Vinchi Italian restaurant.

The shop is newly built and has a retail area, fully equipped classroom and office. We will be conducting all courses from both Naiharn and our Patong shops, so you can choose either depending on the location of your hotel.

Classroom

One more improvement we want to offer is free transfers to and from the boat that will now include the Naiharn and Rawai area’s and the hotels along Visit Rd to the pier at Chalong.

Book now for high season 2013/2014 pay in full and receive 10% discount, this includes courses, Scuba Adventure Liveaboard and Scuba Fun daytrips.

Daytrip dive packages now start from just 2 days on MV Scuba Fun

5% for 2 daytrips

10% for 3 daytrips

15% for 4 daytrips

20% for 5 daytrips

ALSO

Do 2 or more days fun diving and get 10% discount on any retail dive equipment.

Dive Computers

Buy any dive mask and get a scuba cat mask strap free or half price flex pulse snorkel

Buy mask and fins and get free flex pulse snorkel

Buy any BCD and Reg set and get an aqualung sports dive bag free

Spend 10,000thb on retail get 10% discount

Why wait, contact us now on info@scubacat.com.

The lionfish is a common site in the Andaman and seen on all of the dive sites we go to, both by daytrips and liveaboards.
Nobody knows for sure how they got their name, and they are also known as turkey or dragon fish in some area’s. One thought is when they spread out their pectoral fins it sort of looks like a lion’s mane, and they are ferocious predators

They are beautiful and fascinating fish but due to their colouring, as is common in nature, most times bright and beautiful means dangerous. Its bright colours advertise its poisonous tentacles. The venom of the lionfish, delivered by up to 18 needle-like dorsal fins and is purely defensive. A sting from a lionfish is extremely painful to humans and can cause nausea and breathing difficulties, but is rarely fatal.
The scientific name for the lionfish is Pterois, and there are fifteen different species in the Pterois Genus of fish.

The largest of the lionfish species can grow to about 40cm in length, but the average is closer to 30cm, with the smallest around 6cm, and they weigh somewhere around 500 to 900g. Their lifespan in the wild can be around 15 years.

They are mainly active during the day and at night the Lionfish find crevices among rocks that they rest in, this is so they are not out of the open where they would be at risk of predators consuming them.

It relies on camouflage and fast reflexes to capture their prey which is mainly fish and shrimp.. Adult lionfish use their distinct pectoral fins to attract the prey. As soon as the prey comes within their reach, they swallow it in a single motion. Though not quite unique, this method of hunting is highly successful in regions where the lionfish is a non-native species as the native population of the area is not used to such traps. They are able to move around very quickly in the water. They are very good at using those long pectoral fins to herd fish and other prey into a confined area, trapping it making it simple for them to get their food. The lionfish’s stomach can expand to 30 times its normal size so they can really fill up, this is why it is such an invader in the Caribean.

They are solitary and they will become very aggressive if they feel that their home territory is at risk. The males tend to be more aggressive overall than the females. While adult lionfish are solitary creatures, juveniles are known to live together in groups. Over the course of time, they become highly territorial and don’t even hesitate to take on the other members of their group to capture and/or defend their territory.

The native habitat of lionfish spans the rocky crevices and reefs of the Indo-Pacific waters, but they can be found in the eastern coast of America. It is not clear how they have found their way there but it is thought that some specimens who were released by certain aquariums, and have begun to thrive in these warm waters without any natural predators. There is one documented case of lionfish escaping from an aquarium located in a house damaged by Hurricane Andrew – the fish were seen swimming nearby after the storm. The “on purpose” introductions are assumed to occur from hobbyists who dumped them into canals (not knowing any better) when the fish either got too large for their aquariums or became unwanted. Genetic evidence from recent scientific results suggests multiple introductions.

Learn more about marine life in the area with our AWARE Fish ID, Naturalist or Advanced open water courses.

Peacock Mantis Shrimps (Odontodactylus scyllarus)

They are found in the indo Pacific region and we have many of these on all of the dive sites we visit, but you do have to look closely for them.
Although called shrimp they are not actually true shrimp, but a separate family of crustaceans called Stomatopods.

They are mostly found at the base of reefs where they build their burrows, the excavate a u shape tunnel by collecting nearby rubble or other substrate to go over and around suitable sites of rock crevices or corals.

They are very colorful and flamboyant when you find them, with red, green and blue warning coloration.

They feed on various fish and invertebrates and are fast, efficient hunters, though they often wait for their prey to walk by and pounce on them. The peacock is a ‘smashers’ type of mantis shrimp it has two club-like appendages to exo skeleton animals such as crabs, clams and snails. With just one hit the ‘club’ produces a force almost as fast as a 22-caliber bullet, 10m per sec, and this has been know to break aquarium glass. This is so fast it can actually vaporize the water at the point of impact!

In addition to the smashing clubs they also have a shorter body compared to the longer, very flexible tail, this lets them turn quickly and easily in tight spaces and burrows. The tail and the specialized swimming appendages on its underside provide a surprisingly fast swim when on the hunt, or when they get scared.

The eyes are stalk like which allows them to accurately see their prey from the protection of the crevices they live in, the eyes are complex with at least 8 types of different colour sensors, which include ultraviolet and polarized light. They can see 10 times more colours than humans.

From the mantis shrimps that have been kept in captivity, we have learned that they are the only invertebrates that can actually recognize individuals, they do this by body odor!!
They can be aggressive with others of there own species and get into fights using the flexible tails, they sometimes can fight to the death, but often decide who is victorious before either gets seriously hurt.

Some of the shrimps can mate for life, which can be up to 20 years, whilst others prefer a one-night stand. They usually court then come together. The female can hold fertilized eggs under the tail or in the forearms, or they can be laid in burrows and are watched over until they hatch into Larvae. These larvae are also keen predators often preying on other larvae during the 3 months it takes to hatch.

To see these fascinating shrimps you can join us on our daytrips or liveaboards where they are often seen at the divesites, ask our staff about them and other interesting creatures we have in the waters of Thailand.

Learn more about the marine life in our area by taking the Naturalist specialty course with us.

Second trip for MV Scuba Adventure of the High Season was a Full Charter going out to Phi Phi Islands for 2 days/1 Night and 7 fantastic dives.

As part of the trip we had 1 person doing Discover Scuba Diving (first time ever diving), 1 completing his open water course, 4 people finishing and 1 person doing the full Advanced Open Water Course as well as 6 people just fundiving -and then a single snorkler…

Weather was very nice and vizibility on most dives was more than 20 meters… Most divers got to see Leopard Sharks, Black Tip Reefsharks and Seahorses… With the usual Barracudas, Seasnakes, Spiny Lobsters, Cuttlefish and Nudibranch thrown in for good measure…
-but no matter how good the diving was, the most memorable from the trip is probably the food.. Our cook really outdid herself on this trip..

Thanks to everyone for a great trip..

The Scuba Cat Team